NISO Begins Process of National Standardization of the 3M Standard Interchange Protocol (SIP)

Interested parties invited to join the standard's working group

Baltimore, MD - June 7, 2012 - The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) voting members have approved a new project to formalize the 3M Standard Interchange Protocol (SIP) as an American National Standard. Introduced in 1993, the SIP protocol provides a mechanism for Integrated Library Systems (ILS) applications and self-service devices to communicate seamlessly to perform self-service transactions. This protocol quickly became a de facto standard around the world, and remains the primary protocol to integrate ILS and self-service devices. Since the protocol's inception, 3M has continued to produce updated versions of it-most recently version 3.0 in late 2011. A NISO Working Group will now shepherd SIP 3.0 through the standardization process of becoming an American National Standard.
"The SIP protocol has reached a stage of maturity where it can be recognized as a standardized communication mechanism for library systems," explained Sue Boettcher, 3M Senior Product Development Specialist. "While 3M has always sought input from the library community of developers and interested parties in enhancing the protocol, the time is right for further maintenance and upgrades to SIP to be done in a more independent, community environment. 3M will continue to participate, but as a contributing vendor and user of the protocol."

"Obviously, there is close connection between SIP and NISO's Circulation Interchange Protocol (NCIP) standard," said Robert Walsh, representative for EnvisionWare, the Maintenance Agency for NCIP. "With both standards approved and maintained within NISO, there is an opportunity for the two standards' working groups to clarify the structural differences and to provide the community direction on the appropriateness for each standard within a given context. This will be one of the tasks of both the new working group and the NCIP Maintenance Agency moving forward."

"The maturity of the SIP protocol and its implementation track record should allow it to move quickly through the NISO standardization process," stated Todd Carpenter, NISO Managing Director. "We anticipate that version 3.0, as it currently stands or with very minor revisions, could be accepted as a Draft Standard following a brief period of review within a NISO Working Group. This will allow for a range of public input into the final adopted standard. We also plan, if the standard is approved by NISO Voting Members, to appoint a Maintenance Agency or Standing Committee for future review and maintenance of SIP."

Anyone interested in participating in the working group to review SIP 3.0 and prepare it for balloting as a NISO standard should contact NISO at nisohq@niso.org. More information about the project, including the project proposal can be found on the NISO website in the SIP Workroom: www.niso.org/workrooms/sip.

About NISO
NISO, based in Baltimore, Maryland, fosters the development and maintenance of standards that facilitate the creation, persistent management, and effective interchange of information so that it can be trusted for use in research and learning. To fulfill this mission, NISO engages libraries, publishers, information aggregators, and other organizations that support learning, research, and scholarship through the creation, organization, management, and curation of knowledge. NISO works with intersecting communities of interest and across the entire lifecycle of information standard. NISO is a not-for-profit association accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). For more information, visit the NISO website: www.niso.org.

About 3M Library Systems
3M Library Systems is committed to helping libraries thrive by providing cutting edge technologies including RFID, automated materials handling (AMH), self check and security solutions, as well as our latest innovation 3M Cloud Library, the fastest growing eBook Lending Service. Finding the technology solution that is right for each unique library, 3M's promise is to deliver a long term partnership that is built to exceed expectations. Follow us on Twitter @3MNews or visit www.3M.com/us/library.

About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs 84,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

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