Against the Grain

Volume 20 | Issue 4 Article 38

September 2008 Standards Column -- Culture Shock: International Standardization Projects Effecting Publishers and Libraries -- A Report of ISO TC 46 Activities Todd Carpenter NISO, [email protected]

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Recommended Citation Carpenter, Todd (2008) "Standards Column -- Culture Shock: International Standardization Projects Effecting Publishers and Libraries -- A Report of ISO TC 46 Activities," Against the Grain: Vol. 20: Iss. 4, Article 38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7771/2380-176X.5174

This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. Standards Column — Culture Shock: International Standardization Projects Effecting Publishers and Libraries — A Report of ISO TC 46 Activities by Todd Carpenter (Managing Director, NISO, 1 North Charles Street, Suite 1905, Baltimore, MD 21201; Phone: 301-654-2512; Fax: 301-654-1721) www.niso.org

any people observing standards devel- as the TAG Administrator for ISO TC46, Infor- concerns relating to non-roman representations of opment perceive it to be labyrinthine mation and Documentation. This makes NISO country codes for such uses as passports. Learn Mand confusing. This is doubly true of responsible for identifying and managing the more about how this standard is maintained and standards work that takes place at the international group that makes up the TAG, currently defined the role the United Nations plays at www.iso. level in ISO (International Organization for as NISO voting members. The TAG members org/iso/country_codes.htm. Standardization),1 a network of the national vote and comment on draft standards issued by RFID in Libraries (ISO/CD 28500) — The standards institutes of 157 countries. The com- TC46 and its subcommittees and NISO submits complexity of the technical specifications for mittees and their naming structures, standards’ the official U.S. vote. NISO also nominates U.S. RFID tags used in libraries is one factor limiting numeric designation systems, and the bureaucracy representatives to each of TC46’s Subcommittees broader adoption of these systems to track library necessary to obtain international consensus can be and working groups. This is a critical and not inventory. Earlier this year, NISO released a overwhelming. These issues are compounded by well-known aspect of NISO’s role in standards Recommended Practice for RFID use in libraries the problem that so few in our community can in- development. (RFID in U.S. Libraries — NISO RP-6-2008) that vest the time, travel, and other resources to actively Two of NISO’s staff along with nearly a is meant to complement the ISO work. The ISO participate on an international level. However, one dozen other U.S. technical experts traveled to standard will address issues such as frequency, cannot minimize the impact that the international Stockholm in May for the annual meetings of data models, and other functional requirements. standards developed within ISO have on the world- TC46, and its four sub committees: SC4, Tech- International Standard Name Identifier wide information community of publishing, librar- nical Interoperability; SC8, Quality — Statistics (ISNI) (ISO/CD 27729) — While libraries have ies, and information systems providers. ISBN and and Performance Evaluation; SC9, Identification tremendous background skills in the development ISSN, among the most recognized publishing and and Description; and SC11, Archives and Records and maintenance of name authority files, there are library standards, are managed at the international Management. In addition to the plenary meet- broader issues related to name identification that level, as are a range of less well-known but equally ings for these Subcommittees, there were also will be addressed in this developing standard. critical standards. Engaging in such international numerous working group meetings for most of Among these are the identification of various standards development, review, and maintenance the projects underway. The meeting was hosted parties in the content creation process (beyond is both necessary and ultimately rewarding for by the Swedish Standards Institute (SIS) and author), the identification of fictional characters individuals and their organizations. was attended by representatives from some 30 or pseudonyms, and the relationships of multi- While a great deal of advancement in stan- countries. party entities. dards development takes place in the United The breadth and depth of the work underway Library Performance Indicators (ISO States, other regions and countries are also push- at ISO is indicative of the impact and importance 11620) — This long-established standard puts ing technological and information boundaries and these standards have or will have in the com- forward the distinct measures by which libraries facing challenges of similar size and scope. The munity. Below is a short list and description of compare their performance with other institutions. information world is increasingly international some of the projects currently underway within Currently in revision, the new standard will in- and geographical boundaries are diminishing in ISO TC46; this list is not comprehensive. Please corporate metrics related to online resources and their importance. Regularly, the work undertaken visit the International section of the NISO Website changes in library services since the standard was in one region impacts work in other countries or (www.niso.org/international) to learn more about last published. on different continents. Often, because of