NISO to Represent the US on ISO Technical Committee for Cultural Heritage Conservation

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) is pleased to announce it has been appointed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to manage the accredited US Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the International Organization for Standardization’s  (ISO) new Technical Committee (TC) on Cultural Heritage Conservation (TC 349).

ISO formed TC 349 in early 2024 to develop standards for terminology, technologies, and materials and equipment for the monitoring, evaluation, preservation, and restoration of cultural heritage. The committee’s work will be focused specifically on the conservation of tangible objects and exclude the preservation of cinematography, photography, and content covered by the work of the ISO Technical Committee on Information and Documentation (ISO TC 46). (NISO also represents US interests as the TAG to ISO TC 46 and its subcommittees.) The Standards Administration of China will serve as the Secretariat of ISO TC 349 and manage the committee’s work. The committee is expected to meet annually in person, with most working groups developing standards operating virtually.

“NISO has been dedicated to the preservation of print and digital materials throughout its history, so cultural heritage conservation is well aligned with our mission of facilitating the exchange and flow of information,” said Todd Carpenter, NISO’s Executive Director. “Over the years a number of museums have participated in NISO activities, and we look forward to working with members of this community as TC 349 moves forward.” Mr. Carpenter will serve as the Chair of the TAG to ISO TC 349.

Members of the museum community and those institutions responsible for curating and preserving physical cultural artifacts, as well as organizations that support them, are encouraged to engage in this new area of technical work in the international landscape by joining as members of NISO. For more information about engaging with NISO, visit the NISO website   (https://www.niso.org/join) or contact nisohq@niso.org. 

About NISO

Based in Baltimore, MD, NISO’s mission is to build knowledge, foster discussion, and advance authoritative standards development through collaboration among the cultural, scholarly, scientific, and professional communities. To fulfill this mission, NISO engages with 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 life cycle of information standards. NISO is a not-for-profit association accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). For more information, visit the NISO website (https://niso.org) or contact us at nisohq@niso.org.