State Library Agencies’ Information Technology Standards Policies & Procedures

This questionnaire is part of a study sponsored by the National Information Standards Organization (NISO). This study will compile information about state library agencies' standards policies and procedures as they relate to the use of technical standards for information systems and services (e.g., library automation, digital libraries, networking, Internet/Web, and electronic publishing) by each state's library communities. The study will document the range and extent of state library agency standards policies and identify the concerns of State Librarians regarding technical standards used by libraries. NISO is interested in identifying how state library agencies address the formal technical standards needed state-wide by libraries and developing appropriate services to assist agencies in their standards activities.

Please provide complete answers to the following questions and return the copy by July 15, 1998 in the self-addressed envelope provided. An electronic version of this questionnaire and instructions for completing and returning it are available at:
<http://www.unt.edu/wmoen/projects/NISO/questionnaire.htm>.

Questions about this study should be directed to William E. Moen, Principal Investigator, at: <untniso@unt.edu>.

Thank you for your participation and cooperation in this study.

A. Your Familiarity with National and International Standards Organizations

1. Please indicate your familiarity with the National Information Standards Organization (NISO).
_____ Actively support (e.g., member, participant in standards developing committees, etc.)
_____ Very familiar
_____ Somewhat familiar
_____ Not at all familiar

2. Please indicate your familiarity with NISO standards.
_____ Very familiar
_____ Somewhat familiar
_____ Not at all familiar

3. Please indicate your familiarity with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
_____ Actively support (e.g., participant in standards developing committees, etc.)
_____ Very familiar
_____ Somewhat familiar
_____ Not at all familiar

4. Please indicate your familiarity with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and Internet Society.
_____ Actively support (e.g., member, participant in standards developing committees, etc.)
_____ Very familiar
_____ Somewhat familiar
_____ Not at all familiar

5. Please indicate your familiarity with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
_____ Actively support (e.g., member, participant in standards developing committees, etc.)
_____ Very familiar
_____ Somewhat familiar
_____ Not at all familiar

B. Information about You and Your Agency's Standards Activities

1. Your Name: ____________________________________________________________________________

2. Your Title/Position: ______________________________________________________________________

3. Contact Address: _______________________________________________________________________

4. Contact Telephone Number: _______________________________________________________________

5. Contact Fax Number: ____________________________________________________________________

6. Contact Email Address: __________________________________________________________________

7. Please describe your responsibilities for, and/or involvement with, your agency's standards activities.

 

 

8. To which governmental unit does your state library agency report and where does your agency reside within your state government's organizational structure?

 

 

9. Does your agency's Mission, Goals, and Objectives discuss the agency's role/responsibilities for the use of national and international technical standards by libraries in your state?
_____ YES
_____ NO

10. Does your agency have legal or statutory responsibility for requiring/recommending national and international technical standards for libraries in your state?
_____ YES
_____ NO

11. If your answer to Question 10 was NO, please describe what you perceive as appropriates roles for your agency regarding state-wide library technical standards activities.

 

 

12. Does another state governmental unit(s) recommend/require technical standards that impact your choice of national and international technical standards for libraries in your state?
_____ YES
_____ NO
If yes, please identify the governmental unit(s) (i.e., name of governmental unit) and the areas of standards it recommends/requires (e.g., networking, platforms, operating systems, software, telecommunications, etc.).

 

 

13. Please mark all of the following that apply in describing your agency's activities and responsibilities related to national and international technical standards for libraries in your state:
____ Identification of standards
____ Evaluation of standards
____ Recommendation of standards
____ Requiring standards
____ Adoption of standards
____ Implementation of standards
____ Promotion of standards
____ Education and training about standards
____ Other, please specify and describe

14. Which types of libraries are subject to your state-wide technical standards policies/recommendations/requirements? (Mark all that apply)
_____ Academic
_____ Government ____State ____County ____Municipal
_____ Public
_____ School
_____ Special
_____ Archives
_____ Other, please specify

15. If your agency recommends/requires the use of national and international technical standards, identify the mechanisms your agency uses for communicating these required/recommended standards to affected libraries in your state.

 

 

 

C. Use and Implementation of Standards

1. Do you have written policies and procedures that address the use of national and international technical standards by libraries in your state?
_____ YES
_____ NO
If yes, please identify and briefly describe below. Please send copies of standards-related documentation with your completed questionnaire in the self-addressed envelope provided. If available electronically, please provide URLs to the documents.