national TC46 standards and work in progress. Digital Object Identifier (DOI) System organizational structures or governmental poli- International Standard Book Number (ISO/CD 26324) — While the ANSI/NISO DOI cies, countries other than the U.S. are better posi- (ISBN) (ISO 2108) — The revision of the ISBN standard (Z39.84) addresses the syntax of the tioned to advance technological, infrastructure, or to expand the numbering system to 13 digits was DOI, this ISO standard covers the whole DOI procedural standards more quickly than the U.S. published in 2005 and took effect in January system including syntax, resolution, registration, community is. Long gone are the days when a 2007. As this is the third year after passage of the and administration. Key among the concerns national standard would suffice for information revision, the standard is up for systematic review, at the international level is the interaction or exchange, particularly given the global distribu- providing adopters an opportunity to identify any incorporation of other international identifiers in tion of digital publications. implementation issues they encountered. the DOI and the use of DOIs to identify digital ISO’s standards development work is con- Structured vocabularies, monolingual (ISO versions of existing identified objects, such as ducted through Technical Committees (TC), who 2788) and multi-lingual (ISO 5964) thesauri books or journals. manage a portfolio of standards in a defined topic — This revision to combine and update both Open Office XML — Although this work area. Technical Committees are further divided thesaurus standards will have broad application is being undertaken by JTC1, SC34, which ad- into Subcommittees (SC) with a narrower topic in the development of ontologies and in semantic dresses electronic file formats and is not a part scope, which in turn assign the actual develop- Web technology. of TC46’s work, this initiative aims to create ment of a particular standard to a Working Group International Country and Subdivision a standard around Microsoft’s Open Office (WG). While TCs and SCs continue more or less Codes (ISO 3166) — Among the most con- XML document file formats. It has tremendous indefinitely as long as their topic area is relevant, troversial standards that NISO is engaged in, potential to impact a number of things that are WGs exist only until their work on a particular country codes often go to the heart of national done within our community, from creation to standard is completed. Each of these levels is and regional identity issues. To address the need distribution, and discovery to archiving. Earlier numbered sequentially, however when a group for continual revision, the standard is updated this year, the format was considered for a “fast disbands, the numbers are not at least twice a year through track” to standardization. However in the drafting reassigned, which is why there official newsletters, which are stage, the standard received some 3,000 technical are gaps in the numbering periodically compiled into a comments, which were addressed over five days structure. new publication of the whole earlier this spring. The revised document passed Within the U.S., ANSI standard. Among the pressing despite the strong opposition of a number of coun- assigns a Technical Advisory issues faced presently is the tries. However, it was recently announced that Group (TAG) Administrator use of standard country codes a few countries are appealing the results and in to each of the ISO Technical in ICANN Internet domain hi- particular the process which led to the standard’s Groups. NISO has long served erarchy names. There are also continued on page 93 Against the Grain / September 2008 89 “´... tell Wind and Fire I Hear the Train A Comin’ where to stop,’ returned ma- from page 92 dame; ´but don’t tell me.’” formative device. Let’s revisit this at the 2009 The Wind and the Fire Charleston Conference. might be told where to stop, but international scientific “The ghost of beauty, the ghost of stateli- collaboration is another mat- ness, the ghost of elegance, the ghost of pride, ter. As I mentioned in a the ghost of frivolity, the ghost of wit, the ghost recent Train column, China of youth, the ghost of age, all waiting their is growing as both a creator dismissal from the desolate shore…” and consumer of scholarly To the aforementioned university press. For content. The supporting data are in some ways To the notion of social networks. I have many years, the university press imprimatur staggering. To briefly recap, China’s GDP had at least a dozen clients in the past year for has connoted quality and intellectual vibrancy. investment in research and development will which Web 2.0 strategies were a key concern, The effects of the scholarly communication grow from around 1% earlier this decade to so I must be careful not to bite the hand that crisis have been keenly felt by this group over 2.5% in 2020. Higher education enrollment at least has a hand in feeding me. Having the past two decades. Monographs continue to has increased more than five-fold since 1996. said that, the ever-increasing immediacy and struggle finding a place within library budgets, China had a 20-fold increase in publications in intimacy of communication may be reach- as do, increasingly, print books in general. international scientific journals from 1981 to ing its terminus. From blogs to MySpace to Marketing dollars are scarce, and fixed costs 2003. The other BRIC countries (Brazil, Rus- Facebook to Twitter, we are now looped into are nontrivial. However, we can clearly ob- sia, India, and