Standards play an important role in serials and electronic resources work, which is why NASIG has a Standards Committee. This committee is tasked with working with standards organizations, such as NISO and COUNTER, and educating NASIG members about the importance of standards in our work.
So, why do we use standards in our work?
Interoperability. Standards allow technology from different entities to work together, because they are built on a common foundation. For example, OpenURL allows for users of an Ex Libris discovery service to query an EBSCO database, and go directly to the requested resource, without 10 steps in between.
Consistency. Standards also provide consistency between libraries. One example of a consistent library standard is controlled vocabulary. A library using Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) will have consistent descriptors both within the library and with other libraries that also use LCSH.
Efficiency. Using standards means that librarians, vendors, and other professionals can easily share information, and users do not have to start from scratch every time they start a new project. For example, if a vendor uses KBART standards, an electronic resource librarian can import that entire vendor’s holdings to their ILS, instead of adding the holdings on a title-by-title basis.
Best practices. Along with standards, many standards organizations create recommended practices. In contrast to standards, these tend to be in areas where interoperability between systems is not required. However, they provide a best practices model to guide librarians through their work. An
example of a best practice used in serials work is the Transfer Code of Practice, which both transferring and receiving publishers agree to follow to ensure that a journal moving to a different publisher can do so with minimal disruption to librarians and readers.
In addition to their work educating NASIG members about standards work and gathering feedback on particular standards proposals, the NASIG Standards Committee provides representatives to both NISO and COUNTER. These representatives communicate NASIG members’ priorities to these bodies.
If you’re interested in learning more about standards work or getting more involved in standards organizations, let us know! There is no need for advanced knowledge about the subject. We’re always
looking for new members for the Standards Committee, and would love to add you to our team.
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