COMMON COMMUNICATION FORMAT (CCF)

1
COMMON COMMUNICATION FORMAT (CCF)
2
Dr.S. Surdarshan Rao

Professor Dept. of Library Information
Science Osmania University Hyderbad-500
007. E-mail rao_ss2000_at_yahoo.co.in
3
Introduction

• Standards to facilitate information exchange
  has always been a subject of concern.
• To provide a flexible exchange format that could
  be used for converting data from libraries and
  information services of all types, UNESCO
  developed the Common Communication Format (CCF).
  The main aim of this format was to produce a
  method of organising bibliographic descriptions
  which could be exchanged between institutions.
  This format was to act as a link between the
  databases produced in different internal formats
  of libraries.

4
Background to CCF

• In April 1978 the UNESCO General Information
  Programme (UNESCO/PGI) sponsored an International
  Symposium on Bibliographic Exchange Formats.
• Organised by the
• UNISIST International Centre for Bibliographic
  Descriptions (UNIBID)
• International Council of Scientific Unions
  Abstracting Board (ICSU-AB)
• International Federation of Library Associations
  and Institutions (IFLA)
• International Organisation for Standardization
  (ISO) This was convened to study the desirability
  and feasibility of establishing maximum
  caompatibility between existing bibliographic
  exchange formats.

5

• The UNESCO/PGI formed the Adhoc Group which
  included experts, on the Establishment of a
  Common Communication Format, that would be useful
  both to libraries and other information services.
  The Ad-hoc Group worked based on the following
  principles.
• The structure of the new format would conform to
  the international standard ISO 2709.
• The core record would consist of a small number
  of mandatory data elements essential to
  bibliographic description, identified in a
  standard manner.
• The core record would be augmented by additional
  optional data elements, identified in a standard
  manner. (It was decided subsequently that to keep
  the format simple, the extension of these should
  be discouraged where there was an existing field
  which would serve, particularly in areas like
  notes).
• A standard technique would be devised for
  accommodating levels, relationships, and links
  between bibliographic entities.

6

• A technique was developed to show relationships
  between bibliographic records, and between
  elements within bibliographic records. The
  concept of the record segment was developed and
  refined, and a method for designating
  relationships between records, segments, and
  fields was accepted by the group.
• The first edition of CCF (Common Communication
  Format) was published in 1984. At the same time,
  a new manual was published to include those data
  elements for recording factual information which
  are most often used for referral purpose. The
  result was the division of the CCF format
  documentation into two volumes CCF/B for
  Bibliographic information, and CCF/F for Factual
  information.

7
Purpose of the CCF

• To permit the exchange of bibliographic records
  between groups of libraries and abstracting and
  indexing services.
• To permit a bibliographic agency to use a single
  set of computer programs to manipulate
  bibliographic records received from both
  libraries and abstracting and indexing services.
• To serve as the basis of a format for an agencys
  own bibliographic database, by providing a list
  of useful data elements. To assist the
  development of individual systems, other UNESCO
  documentation will provide implementation notes
  for the CCF, and a guide for AACR2 cataloguers
  who use the CCF.

8
CCF Record Structure

• The record structure of the Common Communication
  Format constitutes a specific implementation of
  the international standard ISO 2709. Each CCF
  record consists of four major parts.
• Record label
• Directory
• Datafields
• Record separator

9
Directory

• The directory is a table containing a variable
  number of fourteen-character entries, the table
  is terminated by a field separator character.
  Each directory entry corresponds to an occurrence
  of a datafield in the record, and is divided into
  five parts.
• Tag
• Length of datafield
• Starting character position
• Segment identifier
• Occurrence identifier

10
A single directory entry is organised as follows
Tag Length of Datafield Starting character position Segment Identifier Occurrence Identifier
3 char 4 char 5 char 1 char 1 char
An example of a directory entry 30000330028910
11
Datafields A datafield consists of

• Indicators
• One or more subfields each of which is
• preceded by a subfield identifier
• A datafield separator

12
A datafield which has two subfields will be
organized as follows
Indicators First Subfield Identifier First Subfield Second Subfield Identifier Second Subfield Field Separator
2 char 2 char Variable 2 char Variable 1 char
An example of a single datafield 11_at_A
Stephenson_at_BM.S._at_D1953-_at_E673
13
The tag for this datafield, which is 300, appears
in the entry which represents this field in the
directory, not in the datafield itself. The first
character appearing in the field, 1 is the
indicator which means that this person has
primary responsibility for the contents of the
item described in this segment of the record. The
second digit, 1 indicates that the form of the
name which appears here comes from the authority
file of the agency creating the record. The form
of the name on the item may be different from the
form given here. Subfield A pre-ceded by its
subfield identifier _at_ A, provides a significant
element of the contents of this datafield will be
ordered in a sequential index. This is the data
element by which the contents of this datafield
will be ordered in a sequential index. Subfield E
given a three digits code, 673 taken from a list
of codes shown in section 4.8 of the CCF. This
code indicates that the person identified in this
datafield is the person who directed the research
reported in the work. The datafield is terminated
by a unique character, the field separator, which
for convenience is shown here as .
14
Record separator

• The record separator (character 1/13 of ISO 646)
  is the final character of the record. It follows
  the field separator of the final datafield of the
  record.

CCF Tag Codes

• The CCF provides a standard format of tag coeds
  for codification of all the bibliographic data
  elements in a database. Ideally this format
  should be independent of any specific catalog
  code. CCF provides codes for the bibliographic
  data elements that occur in all the catalog codes.

15
Segments, Links and Levels

• The CCF has a mechanism to take care of record
  linking. It can link records at separate
  bibliographic levels which when added together
  constitute the record of a bibliographic item, or
  it can link records with different kinds of
  relationships, such as a serial title to its
  former title and vice versa, or a work to its
  translations.
• The CCF permits a single bibliographic record to
  contain descriptions of more than one item. The
  identification or description of each item
  occupies a single record segment. The item for
  which the record was primarily created is known
  as the target item, it occupies the primary
  segment.
• Other bibliographic entities identified or
  described in the same record occupy secondary
  segments. The relationships among the items
  described or identified are shown through segment
  links.

16
Conclusion

• If two or more organizations wish to exchange
  records with one another, it will be necessary
  for each of these organizations to agree upon a
  common standard format for exchange purposes.
  Each must be able to convert to an
  exchange-format record from an internal-format
  record, and vice versa.
• Exchange formats are clearly needed for the this
  purpose. The CCF would indeed be an effective
  bridge between the library community and the
  information community and has certainly gained
  popularity as a format on which the database of
  library systems and services can be developed.
• CCF is at present the format for exchange of
  bibliographic data which is most applicable for
  libraries and information centres. This format is
  designed based on the ISO-2709 standard to
  achieve compatibility between the different
  record structures of the formats.

17
THANKS