Technical Services at CDLC

LiNX uses Index Data’s MasterKey™ information delivery platform to search the holdings of CDLC member libraries and library systems.

Some important points when using LiNX

• When viewing search results, click on the icon for your item to see holding library catalogs.
• When clicking into a member library catalog, there are times when you will need to repeat your search.  (This is due to Z39.50 limitations.)
• CDLC’s Partial Union Catalog (PUC) results do not include circulation information.
• Please continue to use your current ILL protocols for all interlibrary loans.

Comments or questions about LiNX? Contact Kari Kakeh at CDLC.

CaDiLaC Online 2.0: A brief timeline of CaDiLaC – the union catalog of the Capital District Library Council

The “Old” Technology

• CaDiLaC started as a union catalog on CD-ROM in 1990
• CDLC’s Union List of Serials added in 1991
• By 1994, dial-in-access to CaDiLaC was available
• CD-ROM and dial-in-access availability continued through 8 versions until 1998

CaDiLaC Goes Online

• CDLC investigated how to offer CaDiLaC online in the late 1990s
• URSA software was purchased from SirsiDynix
• Z39.50 protocols were used to maintain virtual connections to participating library catalogs
• Use of this product continued until 2009

A Replacement is Needed

• Functionality of the software decreased and expense increased
• CDLC’s Regional Automation Committee appointed a subcommittee - the Think Tank - to investigate options for new software
• Finding replacement software wasn’t as easy as expected
• A variety of products were explored: some couldn’t do what was needed, some were too expensive
• Should we write our own software?
• CDLC was contacted by Index Data (a Danish company with U.S. offices in Connecticut, that specializes in search and retrieval software for libraries) with a proposal to work with them directly on a hosted solution using a product called MasterKey
• After investigating, we determined that we found a product that did what we wanted at a price we could afford
• CDLC’s contract with SirsiDynix for URSA software ended December 31, 2009
• CaDiLaC was turned off while we worked with Index Data to get the new product running

CaDiLaC Online 2.0

• On March 15, 2010, CDLC unveiled the new CaDiLaC Online 2.0!!
• CaDiLaC Online 2.0 uses MasterKey software, hosted at Index Data (the same software that a lot of ILS vendors use behind the scenes for searching)
• MasterKey is based on Pazpar 2 - a web-based Z39.50 search
• CaDiLaC Online 2.0 searches a lot of targets in parallel and provides merging, relevance ranking, record sorting and faceted results
• CDLC’s IT consultant worked to set up profiles for 25 CDLC member library catalogs
• MasterKey allows these 25 catalogs to be searched simultaneously using the Z39.50 search
• The 25 catalogs that are searched include more than 425 academic, public, school, hospital and special libraries, plus the NYS library
• CaDiLaC Online 2.0 is really fast – it starts returning results right away!
• CaDiLaC Online 2.0 offers faceted searching which we did not have with the old software and you can search by keyword, title, author, or subject

Introducing LiNX

• On January 10, 2023, LiNX was released into the wild! 
• The search component of LiNX is still what was formerly called CaDiLaC and a MasterKey software hosted at Index Data
• The eForm was been integrated into it and the whole platform was built on the Drupal platform and modeled after Southeastern's SEAL product.