Letter From the Editor
Consistency of data is a serious problem in our community. For all the effort that the content creation and library communities place in data, it is amazing that the problems that remain are still so significant. For each time that NISO, EDItEUR, ISO, or BISG develops a standard for metadata creation or exchange, there seem to emerge several follow-on efforts to clarify and develop community practices around how to use that data exchange standard. Metadata specifications exist for books, e-books, resolution, preservation, and so many more things. There are also identifiers for people, identifiers for articles, for titles, and for institutions. Ideally, the design of each of these elements would simplify the data exchange ecosystem and smooth data transmission from producer to supplier and to user.
A problem, and there are several, has been in the application of those systems. Each content creator or systems supplier has its own take on the application of a particular specification. Sometimes ambiguity is purposely built into a standard to support flexibility. Other times, it isn't absolutely clear what a data element means for every case; for example, there is no clean or clear definition of what a publication date is. Finally, we often overlook the fact that metadata changes as the state of the world changes. Data that was correct a few weeks or months ago, particularly pre-publication data, isn't necessarily accurate unless it is consistently maintained.
No human process is without errors and we must accept that some level of inaccuracy is inevitable. We certainly can't fault an organization if its data falls something short of 100% accuracy all of the time, especially when the data elements and fields combined can number into the millions or billions. However, even beyond an understandable margin for error, most providers could do better and we can do more to minimize errors. Some of the problems are introduced by people and or companies who don't understand, appreciate or, in the worst cases, even care about the errors they are introducing into system-wide data pipelines. For example, publishers who assign the same ISBN number to multiple titles are often flagged and excoriated for their errors. Other problems are a result of a lack of priority in maintaining these data. Particularly for older content, support for retrospective projects to ensure its accuracy isn't always a top priority, so errors go uncorrected and propagate in the ecosystem.
There have been a variety of projects within NISO and outside NISO to improve the conformance with specifications or to focus on their consistent application. Within NISO, projects such as KBART, IOTA, PESC, PIE-J and the ESPReSSO projects were more about consistency and best practice in data exchange than setting forward new structures or standards. The current NISO E-Book Metadata Working Group is also addressing issues of consistency and communication. Outside NISO but related to our work, the JATS4R initiative and the nascent STS4R aim to improve consistency in the usage of NISO markup standards. Within EDITeUR and BISG, several projects have focused on consistent metadata, keyword use, for keyword application, and other consistency issues. Metadata 2020 is "a collaboration that advocates richer, connected, and reusable, open metadata for all research outputs."
NISO will continue to work, not only to develop standards and specifications, but also to continue to develop communities of practice and consistency in their use. The challenge isn't always with the adoption of a specification, it is with the consistency of that adoption and the reusability of the data that is being exchanged. In the coming months, NISO will focus on, and draw attention to, the value that is brought by consistency of standards' use in applications. If you have a story related to this - either a positive or negative story - please let us know!
Sincerely,
Todd Carpenter
Executive Director, NISO
NISO Reports
Media Stories
Meet the ALA Policy Corps
American Libraries, Sunday, January 29, 2018. Marcus Banks
In January, the American Library Association (ALA) announced the inaugural members of Policy Corps, a new initiative that aims to develop political advocates for conveying the importance of libraries and librarians. The inaugural members of the Policy Corps are profiled and includes NISO Executive Director, Todd Carpenter. The Policy Corps met in Denver at the ALA Midwinter meeting, will meet again in March and will participate in the ALA's National Library Legislative Day in May. The aim of the group, as described by ALA President, and former NISO Board of Directors Chair, James Neal, is to "to cultivate a group of practitioners and trustees who have deep and sustained knowledge of key policy issues of importance to the library community and who are able to intervene and participate in targeted advocacy work".
Note: The American Library Association is a Voting Member of NISO.
UC Berkeley Library to Cut $1 Million, Slashing Scholarly Resources, Journal Access
The Daily Californian, Sunday, February 11, 2018. Sri Medicherla
Caught in a vise created by decreased state funding and the increasing prices of information resources, UC Berkeley Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Paul Alivisatos announced to campus faculty that the library would be forced to cut spending by $1 million for fiscal year 2019.
Researchers, graduate students and undergraduates deplored the decision as having unrecognized and unacceptable impact on their work. According to University Librarian Jeffrey MacKie-Mason, decisions as to which resources will be discontinued will be data-driven, according to usage, availability through other institutions, and elimination of duplicate subscriptions.
NOTE: University of California, Berkeley is a member of the NISO Library Standards Alliance
Kristen Antelman Appointed University Librarian
Kristen Antelmen, has been appointed the University Librarian at the University of California, Santa Barbara beginning April 1, 2018. Antelman currently serves as the university Librarian at the California Institute of Technology, where she has led the library since 2014. Previously, Antelman had served as Associate Director of Libraries at North Carolina State University from 2002-2014. She has also been active within NISO, serving as a member of the Discovery to Delivery Topic Committee and on the NISO Institutional Identifier standard committee.
