Annals of Library Science and Documentation 1987, 34(1), 1-11

ROLE OF COMMERCIAL DATA BASES IN INFORMATIONRETRIEVAL SYSTEMS - A CASE STUDY WITH CA SEARCHDATA BASE USING CAN/SDI PACKAGE

Generation of a data base at institutionallevel is suggested and discussed where thesize of the data is small and specific, andinformation needs are specific.

INTRODUCTION

This paper aims at discussing various aspectsof commercial data bases being used in librariesand information centres for information retrie-val services. The sources of these data bases andthe tape services offered by multinationalor national information systems have beendealt with. The various aspects of computer,such as, hardware and associated softwareand processing these data bases either off-line or on-line, have been described. In thebatch mode process, the various operationalaspects of SDI service rendered from INSDOCRegional Centre, Madras, from ChemicalAbstracts tapes have been explained withflow chart.

The need for the creation of data baseat institutional level such as, ENVIS (Environ-mental Information System), Madras Centre,where the size of the data is small and in-

formation needs are specific, has been empha-sized.

COMMERCIAL DATABASES, GROWTH

\

For the purpose of information storage. andretrieval, a data base means a bibliographicdata base in machine readable form usuallyavailable in tapes. The data contains biblio-graphical details (citations/abstracts or evenfull text of documents). The data stored insuch data bases are identical to the hardcopy version of various abstracting and index-ing services.

The growth rate of these commercialdata bases can be understood from the factthat DIOLOG II in USA offers now six full

Vol 34 No 1 March 1987

S KASIVISW ANADHAMINSDOC, Regional CentreCSIR ComplexTaramaniMadras-600113

text data bases, such as, Drug InformationFull Text, and Harvard Business Review.It offers more than 50,000 password holdersaccess to more than 200 data bases contain-ing 100 million records on-line and availablein over 80 countries. The citations are culledfrom more than 60,000 journals. Currentlyan estimated 2500 data bases are available.

Commercial Data Bases: Information Systems

The importance of commercial data bases inthe computer-based information systems hasbeen realised by major libraries/informationcentres. As a consequence, multinationalinformation systems and national informationsystems have come into existence with thesupport of agencies like IAEA, UNESCO,WIPO, and UNIDO. These national and inter-national information systems are mainlydiscipline-oriented, for example, INIS, AGRIS,and ISDS.

Information systems are also formed bygroups of countries. Examples of such systemsare: Space Documentation Centre (SDC)of European Space Agency (ESA). EuropeanNuclear Documentation Service (ENDS) ofEuropean Atomic Energy Community (EURA-TOM).

Network information systems have comeinto existence making on-line access to remotedata bases (i.e. data bases situated very farfrom the searcher/user of the system) feasiblewith the help of data communication net-works.

The services from the data base tapescan be had either from the data base producersor vendors. However, services from data bases,such as, NTIS can be obtained only fromvendors. Hence, service from vendors, suchas, SDC (USA) is essential with referenceto specific data bases.

1

KASIVISWANADHAM

Commercial Data Bases: Sources

The sources for commercial data bases are.

a. Information networks - multinational ornational

b. Commercial Agenciesc. Others

The data bases produced by multinationalor national information networks can not bepurchased, leased or hired.

The only way of availing the tape servicefrom these data bases is to actively parti-cipate in- the network system. Examples ofthese data bases are: 1) AGRIS 2) INIS and3) MEDLARS.

Commercial Data Bases and Hardware Require-ments

Commercial data bases can be processed withany main frame computer system such as,IBM 360/370. The hardware requirementsmay be 2 to 3 tape drives and one disk drivewith on-line printer/terminal. The systemshould possess direct access devices such as,a) Magnetic Drum, b) Magnetic Card, c) FixedDisk Store and d) Exchangeable Disk Store.The feasibility of processing the commercialdata bases with the mini and microprocessorbased computers may have to be studied.The experience of the Department of LibraryScience, Brigham University, for on-linesearch may be taken into consideration.According to Rajagopalan, "locally mademicroprocessor systems would practically solvethe hardware requirements. There are atleast 20 or more well-established vendorsin the country at present. Some of the brandsare already tried and tested for library appli-cations. It is also claimed that they are com-patible with the IBM-PC Series and the systemmay need Rs. 3 to 4lakhs for installation". [9] .

