White Papers
NISO White Papers are contributed or solicited papers whose purpose is a call for action, a position paper, or an educational treatise on a specific issue. White Papers are often developed as a pre-standardization activity to define and explore some of the questions that come into play before formal standardization work is started. Or a NISO White Paper might identify areas that are opportunities for standards development and suggest possible approaches.
The Case for New Economic Models to Support Standardization
by Clifford Lynch
Abstract: This revised and expanded version of Clifford Lynch's prize winning paper in the 1998 Standards Engineering Society/World Standards Day paper contest presents a new model for supporting national standards development.
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The Exchange of Serials Subscription Information
by Ed Jones
Abstract: This 2002 study was undertaken: (1) to identify current and potential applications in which serials subscription data are exchanged, (2) to identify the formats currently in use for such exchange, and (3) to ascertain the perceived utility of standards to support such exchange, including standard identifiers for subscribers and services. A large number of interested individuals and organizations were contacted in the effort to accomplish these tasks. Current and potential applications were identified and described in some detail.
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Internet, Interoperability and Standards — Filling the Gaps
by Janifer Gatenby
Abstract: With major changes in electronic communications, the main focus of standardisation in the library arena has moved from that of supporting efficiency to allowing library users to access external resources and allowing remote access to library resources. There is a new emphasis on interoperability at a deeper level among library systems and on a grander scale within the environment of electronic commerce. The potential of full inter-operability is examined along with its likely impact. Some of the gaps in current standards are examined, with a focus on information retrieval, together with the process for filling those gaps, the interoperation of standards and overlapping standards.
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Issues in Crosswalking Content Metadata Standards
by Margaret St. Pierre and William P. LaPlant
Abstract: This paper delineates the general issues involved in the harmonization of metadata standards and in the development of crosswalks between related metadata standards. It begins by enumerating a set of simple procedures for harmonizing metadata standards. Next it describes the set of criteria needed to develop a fully specified crosswalk. Finally, this paper proposes future steps for simplifying crosswalk implementation through the use of formal specifications and automation.
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The Myth of Free Standards: Giving Away the Farm
by Andrew N. Bank
Abstract: The paper topic was intended to make a case for whether U.S., regional, and/or international standards should be fee-based (as most are now) or provided free of charge to all interested parties. Some standards users and standards publishers believe that the standards and specifications which necessarily allow companies to compete in the global market should be free of charge. But other users and publishers believe that standards development and implementation is an expensive undertaking and holds a pricetag to be shared by all. This year's first place winner in the 1998 World Standards Day Paper Competition sponsored by the World Standards Day Planning Committee and the Standards Engineering Society details the many reasons why standards should not be free.
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Patents and Open Standards
by Priscilla Caplan
Abstract: Reviews some patent basics and then considers the following questions: What is an "open standard?" What are the policies of other standards setting organizations governing patented contributions to standards? And what light does this shed on the OpenURL situation and future actions by NISO? Originally published in Information Standards Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 4, October 2003.
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