China) are similarly emerging as the most evanescent of moods, thoughts, and serve pockets of innovation emerging over the important actors within the academic research ruminations. The borders between personal past few years. Rice University has revived its system. However, legal restrictions, particu- and professional, profound and piffling, insight press in digital only mode, relying on low-cost larly within the United States, have limited the and inanity have never been blurrier. How print-on-demand for those who want hard copy. scope of collaboration between domestic and do these networks influence the way scholars Columbia University Press has teamed with international scientists. Laws limit the extent interact? What efficiencies are created? What the library and the IT department to co-found to which federal funds can be shared with for- impact does the ability to be so wired into other Electronic Publishing Initiative at Columbia eign collaborators. Visas regulations restrict people’s thoughts and actions, and, in turn, to (EPIC). EPIC’s goal — to create new kinds face-to-face interaction among international have other people so wired into yours, have on of scholarly and educational publications team members. Espionage concerns cabin off the exchange of ideas? Perhaps the Charleston through the use of new media technologies dual-use equipment that might speed diffuse Conference can help us untangle these issues — has already resulted in the development of research efforts. While the protection of tax- and learn to cut through the cluttering aspects the Columbia International Affairs Online payer resources and state secrets are principles of social networks. and Earthscape platforms. Penn State Press that should not be taken lightly, several efforts “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than and the University Libraries have partnered are underway to loosen these restrictions in the I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that on an Office of Digital Scholarly Publishing name of scientific advancement. One notable I go to, than I have ever known.” to recognize efficiencies on project manage- example is the American Association for the ment, budgeting, and opportunity evaluation. This one is easy isn’t it? What is better Advancement of Science’s recently launched than strolling through the lobby of the Fran- Will these types of experiments reinvigorate Center for Science Diplomacy (see http://di- the category? Or is the venerable institution cis Marion Hotel in early November when plomacy.aaas.org/). In an era where connectiv- the Charleston Conference is in session? truly in danger of joining Dickens’ ghosts on ity and connectedness are increasingly the norm, the desolate shore? Catching up with old friends. Exchanging one suspects that the impediments to interna- ideas on the next big thing with colleagues. tional scientific collaboration will be eroded and Holding court in an overstuffed armchair as perhaps overrun in the coming years. a session ends and familiar faces pour out, Standards Column “You anticipate what I would say, though enlightened and invigorated. And crashing you cannot know how earnestly I say it, how from page 89 into the hotel bed after a full day of intellec- earnestly I feel it, without knowing my secret tual stimulation, capped off by a fine southern heart, and the hopes and fears and anxieties meal. A far, far better thing indeed. See you adoption. There certainly will be more to watch with which it has long been laden.” in the coming months related to OOXML. in November. There are numerous ways that community members may participate in the international stan- dards development process. Although there is an added level of logistical challenges when partici- POD butterfly might not end here. WithAmazon pating at this level, it can be a truly rewarding expe- Back Talk involved, what will happen to academic book rience. Not only is this a great opportunity to inter- from page 94 vendors? Maybe Amazon could buy one or act with colleagues internationally and experience more of approval vendors and simplify the whole their culture, it is also an opportunity to help shape Amazon could be the collector of university process. We live in interesting times. Watch out the future directions of information exchange. If presses? Were this to happen, the effects of the for butterflies! you are interested in engaging more directly in international standardization, please contact the NISO offices [email protected] . Endnotes 1. “Bound.” (June 5, 2008). The Economist. [Electronic Version]. Retrieved July 23, 2008 from http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11504752. Endnotes 2. Jones, Philip. (May 27, 2008). Bowker reports huge US p.o.d. surge. Bookseller.com. Retrieved 1. Contrary to popular belief, ISO is not July 23, 2008 from http://www.thebookseller.com/news/59802-bowker-reports-huge-us-pod-surge. an acronym for the name in a different html. language. Because the organization name would have different acronyms for each 3. Tetreault, Melissa. (March 2008). Short run books: “Digital printers offer runs of one to many.” language, the short name of ISO was chosen Digital Publishing Solutions. Retrieved July 23, 2008 from http://www.dpsmagazine.com/content/ — derived from the Greek isos, meaning ContentCT.asp?P=383. “equal” — to be the all-purpose name in 4. Bacher, Thomas. (July 31, 2007). Rice E Press. Inside Higher ED. Retrieved July 23, 2008 from any language. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/07/31/ricepress.

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