What's behind OA2020? Accelerating the transition to open access with introspection and repurposing funds
College & Research Libraries, Vol 79, No 2 (2018), Rachael Samberg, Richard A. Schneider, Anneliese Taylor, and Michael Wolfe
Scholarly communications officers, librarians, and a professor at four University of California campuses explain their perspectives for endorsement of the Open Access 2020 initiative, which has gained much support from European libraries but hardly any from the United States. The article describes a misconception that the OA2020 Roadmap supports only one OA publishing model (APC "flipped" from library subscription payments) and states the authors' commitment to the OA2020 global, collaborative approach to support for Open Access implementation, asserting the potential from libraries in the United States to create their own roadmaps for alternative, non-APC-based OA models. More information is available on the OA2020.us site.
A Conversation about DEI and Top IT Issues
EDUCAUSE Review, February 26, 2018. Ahmed El-Haggan, Landon Pirius and Kathryn Rose
El-Haggan, Pirius, and Rose are members of the EDUCAUSE 2017-2018 IT Issues Panel and provided their perspectives on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Comments included an emphasis on campus-wide culture emphasizing values of respect, humility, and kindness. The panelists posit that "institutions that cultivate diversity have an advantage in recruiting" and because university and college campuses often have a diverse student body, it's important for the workforce to match these demographics. "In higher education, we have a unique opportunity because of our student-focused mission. We can create a virtuous circle in which an inclusive culture leads to a diverse workforce, which benefits students. When we see diversity in our workforce, students see that as well. They are observing where they may be 5, 10, or 15 years from now. A diverse and inclusive workforce helps model the future for students." The panelists recommend that EDUCAUSE publicize best practices and strategies in this area.
New and Proposed Specs and Standards
BISG Publishes Revised Best Practices for Keywords in Metadata
In February, the Book Industry Study Group published The Revised Best Practices for Keywords in Metadata: Guide for North American Data Senders and Receivers. This document provides new guidance on how best to utilize keywords in ONIX metadata to maximize the opportunities for book product discovery by consumers, including on how to choose the best keywords for your content, how to structure keywords, where to place keywords in ONIX, and examples of keywords in use.
A working group was formed in late 2017 to re-examine the previously released keywords document in 2014. In February 2018, the group completed and released the new guide. More informaiton is available on the BISG website.
Invitation to Comment on Lightweight #DITA: An Introduction from the DITA TC -- Ends March 12
Lightweight DITA (LwDITA) is a simplified version of DITA. In comparison to DITA 1.3, LwDITA has a smaller element type and attribute set, stricter content models, and a reduced feature set. LwDITA also defines mappings between XML, HTML5, and Markdown, enabling authoring, collaboration, and publishing across different markup languages. This specification was previously submitted for public review. The resolution of all comments is available on the OASIS website.
ODRL 2.2 is published as a W3C Recommendation
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Permissions & Obligations Expression Working Group has just published a Recommendation for two documents, the Open Digital Rights Language and the ODRL Vocabulary & Expression. The Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) is a policy expression language that provides a flexible and interoperable information model, vocabulary, and encoding mechanisms for representing statements about the usage of content and services. The ODRL Information Model describes the underlying concepts, entities, and relationships that form the foundational basis for the semantics of the ODRL policies. Policies are used to represent permitted and prohibited actions over a certain asset, as well as the obligations required to be met by stakeholders. In addition, policies may be limited by constraints (e.g., temporal or spatial constraints) and duties (e.g., payments) may be imposed on permissions. The companion ODRL Vocabulary and Expression describes the terms used in ODRL policies and how to encode them.
Current ISO Ballots
NISO Voting Members participate in the development, revision, and evaluation of developing NISO standards. US-based NISO Voting Members are also able to influence the standards process internationally by contributing their perspectives on international standards development through the US Technical Advisory Group for ISO TC46 and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34.
The following ballots are open and will close before the next issue of Newsline. If you are a NISO Voting Member, log into your NISO page and you'll see the ballots linked there.
SHORT-TERM BALLOT - JTC1 SC34 - Document semantic support discussion paper
The U.S. Technical Advisory Group for ISO/IEC/JTC1/SC34 has issued a call for nominations for U.S. expert to participate on JTC1 SC34, Study Group on Document semantics. Members of the US TAG for JTC1/SC34 are eligible to appoint experts to the group via NISO.
This ballot closes on March 23, 2018.
JTC1/SC34 has announced its 44th Meeting on Sunday, September 9, 2018 in Redmond, Washington, USA
More information is available via the ISO Meeting Information portal at https://sd.iso.org/meetings/54343. All US-based experts must be accredited by the U.S. TAG managed by NISO in order to attend the meeting.
SHORT-TERM Ballot - ISO/WD 22038, Description and presentation rights information in digital collections
This working draft of an International Standard provides guidelines for digital collection services that seek to effectively describe and present rights information. The project leader is asking for comments on the draft. If no comments are received, the draft will be circulated as a CD ballot.
This ballot closes on March 20, 2018.
Draft Technical Report - ISO/DTR 22428, Records management in the cloud: Issues and concerns
Members of the US TAG to ISO TC46 are asked to
recommend whether they approve the draft of ISO/DTR 22428 for publication. This technical report describes all the risks and issues that may arise when managing records using cloud services. It covers issues and concerns relevant to all types of cloud, i.e., public, private, or hybrid.
This ballot closes on March 28, 2018.
Systematic Review of ISO 3602:1989, Romanization of Japanese
This International Standard establishes a system for the romanization of the present-day Japanese written language. Members of the US TAG to ISO TC46 are asked to
recommend whether ISO 3602:1989, Romanization of Japanese be confirmed, revised or withdrawn.
This ballot closes on May 18, 2018.
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