One of the challenges of our current environment is that there are still activities (and standards) associated with our traditional role in managing physical resources, in addition to those associated with our newer, sexier digital activities. The standard addressed in this post, ISO 11800, Book binding materials and methods, up for systematic review, is one of those that hark back to simpler times, but still retains importance to us as librarians. According to the announcement Cindy forwarded, “This International Standard addresses publishers and book manufacturers. It also addresses acquisition librarians and archivists with a view to informing library and archival staff about the good physical properties they should expect in the books they acquire for public use.” As is generally the case with ISO reviews, ALA members willing to review this document should apply to Cindy directly at HSLcindy@buffalo.edu for an electronic copy of the standard (I’d appreciate it if…
Category: Standards Watch
ISO 11799:2003, Document storage requirements for archive and library materials
My previous Standards Watch posting was for a standard of somewhat limited interest, but this next one is far more generally applicable to our work. It would be great to see some review of this standard by ALA members (particularly LITA members) with some interest in this area. As usual, this call was forwarded to us by Cindy Hepfer, who is the ALA Voting representative to NISO. Cindy notes in her message that this is looking like a particularly active period of time for NISO, and as a member of NISO’s Content and Collection Management Topic Committee, I can confirm that this is indeed the case and we’ll be seeing lots more review requests in the coming months. This call is for ISO 11799:2003, Document storage requirements for archive and library materials, undergoing a systematic review. Our vote options are Confirm (as is), Revise/Amend, Withdraw (the standard), or Abstain (from…
Arabic language experts please note!
Cindy Hepfer, ALA Voting representative to NISO has notified us that there is a systematic review ballot of ISO 233-2:1993, Arabic simplified transliteration, going on at this time. The formal name of the published standard is ISO 233-2:1993, Information and documentation – Transliteration of Arabic characters into Latin characters – Part 2: Arabic language – Simplified transliteration. According to the Scope statement in the standard: “This part of IS0 233 establishes a simplified system for the transliteration of Arabic characters into Latin characters. This simplification of the stringent rules established by IS0 233:1984 is especially intended to facilitate the processing of bibliographic information (e.g. catalogues, indices, citations, etc.).” As is usually the case with these ballots, ALA is not voting on the standard itself but rather is providing feedback to NISO as to whether to approve or disapprove the standard. Our vote options are Confirm (as is), Revise/Amend, Withdraw (the…
ISBN Systematic Review
More standards news from Cindy Hepfer, ALA Representative to NISO (HSLcindy@buffalo.edu): A systematic review ballot of the published standard, ISO 2108:2005, Information and documentation — International Standard Book Number (ISBN), has been presented to TC46 Ballot Advisory Group. This is an opportunity for ALA to provide feedback on the 13-digit ISBN. ALA’s vote options are Confirm (as is), Revise/Amend, Withdraw, or Abstain (from the vote). Comments are required for all votes other than Confirm. The final deadline for Cindy to vote is Friday, Aug. 29, 2008, and she asks that responses be sent to her at least one week in advanced of this final deadline. Cindy reminds us that ALA is a voting member of NISO, and NISO is the official U.S. voting member for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 46 on Information and Documentation. Please understand that this is not a NISO standard, but is being…
New Standard: WARC (Web ARCive) file format
LITA has received news of new standards activity of interest from Cindy Hepfer, ALA Representative to NISO (HSLcindy@buffalo.edu) “A new ballot has been presented to TC46 Ballot Advisory Group: ‘ISO/DIS 28500, WARC file format’. This is a new standard at the Draft International Standard (DIS) stage, and this may be the last chance to provide substantive comments to this standard. If all member bodies vote Yes, this standard can proceed directly to publication.” NISO’s Summary: The WARC (Web ARChive) file format offers a convention for concatenating multiple resource records (data objects), each consisting of a set of simple text headers and an arbitrary data block into one long file. The WARC format is an extension of the ARC File Format [ARC] that has traditionally been used to store “web crawls” as sequences of content blocks harvested from the World Wide Web. The WARC format is expected to be a standard…
ISBN Systematic Review Is Here!
