> 1) A short description of METS applications both planned and in production.


The GDZ <http://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de> is the digitzation center of
the State and University Library Göttingen. It digitized a large number
of material and provides access to it (more than 1.5 Mio pages are
online). Currently the material focuses on Mathematics, Travel
Literature, History of Sciences...
Digitized material is provided as images in GIF/JPG or PDF. Fulltext is
partly available to offer fulltext-retrieval. For each work
bibliographic (from online-catalog) and structurual metadata is
provided. Structural metadata is captured manually (with OCR-support)
using self-developed tools.
For storage, retrieval and online presentation the GDZ uses the
commercial "AGORA" document management system. Being a developing
partner of the AGORA-system, the GDZs provides ideas and proposals of
file-formats, document- and metadata models to the programmers of
the AGORA-system.


METS will be used in the internal workflow process and for archiving purposes. METS files won't be use for display on the web.
Developments at the GDZ are based upon METS 1.2 to provide a sensible solution for storing and linking logical and physical structure entities.

> 2) Projected dates of implementation (if not yet in production).

Using METS will be more an internal process of switching our workflow step-by-step using additonal/new/extended tools.

a) We expect to have a converter for our currently used RDF/XML based format ready by summer this year. This converter will convert our RDF/XML files into METS. Using this converter will allow us to continue the usage of our own production tools.
b) To support new features provided by METS our internal tools will have to be extended or will be entirely new written. This will effect the tools being used for capturing structural metadata and converting metadata from the OPAC. For this task no date can be given.
c) We are working together with "Satz-Rechen-Zentrum", the programmers of "AGORA" to have a more flexible document model implemented in AGORA 2.0. Therefore AGORA 2.0 will be based on METS-files for import/export of retrodigitized material. Hopefully a first version of AGORA 2.0 can be provided at the end of this year (2003).

> 3) URL to any publicly available production or demonstration
> implementations

METS-based documents will be integrated in our document server as soon as the DMS can use METS-based files for import. THE DMS will not use METS for end-user display in the web.
This is not expected to happened before the end of 2003. For single workflow steps it is expected that METS will be used in automn 2003.
The URL for our document server is: <http://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/search-entry.shtml>

> 4) URL to any available documentation or specifications for the
> implementations.

Currently no specification is available online.
Specifications will be published as soon as development has finished and first tools are in production use.
For interested users/developers the GDZ is willing to share thoughts and ideas and therefore provides intermediate versions of their METS-application. Feel free to contact the GDZ via email.

> 5) An indication of whether any METS tools developed as part of the
> implementations are available to other METS implementors; and if so, under
> what terms (freeware, licensed software, etc.)

Software will be made available to the public. Details (if source code will also be provided, terms and conditions of use etc) has been not yet decided.

> 6) Contact name and email address.

Markus Enders
email: [log in to unmask]

> The Board requests a response by April 11, so that the list can be
> assembled and mounted by the next Editorial Board meeting in May.
>
> I will be following up on this memo within the next couple of days with a
> description of the METS applications we are working on in the UC Berkeley
> Library.
>
> Rick Beaubien
>
> -----------------------------------------------------
> Rick Beaubien
>
> Lead Software Engineer: Research and Development
> Library Systems Office
> Rm 386 Doe Library
> University of California
> Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
> 510-643-9776
>