Commercial Data Bases and Software

The operational aspects of any computer-based information system are mainly depen-dent on the availability of the existing soft-ware. The development of software is verycostly and time consuming and efforts mustbe made to utilise the existing packages.

Generally the associated software is availa-

2

ble with the data base producers or vendors.The package has to be slightly modified de-pending on the computer system for installa-tion. The package also needs modificationwhen the formats of the tapes are changed.For example, the reformating programme ofthe CA Condensates tapes of CAN/SDI packageinstalled at the Computer Centre, lIT, Madras,has been modified for converting C.A. Searchdata base into NRC MARC II format.

In the context of an institution providinginformation retrieval service with a singledata base to limited users and having theavailability of computer facility, it may beadvisable to develop its own software. But,for national or international services, it iseconomical to use the software which dealswith an environment suitable for multipledata bases such as, CAN/SD!. TEXTPAC,VEERA II, GETEL, ISIS, and STAIRS. Withthe promotional efforts of UNESCO, CDS/ISIS microversion and IV + V are .becomingavailable now almost free of cost. MINISISpackage can be run of HP 3000 System.

Commercial Data Bases: Processing

Offline processing

These commercial data bases can be pro-cessed either off-line or on-line. In batchprocess, the user has to wait for his answerand the response time may be in the orderof hours and days. Many organisations de-veloped off-line information systems fortheir use and some organisations such asCISTI, Canada have developed software packa-ges such ras CAN/SDI. In India, the 'IndianInstitute of Science, Bangalore, offers off-line SDI service from INSPEC and BIOSIS.

The Indian National Scientific Documen-tation Centre (INSDOC), Madras RegionalCentre, is providing SDI Service from ChemicalAbstracts Search tapes using the IBM 370/155 computer located at lIT, Madras.

Operational details (Case Study)

As part of Current Awareness Service, Select-. ive Dissemination of Information (SDI), fromChemical Abstracts Search Data Base tapesis being rendered from the INSDOC RegionalCentre, CSIR Complex, Madras. The workflow of this batch mode operation is illus-

Ann Lib Sci Doc

COMMERCIAL DATABASES

trated in the Flow Chart (Fig.l). Provisionhas also been made for generating the database. The system uses CAN/SDI packageand the computer jobs are run at the ComputerCentre of lIT, Madras, on IBM 370/155.The system requires a core memory of 512k(Indian subset 386k) bytes. It can run underOS/MFT /MVT or OS/VS, OS/TS~ compilers

'on IBM 360/370 computer systems. Theperipheral configuration for the packageis minimum three tape drives for 800/1600bpi,a disc drive, a card-reader punch, and anon-line printer.

The entire operation is in five phases.

i) Profile generating/updating

ii) Data base conversion

iii) Searching data base with user profiles

iv) Sorting the searched answers

v) Supplying computer list of referencesat regular intervals.

Profiling

This has been represented in the first phaseof the Flow Chart. The user profile is a listof terms representing the user's interest inthe language of the data base and a statementof the logical conditions required for a match.In a computer search, anything that is machinereadable can be considered as a profile termand it consists of a word or a word fragmentfrom a title or abstract, keyword, subjectindex term, journal coden, authors' names,parts of the bibliography, and so on. Thetask of the profile construction is to choosethose terms most likely to appear in therecords ofthe data base. [3]

Construction of a profile is more a tech-nique than an arrangement of keywords verti-cally and horizontally. It depends not onlyon the knowledge of the data base but alsoon the ability to define the subject matterin terms of the contents of the data base.

Profiling requires the following opera-tions..

a. Analysing the topics.b. Gathering "profile terms

Vol 34 No 1 March1987

c. Drawing concept mapsd. Coding profile termse. Formulating search expressionsf. Punching - preparation of profile decksg. Compilation of profiles.