Those interested in identifier issues should take note of this updated info from Cindy Hepfer, ALA Representative to NISO (HSLcindy@buffalo.edu). “A new ballot has been presented to TC46 Ballot Advisory Group: ‘ISO 2108:2005 (ISBN) Systematic Review’. This is a systematic review ballot of the published standard, ISO 2108:2005, Information and documentation — International Standard Book Number (ISBN). ISO now requires the first systematic review of a standard to take place three years after publication; subsequent reviews will be every five years. This is an opportunity for ALA members to provide feedback on the 13-digit ISBN. ALA’s vote options are Confirm (as is), Revise/Amend, Withdraw, or Abstain (from the vote). Comments are required for all votes other than Confirm.” The final deadline for Cindy to vote is Friday, Aug. 29, 2008, and she asks that reviewers respond to her at least one week in advance of this final deadline (Aug. 22…
Records Management Processes for Metadata: part 2
Cindy Hepfer, ALA Representative to NISO has informed us that the following ISO Committee Draft of an International Standard has been issued for ballot: ISO/DIS 23081-2, Information and documentation — Records management processes for Metadata — Part 2: Conceptual and implementation issues Cindy needs responses for this standard by Friday, May 30. NISO Summary: This Technical Specification is part of the ISO 23081 series on metadata for records. It focuses on the framework for defining metadata elements for managing records and provides a generic statement of metadata elements, whether these are physical, analogue or digital, consistent with the principles of ISO 23081-1:2006. [Note: Cindy points out that ISO 23081-1:2006 can be purchased from the order area of the ISO website: Part 1 can be purchased in English for CHF 96,00. ] In the absence of other recommendations, ALA will recommend that NISO vote to approve ISO/DIS 23081-2. Those desiring to…
Additional NISO Votes Coming Up
Because of the number of new things forwarded to us by Cindy Hepfer, ALA Representative to NISO, I’m going to make some consolidated announcements of some of the more specialized documents, so as not to overwhelm everyone. 1. ISO/DIS 16245, Information and documentation — Boxes, file covers and other enclosures, made from cellulosic materials, for storage of paper and parchment documents. This is an ISO Committee Draft up for a vote, and Cindy needs any responses for this standard by Monday, June 2. 2. ISO/FDIS 9707, Information and documentation — Statistics on the production and distribution of books, newspapers, periodicals and electronic publications. This is another ISO Committee Draft up for a vote, and Cindy asks that any responses for this standard be sent to her by March 4. 3. ISO/DTR 28118, Information and documentation — Performance indicators for national libraries. This ISO Committee Draft needs comments back to Cindy…
ISO Guidelines for Bibliographic References and Citations
Cindy Hepfer, ALA Representative to NISO, reports that the following ISO Committee Draft of an International Standard has been issued for ballot: ISO/CD 690, Information and documentation — Guidelines for bibliographic references and citations to information resources. Cindy needs comments and vote recommendations by April 7. Information provided about this standard by NISO: ======= Summary: Provides guidance for establishing bibliographic references and citations to works that are primarily in Latin scripts. It applies to information resources such as monograph and serial publications, contributions within publications, patents, maps and similar cartographic materials, music, sound recordings, prints, photographs and other graphic works, and audiovisual material, regardless of the format (e.g. analogue or digital) in which such resources are issued. This revision combines the two parts of the previous standard. ======== A reminder: ALA is not voting on the standard itself but rather is providing feedback to NISO as to whether to approve…
Statistics on the Production and Distribution of Books, Newspapers, etc.
Also forwarded from Cindy Hepfer, ALA Representative to NISO, is the following ISO Committee Draft of an International Standard issued for ballot: ISO/FDIS 9707, Information and documentation — Statistics on the production and distribution of books, newspapers, periodicals and electronic publications. Comments and vote recommendations from NISO members are due to NISO by March 7, 2008, but Cindy asks that any responses for this standard by be sent by March 4. Information provided about this standard by NISO: ======= Note: This is the final ballot stage prior to publication. Yes votes can only contain editorial (non-substantive) comments. Summary: This standard aims at giving guidance to the international publishing community on the keeping of publishing statistics. This revision primarily focuses on integrating the economic and technological changes in the media sector, and especially in the publishing industry. The scope has been enlarged to cover statistics on the production of electronic publications….