MAI: MetaOPAC Azalai Italiano

MetaOPAC Azalai Italiano (MAI) is a virtual union catalogue of Italian libraries developed through co‐operation between the Italian Library Association and the Consorzio Interuniversitario Lombardo per l'Elaborazione Automatica. This paper presents the components of MetaOPAC Azalai Italiano and the organisational, management, planning and implementation tools developed by the team since 1999. MAI provides access to Italian OPACs, offering a directory and metasearch functionality. The search engine, Azalai, performs metasearching. The architecture of the system, the search engine and converter, is based on a database of Italian OPACs. Three different interfaces, designed for specific types of users, provide access to the system. Members of the MAI Editorial Board are responsible for keeping the database updated and this automatically generates the Directory of Italian Online Catalogues. MAI is divided into five distinct sections, integrated with a range of tools and services intended for different categories of user.