Nearly all of the major library automation vendors were present in San Francisco for the semiannual meeting of the Automated Vendors Industry Advisory Committee (AVIAC) on June 29, 1992, in conjunction with the ALA Annual Conference.
First on the agenda was a progress report on MARC certification. Six vendors had records voluntarily processed by their systems, analyzed, and diagnosed for conformity to MARC. Minor variations were discovered and corrected. The pilot, which was conducted by the Library of Congress, was more labor intensive than expected- 5 to 16 hours per tape. The software will be revised to limit human intervention. It is up to vendors whether they publicize the diagnostic reports they receive; LC does not plan to give a pass or fail grade. Most of the vendors at the meeting indicated plans to participate in the program when it is launched in 1993.
It was reported that Version 2 of NISO Standard Z39.50, Record Transfer, is now ready for publication. In fact, several interconnections have already been achieved. Most of the changes in Version 2 reflect the need to bring the U.S. standard into conformity with the international standard. Work on Version 3 has begun, but no completion date has been projected. Version 3 will augment, rather than replace, the functionality of Version 2.
In other standards activities, ballots have been returned for draft standard Z39.69 (Patron Data Elements). The draft received three negative votes, which, it is hoped, will be resolved by late September 1992. Draft standard Z39.70 (Circulation Transfer) is now out for comment and is targeted for completion in January 1993.
Finally, it was reported that Dynix and Data Trek have demonstrated their ability to scan SISAC labels on periodicals.
