The Z39.50 Server and Authority Records

Z39.50 searches do not return authority records. Therefore, searches of Innovative databases that contain authority records produce different results than the same searches done using Innovative's native OPAC.

Innovative native searches report the number of entries retrieved. Included in this number are entries for cross references – both "See" and "See Also" references. Innovative's Z39.50 server attempts to filter out these references, reporting a different number of entries or records retrieved than the OPAC reports.

The Z39.50 server cannot filter out all of these references when it reports the number of entries retrieved, because it might be necessary to physically examine the individual records to determine whether they are references or bibliographic records. This situation is more likely to occur when large numbers of entries are retrieved. Thus, a request from a Z39.50 client for entries 1021-1028 out of a set of 1030 entries might not produce the expected eight bibliographic records.