My current impression of OCLC/WorldCat Service Grid is still far to abstract – instead of creating a framework, we (libraries and library associations) should agree upon some open protocols and (metadata) formats. To start with, here is a list of relevant, existing open standard APIs from my point of view:
Search: SRU/SRW (including CQL), OpenSearch, Z39.50
Harvest/Syndicate: OAI-PMH, RSS, Atom Syndication (also with ATOM Extensions)
Copy/Provide: unAPI, COinS, Microformats (not a real API but a way to provide data)
Upload/Edit: SRU Update, Atom Publishing Protocol
Identity Management: Shibboleth (and other SAML-based protocols), OpenID (see also OSIS)
For more complex applications, additional (REST)-APIs and common metadata standards need to be found (or defined) – but only if the application is just another kind of search, harvest/syndicate, copy/provide, upload/edit, or Identity Management.
P.S: I forgot NCIP, a “standard for the exchange of circulation data”. Frankly I don’t fully understand the meaning and importance of “circulation data” and the standard looks more complex then needed. More on APIs for libraries can be found in WorldCat Developer Network, in the Jangle project and a DLF Working group on digital library APIs. For staying in the limited world if libraries, this may suffice, but on the web simplicity and availability of implementations matters – that’s why I am working on the SeeAlso linkserver protocol and now at a simple API to query availaibility information (more in August/September 2008).
P.P.S: A more detailed list of concrete library-related APIs was published by Roy Tennant based on a list by Owen Stephens.
P.P.S: And another list by Stephen Abram (SirsiDynix) from September 1st, 2009
