Library Conformance Statement -- Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the Open Discovery Initiative and how does it relate to libraries?
The NISO Open Discovery Initiative (ODI) is a standing committee that manages a NISO recommended practice intended to help libraries assess the level of content provider participation in discovery services (e.g. is all of the content from the publisher present in discovery); streamline processes in which content providers can work with discovery providers and libraries to ensure that their content is included in discovery; facilitate fair linking (e.g. respecting the libraries’ choice of link to get to the full text); and determine which usage statistics are collected so libraries can tell which content is being used and how often it is being used. The Open Discovery Initiative Standing Committee has developed conformance checklists to assist libraries, content providers, and discovery providers in working together to maintain best practices in relation to discovery.
2. Where is the library conformance checklist?
The library conformance checklist template is available through the NISO ODI website at https://niso.org/standards-committees/odi/conformance.
3. Why was the library conformance checklist developed?
The Recommended Practice recognizes that libraries, too, have responsibilities to ensure that their chosen discovery provider is appropriately configured, that there is well-maintained documentation of configurations, and that library staff and users are trained to use and manage (as appropriate) discovery systems. The library responsibilities section of the Recommended Practice is meant to give libraries a checklist of steps to take to ensure they have reviewed and considered the most common configuration challenges. A completed library conformance checklist allows discovery services and content providers to understand, at a glance, the degree to which a particular library conforms to the Open Discovery Initiative’s Recommended Practice.
4. Who is the library conformance checklist intended for?
The library conformance checklist is intended for use by any library that uses a discovery product. As defined in the Recommended Practice, libraries are “Organizations—which may be affiliated with universities, research institutes, or commercial firms—[that] acquire content from a variety of content providers and may also implement an index-based discovery service. Libraries represent particular user communities including staff, students, researchers, etc.” Any library which makes use of a discovery service is requested to complete a conformance checklist and publish it via their public-facing website.
5. How will an ODI conformance checklist help libraries?
Filling out a conformance checklist will allow you to assess your library’s workflows and find areas for improvement and greater efficiency. The gathering of the information to complete this process necessarily involves conversations between libraries, content providers, and discovery providers. These conversations help build relationships that facilitate the better integration of resources within a discovery system. Following the checklist will allow you to assess your library’s workflows and find areas for improvement and greater efficiency, which in turn will help optimize the library’s discovery system for users. Adhering to the recommended practice will make it easier for users to locate materials in the discovery system, and it will facilitate libraries’ understanding of what content is included in a discovery system search and what is not included, information that will assist researchers.
6. How does one go about achieving “conformance”? Is there a process I need to go through or any audits or approvals I need to submit?
Conformance checklists are published voluntarily by a library on its own website. The NISO ODI website includes a directory of published conformance checklists at https://www.niso.org/standards-committees/odi/completed-statements. Libraries are encouraged to share the URL of their completed conformance checklists with ODI by sending the link to odi@niso.org.
There is no formal auditing mechanism in place.
7. How does my library get involved?
Review the ODI Recommended Practice and complete a conformance checklist. Conformance checklists are published voluntarily by a library on its own website. The NISO ODI website includes a directory of published conformance checklists on the NISO website. Libraries are encouraged to share the URL of their completed conformance checklists with ODI by sending the link to odi@niso.org. The ODI conformance checklist will guide and help you assess how the level of conformance your library has attained and assist you in locating areas that need improvement. Libraries can also advocate that their vendors submit conformance checklists as well.
8. How do I complete a conformance checklist?
The conformance checklist describes the degree to which a library has followed recommended practices for discovery service configuration as outlined by the Open Discovery Initiative Recommended Practice. For each item in the conformance checklist, libraries are asked to indicate their degree of conformance: Yes [fully conformant], Partial [partially conformant], or No [not conformant]. In the case of a “Partial” or “No” response to any particular item, libraries are invited to provide an explanatory note describing the response.
9. How long will it take to fill out a conformance checklist?
It can vary depending on the size and complexity of the organizational structure of your institution. Your library will need time to thoroughly evaluate your current practices.
10. Should I publish my conformance checklist if I am not perfect and not fully in conformance?
Yes. The Open Discovery Initiative does not audit conformance checklists; they are designed to promote transparency and set expectations for discovery services and content providers that libraries have reviewed and considered broad configuration decisions. They reflect the library’s current level of conformance and can be amended at any time.
11. Where should I publish my conformance checklist?
Conformance checklists should be published on your organization’s website. For example, some libraries have published their checklists as pages on their site, while others have done so through institutional repositories or public document repositories such as Dropbox or Google Drive.
Once you have published your conformance checklist, send an email to odi@niso.org with the name of your organization and a link to the posted conformance checklists.
ODI will then add your link to the list of completed conformance checklists on the NISO website.