 

 

 

2. Does your agency promote the use of national and international technical standards to libraries in your state?
_____ YES
_____ NO
If yes, please describe the ways that your agency promotes their use.

 

 

 

3. Identify the three key advantages that standards provide your agency (e.g., administrative rule-making? cooperative buying?).

a. ____________________________________________________________________________________

b. ____________________________________________________________________________________

c. ____________________________________________________________________________________

4. Identify the three key advantages that standards provide the libraries in your state (e.g., resource sharing? protecting investments?).

a. _____________________________________________________________________________________

b. _____________________________________________________________________________________

c. _____________________________________________________________________________________

5. What are three key factors that affect the adoption rate and use of technical standards by libraries in your state (e.g., costs? knowledge?)?

a. _____________________________________________________________________________________

b. _____________________________________________________________________________________

c. _____________________________________________________________________________________

6. Briefly discuss your strategy for increasing the adoption rate and use of technical standards by libraries in your state?

 

 

 

7. How does your agency monitor compliance by libraries with recommended/required technical standards?

 

 

 

8. Are there consequences for libraries for non-compliance with recommended/required technical standards ?
_____ Yes
_____ No
If yes, please describe the consequences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Please indicate your policy on and/or awareness of the following NISO standards:

NISO Standards Implementation
Z39.2-1994 Information Interchange Format (MARC) ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
Z39.9-1992 International Standard Serial Numbering (ISSN) ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
Z39.21/ISO 2108 International Standard Book Numbering (ISBN) ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
Z39.44-1986 Serials Holdings Statements ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
Z39.47-1993 Extended Latin Alphabet Coded Character Set for Bibliographic Use (ANSEL) ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
Z39.50-1995 Information Retrieval ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
Z39.56-1996 Serial Item and Contribution
Identifier (SICI) 		____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
Z39.57-1989 Holdings Statements for Non-Serial Items ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
Z39.58-1992 Common Command Language for Online Interactive Information Retrieval ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
Z39.71-1998 Holdings Statements for Bibliographic Items ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
Z39.76-1996 Data Elements for Binding Library Materials ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
Other NISO Standards (please identify)  

 

10. Please indicate your policy on and/or awareness of the following technical standards:

Other Technical Standards Implementation
ISO 10160 Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Application Service Definition ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
ISO 10161 Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Application Protocol Specification ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
ISO 9000 Quality Standards ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
ASC X12 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
EDIFACT ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
UNICODE ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
X.400 Message Handling Standard ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of
X.500 Directory Services Standard ____Currently require ____Recommended ____May adopt in future
____Aware of standard, but do not recommend/require ____Not aware of

11. Please identify other specific technical standards (e.g., standards related to library automation, digital libraries, networking, Internet/Web, electronic publishing, etc.) you think are important for your state's libraries to implement:

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

D. Roles of NISO and Your Agency in Standards Activities

1. Please describe what you perceive as NISO’s current roles and responsibilities as they relate to your agency and its standards activities.

 

 

2. Identify three key roles for state library agencies to assist libraries in adopting and implementing technical standards.

a. ______________________________________________________________________________________

b. ______________________________________________________________________________________

c. ______________________________________________________________________________________

3. Please describe what you think NISO’s roles and responsibilities should be to assist your agency and its standards activities.

 

 

4. Should state library agencies be involved in the development of national standards?
_____ YES
_____ NO
If yes, what do you see as your agency's future role related to standards development (e.g., voting member of NISO, participant on standards committees, NISO Board member, etc.)?

 

5. How will the increasing use of electronic/digital information in the emerging networked environment of libraries affect state library agencies' roles, responsibilities, opportunities, challenges, etc. related to technical standards for libraries?

 

 

 

6. Identify three key areas in which you believe new technical standards are needed.

a. _______________________________________________________________________________________

b. _______________________________________________________________________________________

c. _______________________________________________________________________________________

 

Thank you for your participation in this study.

Return the completed questionnaire by July 15, 1998 in the self-addressed envelope provided to:

State Library Agency Standards Study
William E. Moen, Ph.D.
SLIS, University of North Texas
P.O. Box 311068
Denton, TX 76203-1068

If you are completing an electronic version of this questionnaire, please return it as an attachment to an email message to:

untniso@unt.edu

 

[WEM June 26, 1998]