Information Technology Standards

Abstract

Chapter I THE ROLE OF STANDARDS Dictionaries generally define a standard as something established for use as a rule or basis of comparison in measuring or judging capacity, quantity, content, extent, value, or quality. In the strictest sense, the word standard refers to a written document that details specifications that must be met to conform to the standard. The International Organization for Standards (ISO) defines a standard as: A document available to the public, drawn up with the cooperation and consensus or general approval of all interests affected by it based on the consolidated results of science, technology, and experience aimed at the promotion of optimum community benefits and approved by a body recognized at the national regional, or international level. To be a standard, a document has to have received formal approval from national or international standards bodies such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), or the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The so-called standards that rely on informal adoption by industry groups such as the Book Industry Systems Advisory Committee (BISAC) or professional associations such as the American Library Association (ALA) should be considered de facto standards because they are formally expressed in detailed documents and are widely adopted, but they are not true standards. Unlike some European countries, the United States does not mandate adherence to standards. Adoption is purely voluntary for all sectors except the federal government itself. According to OMB Circular A119, federal government agencies are required to comply with voluntary standards for regulatory and procurement purposes. Nor does the United States rely on government agencies to develop standards; instead, most of the people involved in standards setting are volunteers funded by their employers. This approach often results in a vendor-dominated process because only those organizations with a major stake in the outcome can justify the costs associated with participation. Fortunately, the National Information Standards Organization (NISO), the standards body that has the greatest impact on libraries, does have substantial representation from libraries and professional library associations. Although the pace of standards development has increased since automation was introduced, librarians have a tradition of cooperative adoption of standards that goes back well before the first computer. An example is the agreement on the dimensions and paper characteristics of the standard catalog card. Among the factors that have facilitated standards adoption in the library community are professional library associations, library schools, and state library agencies. The last were particularly influential in the almost universal acceptance of the Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) format: they made retrospective conversion grants contingent on use of the MARC format. The Value of Standards The goal in using standards in library automation and other information technologies is the achievement of compatibility and, therefore, interoperability among equipment, data, practices, or procedures so information can be made easily and universally available. Standards can make systems easier to use and less expensive to operate. The development and implementation of standards allows users to share machine-readable records; interface information technologies within an organization; include an information technology on an institutional network; and interface systems with those of other organizations, including libraries, publishers, jobbers, and serials subscription agents. Conformity to standards by those who develop and sell products and services offers the prospect of expanded markets domestically and internationally. …