'Riding' project links Yorkshire libraries
Posted on 10 June 1998
Called the RIDING project, it has been developed by the Yorkshire and Humberside Universities Association (YHUA) with the aid of a 259,000 grant from the Higher Education funding councils.
The new system will allow people to search simultaneously across all the library catalogues of the participating institutions, or a defined sub-set of them. Users will also be able to search to find out which libraries are good for particular subjects and topics.
The university libraries already have arrangements to provide reciprocal access and borrowing rights for academic staff and research students. The collections they hold are of outstanding value regionally, nationally and internationally, and enhancing access to them will have far-reaching benefits.
Links will also be established with the databases provided by Leeds Library and Information Services (the public library in Leeds) and the British Library Document Supply Centre.
Six different automated library systems are currently in use by the participating libraries and the project has involved developing an electronic interface, known as the 'Z39.50 Gateway', to enable users to access the catalogues.
The RIDING project steering group is headed by Hull Director of Academic Services, Dr Richard Heseltine on behalf of the Yorkshire and Humberside Universities Association.
He said: 'This is not simply a technical exercise. Improved methods of co-operative working are being investigated, particularly in relation to the introduction of document request services.'
Partners in the RIDING project are:
- University of Bradford
- University of Huddersfield
- University of Hull
- University of Leeds
- Leeds Metropolitan University
- Lincolnshire & Humberside University
- University of Sheffield
- Sheffield Hallam University
- University of York
- British Library Document Supply Centre
- Leeds Library & Information Services
- Fretwell-Downing Informatics