The compiled profile programme createsthe user profile master file on a magnetictape. This as well as the data base tapes areinput to the search operation. (Sample profilelisting - Fig 4)

Data Base Conversion

This' has been dealt with in the 2nd phaseof the Flow Chart. INSDOC Regional Centre,Madras, provides SDI service from the commer-cially obtained Chemical Abstracts SearchTapes.

CAN Search is a weekly computer readableservice which is obtained from the AmericanChemical Society, Ohio. It provides referencesto chemistry and chemical engineering relateddocuments abstracted in Chemical Abstractsand includes the control, bibliographic, andindex data segments for all documents inall 80 sections. The odd numbered issuescontain references on biochemistry and organicchemistry. The even numbered issues coveranalytical, physical, macromolecular, and app- .lied chemistry and chemical engineering.Over 15,000 journals, patents issued by 26countries, new books, conference proceed-ings, and government reports are regularlymonitored.

The tape format is in a variable lengthblocked form. The maximum record lengthis 3516 bytes, the maximum block size is3520 bytes. Tapes are 9 track unlabelled.The CA Search tape is in SDF (StandardDistribution Format).

. The conversion programme has beenwritten in PL/I language. The programmefirst reads the 'SDF record and checks the

. copyright. The programme calls the externalroutine USASCII to translate ASCII charac-ters into EBCIDIC. The programme checks(CAN) citation abstracts number unlike (TAN)temporary abstracts number in C.A. Conden-sate tapes. The conversion programme forreformating CAC has been modified in orderto reformat CA Search.

The controlling data element in the C.A.Condensate data base and C.A. Search DataBase are different.

3

Compileprofiles

4

KASIVISW ANADHAM

NO

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Fig. 1

Ann Lib Sci Doc

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COMMERCIAL DATABASES

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Vol 34 No 1 March 1987

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KASIVISWANADHAM

The Record format for INSPEC file is based on the USAand British Standards for communication of bibliographic in-formation which in turn are based on the Library of congressMARC Fonnat.

Data Elements:

Sl.No.

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6

Name of the data element

Control No.Reco rd '!YpeTitIe of RecordSubject Index HeadingsFree Indexing TennsTreatment CodesTitle of Corresponding

Higher Level PublicationLanguageTitle of ConferenceAuthorsEditorsTranslatorsAbstract No.CodenStandard Book No.ReportPatentVol. & IssueLocation of ConferencePlace of PublicationCountry of PatentPages of level 1 Type

RecordPages of level 2 Type

RecordInclusive PageDescription of non

Conventional MediaAuthor AfficationEditor AffilicationPublisherOrganization Issuing

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Date of Publication

Fig. 3

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Ann Lib Sci Doc

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Vol 34 No 1 March 1987

COMMERCIAL DATABASES

??-C)?ILE LISTING

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7

KASIVISWANADHAM

Searching

The third phase in the Flow Chart explainsthe search procedure. The users' queries inthe form of search expressions search thedata base and these search results are storedon to a magnetic tape. The search logic hasbeen obtained through Boolean logic "AND"(+), "OR" (f), and "AND NOT" (-) symbols.

The converted data base tape and theprofile tape are being used as input to thesearch programme.

The search programme reads the compiledprofiles and matches them against the recordson the NRC MARC data set. The programmeis very sensitive to the format of the compiledprofile data set and the format of the NRCMARC data set. The programme is coded inOS 360/F level assembler language for effi-cient operation.

The search will be made from all theaccess points in the data record, namely,author, title, classification code, type of :the document, language, corporate author,coden, etc. The searched answer tape is inputfor sorting the searched answers.

Sort

The search programme givesall the hits on ·afilecalled SDI ANS.This file is sorted by passing·on the required parameters to the IBM utilityprogramme called SORT available in all OS.

