Internet Data Library System (IDLS) to Deliver Bilingual Data Access
Vince Gray and Elizabeth Hill
IDLS (the Internet Data Library System) has become synonymous with data services at Western. IDLS is a locally developed system which was designed, programmed, and populated with data within Social Science Network and Data Services (SSNDS). The Data Resources Library is Western’s facility for accessing data, and is responsible for populating IDLS and managing it. The usefulness of this web-based data delivery engine has been recognized outside of Western by its use at many other universities across Canada. Recently an announcement was made regarding exciting changes to IDLS that will transform IDLS into a fully-bilingual data system, through a partnership with Quebec universities. The press release reads as follows:
SSNDS is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership agreement with the Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities’ (CREPUQ) Library Subcommittee. IDLS, originally developed by SSNDS, will be redesigned to provide access to Canadian data in English and French.
The parties have agreed to partner together to expand the current IDLS to provide the same level of information in both French and English on files released through Statistics Canada’s Data Liberation Initiative (DLI). This goal will be realized by merging metadata from SHERLOCK (CREPUQ’s bilingual data delivery system) into IDLS. The metadata transferred from SHERLOCK into IDLS will be enhanced to provide equivalent functionality for French and English users of the revised data delivery system. This will allow the partners to develop higher quality services for the students, professors and researchers of the universities and colleges across Canada which currently use either IDLS or SHERLOCK.
One component of the enhanced services provided by the new system will be an improved interface to IDLS, delivering access to French and English metadata. A second component will be the development of an enhanced browsing interface tool to aggregated data, providing a complementary bilingual web-based search tool.
Twenty-five Canadian universities and colleges currently use IDLS to deliver at least some DLI data, while thirteen Quebec University libraries are members of SHERLOCK. By agreeing to this partnership, both parties aim to provide the best quality service to their data users. The parties will combine their strengths and expertise and take proactive measures to give bilingual access to the complete DLI collection. Compliance with new metadata standards is a concern that both partners share and a goal in the development of new services.
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