New and Emerging Specs & Standards (February 2026)
ISO 9984:2026 —Information and documentation — Transliteration of Georgian characters into Latin characters
Technical Committee: ISO/TC 46
“This document establishes a system for the transliteration of Georgian characters into Latin characters, in accordance with the principles of stringent conversion in order to permit international information exchange, particularly by electronic means. This document can be used anyone who has a clear understanding of the system, and is certain that it can be applied without ambiguity. This document focuses on the unambiguous written conversion. The correct pronunciation of the original text is out of the scope of this document.”
ISO 9985:2026 — Information and documentation — Transliteration of Armenian characters into Latin characters
Technical Committee: ISO/TC 46
“This document establishes a system for the transliteration of Armenian characters into Latin characters, in accordance with the principles of stringent conversion in order to permit international information exchange, particularly by electronic means. This document can be used anyone with a clear understanding of the system, and is certain that it can be applied without ambiguity. This document focuses on the unambiguous written conversion. The correct pronunciation of the original text is out of the scope of this document.”
Public Comment on Proposed DCMI Term: Accessibility Note (Dublin Core)
“In the context of a draft proposal for a DCMI Scholarly Resources Application Profile, the Usage Board is considering the addition of a property to DCMI Metadata Terms, "Accessibility Note" (dcterms:accessibilityNote), to be defined as: "A statement describing features or deficiencies of a resource that enhance or impede its usability and accessibility." The usage note would read: "Applies to a diverse range of users, including but not limited to individuals with disabilities or impairments. This may include assistive technologies, alternative formats or design choices that facilitate broader usage."
New Department of State Strategic Plan Calls for Radical Change in US Role in Standards Development
(ConsortiumInfo)
“Last week, the U.S. Department of State released its Agency Strategic Plan for 2026 – 2030. As one would expect, it bears virtually no relation to the longer and more detailed predecessor joint plan of the State Department (and the now largely defunct US AID agency) under the Biden Administration. It’s not surprising, then, that its approach to standards development organizations is meaningfully different as well.”
EPUB and HTML - Survey Results and Next Steps (W3C)
“Mid-2025, the Publishing Maintenance Working Group (PMWG) ran a survey in the publishing community to ask: should we allow HTML in EPUB? The survey results and their discussions were invaluable in helping decide to not add HTML to EPUB 3.4, and to take a new approach on HTML and digital publications..”
Web Archiving at the Library After 25 Years (The Signal)
“In 2025 we wrapped up our 25th year of web archiving at the Library of Congress! We also ended the year with over 100 web archive collections available online. The program has matured even since we celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2020. We can illustrate our history through the very objects we’ve helped to preserve and make available to you: our patrons, researchers, and colleagues.”