Print

The print programme does the last job of"01 system, i.e., printing on hard copy. Itputs each record in a predetermined formatand the printout is in double punched cardformat. Each record is printed on both sidesof the hard copy, i.e. left side and right side.The left side part is for users and the rightside for feedback which consists one extra-feed back questionnaire line "Is the citationuseful" with options YES/NO/CANNOT TELLcomment. Each reference is consecutivelynumbered. (Sample printout - Fig.5).

Advantages of the System

I. It minimises the time spent in locat-ing and scanning the current literature,

ii. It extends coverage to publicationsnot readily available,

iii. It produces highly personalised bib-liographies needed by individual wor-ker;

iv. It permits the expansion and narrowingof literature requirements, if any,

v. User can built his own personalisedinformation file of references forcurrent and future use;

vi. User is having literature from a rangeof access points like key words, titlewords, author's organisations and classi-fication code.

Commercial Data Bases and on-line Process-tng

There are different types of on-line systems:

i. On-line enquiry systems

ii. On-line updating systems

iii. On-line time sharing systems and

iv. On-line interactive systems.

The user may have access to files fromdirect access devices, such as, magnetic diskand may obtain instantaneous response tohis query.

In this system, access to remote data bases,i.e. data base situated very far from the sear-cher /user, is feasible because of suitablecommunication links between the terminal(used for searching) and the data bases beingavailable. In fact, data communication net-works such as, Tymnet and Telenet connect-ing various data bases and user terminals inUSA and UK and some other countries havealready been setup and are in use.

In Indian context, this can be performedby INDONET of Computer MaintenanceCorporation and NICNET of the NationalInformatics Centre.

On-line Search - Indian Scene

In India, a project is in progress in NationalAeronautical Laboratory (NAL), Bangalore

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Vol 34 No 1 March 1987

COMMERCIAL DATABASESINDIAN INstiTUTE 0' 1ln,.otOLOGY. MA.DRAS

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9

KASIVISWANADHAM

to set-up high-speed terminals known asMIKROTEL package with effective supportof scientific user organisations in Bangalorelike Defence Research and DevelopmentOrganisation, CSIR, and UNESCO experi-mentally for 6 months envisaging the estab-lishment of a 2400bps post and telegraphmicrowave link from Bangalore to Bombayand of an Overseas Communication Serviceand ITALCABLE satellite link throughINTELSAT from Bombay to Frasacati, Rome.DESIDOC (Defence Scientific DocumentationCentre) has now a hookup with DIALOGcosting about $70 per query.

COMMERCIAL DATA BASE(S) Vs DATABASE GENERATION

The role of commercial data bases for in-formation retrieval services is significant.But, generation of data base has becomenecessary in a library /information centre wherethe size of the data is small and specific, andthe information needs of their users are speci-fic in well defined areas. Environmental Infor-mation System, Madras Centre, can be citedas an example here. The centre is one of thefirst nine centres (later one more centre wasadded) selected by the Govt. of India, Depart-ment of Environment, for information re-trieval services in the areas of: 1) Ecotoxi-cology, 2) Biodegradation of Wastes, 3) En-vironmental Impact Assessment, and 4) En-vironmental Systems Analysis. The centreis part of the (Centre for EnvironmentalStudies), Anna University, Madras. The centrecreates awareness and provides informationservices in the said areas.

To disseminate information in the afore-said areas the Centre brings out a half yearlypublication entitled Environmental Abstracts,and an annual publication entitled Environ-mental Data Base Survey which includesbibliographical details of primary sourcesavailable in its own collection as well as 12other major libraries of Madras city and fromits own collection in the above mentionedareas. It is also having a good report collec-tion.

As part of current awareness service, thecentre also brings out a publication entitledCurrent Literature Listing.

The Centre proposes to computerisetheir information system since the Centre

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is having access to an IBM 360 and a primecomputer situated in Anna University, Madras.The access to a terminal is also feasible.

