NISO Standard Z39.7—The Evolution to a Data Dictionary for Library Metrics and Assessment Methods

Abstract

Standards are essential to guide both technical and information management in providing access to and delivery of content. Standards development, implementation, and use help the information community meet the needs of its users. The information community grapples with a myriad of methods for providing access to content and capturing transaction level information about access to and use of content. Publishers struggle with ways to manage increased content flow. The author discusses the 2002 revision of the Standard for Library Statistics, NISO Z39.7 (NISO is the National Information Standards Organization, a nonprofit association founded in 1939 and accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)), and the research and assessment that went into its evolution from a static index of data elements to a Web-based data dictionary embracing U.S. and international metrics for describing and measuring information services and delivery.