The important element in the proposedinformation retrieval system is to generateits own data base according to a standardformat such as, MARC II. However, the formatproposed by the International StandardsOrganisation is suited not only for biblio-graphic exchange but can also be used fordata bases oriented to content-oriented searchtechniques (ISO 2709-1973). (Fig.2). Thevarious data elements in a record are shownin Fig. 3.

The next important element in the pro-posed computer system would be the soft-ware in terms of the computer in use.

In this regard, it is worth consideringthe experiences of the Department of LibraryScience, Brigham University, for the proposedsystem.

According to Stirling, "A programme,Dialtwig, written in IBM PASCAL and operat-ing on IBM pp, is used for many features ofthe DIALOG system. Structured search assign-ments are given to the students. These assign-ments are performed on an information sciencedata base obtained from the School of LibraryScience (Berkeley) and on a Data-base (SLIS)reporting students research reports. In addi-tion, other data bases are being created locallyor down loaded from ERIC.

It also states that information storageand retrieval service can be rendered throughIBM PC microcomputers. It states that ori-ginally 64k memory IBM PC be purchasedwith an expansion board. An additional 192kof memory can be added. It can have one diskdrive 10 megabytes and two or three floppydrives. Special programming techniques, usual-ly at the assembly language level, do permitefficient utilization of memory of 64k"[8].

if the proposed system uses an IBM 360,software packages such as, CAN/SDI andTEXTPAC can be used for processing thedata base generated at the institution level.But the format of the data base should bein accordance with the package such as, NRCMARC II Or Textpac format as the case maybe. In case of a prime computer, the packagehas to be altered or software has to be de-veloped.

It is ideal for this Centre to have a micro-computer compatible to IBM PC. If it can

Ann Lib Sci Doc

COMMERCIAL DATABASES

process the computer jobs through micro-computer, the software for information storageand retrieval service can be obtained fromthe manufacturers of the system or has tobe developed.

CONCLUSION

The importance of commercial data bases incomputer-based information retrieval systemsfor information retrieval services either fromcommercial data bases of from data basesgenerated at institutional level are preferredin view of world-wide information explosion,degree of specialisation in research and heavyincrease in the price of the hard copy versionsof the commercial data bases.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author thanks Shri T.S. Rajagopalan,Scientist-in-Charge, INSDOC, New Delhi, forhis permission to present the paper. Theauthor also acknowledges with thanks theHead, ENVIS, Madras, for his approval forincorporating his Centre's information disse-mination activities. The author also acknow-ledges with thanks Prof. H.N. Mahabala,Computer Centre, lIT, Madras, Dr. M. Ramai-ah, Director, SERC, CSIR, Madras, and ShriP. Venkatesan, Central Library, lIT, Madras,for their comments.

REFERENCES:

1. Kasiviswanadham S: Role of standardizationin computerised SDI. Doc. S4/D1 (Paper pre-sented at Sixteenth ISI Convention, Bhopal,1973).

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2. Kasiviswanadham S: Automation in librariesand information retrieval units (Paper presentedat the National Seminar on "Automation inLibraries" at Rani Durgavati VishwavidyalayaLibrary, J abalpur, July 1985).

3. Kasiviswanadham Sand Raizada AS: Chern.SDI Profiling. Annals of Library Science 1976,23(3),

4. Satyanarayana R:Computer based informationsystems and services (Paper submitted for UNES-CO Training Course in Information Handling -Sept. 10-22, 1979, INSDOC, New Delhi) .•

5. Dadd Sue A: Building an on-line bibliographic/MARC resource data base. Journal of LibraryAutomation 1979, 12(1),

6. Christofferson: Automation at University ofGeorgia Library. Journal of Documentation1979,12(1),

7. Kamath V A: Global Information Systems(Paper submitted for UNESCO Training Coursein Information Handling - Sept. 10-22, 1979,INSDOC, New Delhi).

8. Stirling Keith H: A Microbased emulator foron-line search. Drexel Library Quarterly 1984,20(4),.

9. Rajagopalan T S: Computer applications inlibrary work (Paper presented at the Seminaron 'Library Automation', The Madras LibraryAssociation, Madras, June 19-20, 1985).

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