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Paper presented by Neil McLean, Acting University Librarian, Macquarie University at the 2nd National Preservation Office Conference: Multimedia Preservation - Capturing the Rainbow, in Brisbane, 28-30 November 1995.
  • Introduction
  • Background
  • The Challenge
  • Relevants Standards
  • Report Conclusions and Recommendations
  • Trends
  • Development a Standards Framework
  • References

Introduction

In October 1994 the Australian Vice Chancellors Committee (AVCC) Working Party on Electronic Publishing approached me in my capacity as Chair of Standards Australia Committee IT 19 - Computer Applications, Information and Documentation to prepare a position paper on electronic publishing standards which would assist the Working Party in addressing its terms of reference. I agreed to do so and John Cook, a colleague on the IT 19 Committee, joined me as a partner in preparing the report which was delivered in November 1994.

Background

Some comment is necessary to place the report and its findings in context. The AVCC Working Party on Electronic Publishing was established to administer a program of research on library projects sponsored by the
Department of Employment Education and Training (DEET) through the National Priority Reserve Fund. Two other programs were established as part of this initiative namely, System Wide Access to Data Bases and Improved Information Infrastructure.

The Standards Australia, Committee IT 19 - Computer Applications, Information and Documentation was established in 1992, primarily to oversee the development of standards relating to the creation, storage, and accessing of information relating to the library and information industry in Australia.

The Committee's focal point is the International Standards Organisation (ISO) Committee 46, Information and Documentation which has as its primary terms of reference "Standardisation of practices relating to libraries, documentation and information centres, indexing and abstracting services, archives, information science and publishing".

Within TC46 there are a number of different sections. Of particular importance to the IT 19 Committee is TC46 SC4, Computer Applications and Documentation which defines its scope as:

"Standardisation of the methods and procedures for use of computers in information and documentation which embraces, communication, including application protocols and formats; data element directories, including interlibrary loan, acquisition etc; computer aspects of electronic manuscripts and publications; data base management standards for information and documentation, including common command languages; character sets; and codes for computer usage."
Within SC4 there are then a number of working groups which focus on particular areas of activity.

The aim of the IT 19 Committee is to clone, wherever possible, international ISO standards but this is not always appropriate to electronic applications in the library and information industry. Many relevant standards are being developed under the auspices of ANSI, the US standards making body, many of which become ISO standards in the fullness of time.

The Challenge

We were aware from our work within the IT19 Committee that the preparation of a report on a electronic publishing standards would not be an easy task for a number of reasons. The principal problem lies within the term "electronic publishing" which is now widely used to cover a multitude of activities and applications across a wide range of media. There is as yet no model covering the complete spectrum of electronic publishing so the boundaries are extremely difficult to establish. We were faced at the outset therefore, with the problem of how to make sense of standards and we explained the problem as follows:
"Standards, whilst intended to be enabling tools, can be very confusing at times. This is because standards very often reflect people's preconceptions and predispositions. Stakeholders create standards and thus the seeds of conflict are sown. It is therefore necessary to interpret standards in context. Context can be derived from two sources: the environment in which the standards were created and the conceptual framework that underpins them. Details of the environment are often elusive, or inaccessible, to the users of standards because they are not parties to the standards-making process and therefore do not understand its dynamics, whether general or specific to a particular standard. It is thus necessary to emphasise the conceptual framework that provides boundaries and structure to the interplay of standards which are often competing."
In order to focus attention, we adopted a definition of electronic publishing as stated in a report to the Commission of European Communities on Opportunities for Publishers in the Information Services Market (1993) which states that electronic publishing is "any non-print media material which can be electronically delivered, sorted and/or manipulated by the user".

The key drivers underlying this definition are that the information should be reusable, integrated and be amenable to loss free interchange.

In accepting such a definition, we were deeply aware that it could be applied to be a wide range of publishing environments, only a few of which were of direct interest to the AVCC Working Party. It seemed necessary therefore, to identify critical success factors which would apply irrespective of the publishing environment and these were identified as follows from the Commission Report (1993).

  • establishment of common standards especially for optical offline media
  • the costs involved in electronic publishing for both publishers and information users
  • penetration of computers, reading devices and terminals into the market
  • the facilities available in the field of communications
  • the availability of user friendly hosts and gateways
  • the number of databases available
  • development and effectiveness of infrastructures which stimulate acceptance of new technologies
  • availability of low cost, high capacity optical storage media
  • availability of broad band data transmission
We were grappling also with a bewildering array of emerging technologies which made it even more difficult to establish boundaries. In addressing this matter we commented as follows:
"One of the principal reasons for having standards is to impose some order on the interoperability between a burgeoning array of new technologies and communication channels. For example specific applications in the multimedia area require the adoption of a wide range of standards and protocols for successful implementation. The authorise therefore that it is easy to talk about "families" of standards or standards "profiles" to describe the various potential applications in electronic publishing. Such families or profiles will draw on a mixture of internationally agreed standards and defacto industry standards depending on the purpose of the end product and its proposed market."

Relevant Standards

Given the broad interpretation of electronic publishing which we had adopted, it was obvious that there was a very wide range of relevant standards. We had already been having considerable difficulty within the IT 19 Committee in establishing meaningful boundaries for activities as relatively simple as electronic document delivery, which is but one facet of electronic publishing. After considerable thought we compiled the standards under three main facets: structure, presentation and exchange/delivery. Irrespective of the nature of the particular application of electronic publishing, these three facets require attention for a successful outcome.

It is not the intention of this paper to itemise all the standards identified within these three categories as these standards can be readily consulted in the original report. In effect, the vast list of standards provide only a reference point for action, rather then solutions in their own right.

Report Conclusions and Recommendations

There were a number of conclusions reached which are worth repeating in this paper:
Standards represent solidity in a volatile environment
Because of the rigour inherent in standards setting and the inbuilt quality assurance in this process, standards represent islands of calm in a turbulent ocean of technology. This solidity allows those who comply and use standards to offer a firm base on which enterprises can be built.

Standards conserve and enhance the value of information
Standards also conserve and enhance the value of information. This is done by not only preserving the user's existing investment in information but also unlocking paths to more cost-effective use of information in the future.

Stakeholders must be aware of standards developments in order to make publishing decisions
Standards and their development are essential areas of study for publishers which wish to make decisions that optimise the use of resources, whether these resources be denominated in dollars or intellectual capital.

OSI versus the Internet
For some years now there has been intense rivalry between the OSI proponents, mainly based in Europe, and the Internet TCP/IP world, until fairly recently mainly based in the U.S.
It is the view of the authors that there is a place for both and there are many signs of convergence between the rival groups of standards. The lower layers of OSI are now accepted world wide and it is highly likely that the X.400 messaging standard and the X.500 directory standards will become standard applications in many institutions for the organisation of information systems. It is note worthy that the US Defence Department has adopted X.400 and X.500 as basic standards for future development of their information systems.

The Internet as a publishing medium
One of the most strategic decisions of the Working Party will be to ascertain how heavily it wishes to focus publishing initiatives on existing Internet facilities/standards/protocols. It is clear from recent World Wide Web Conferences that there is a vast array of products and tools emerging designed to facilitate electronic publishing, most of them taking advantage of basic standards such as HTML and/or SGML. There is a host of political/socio-economic issues to be resolved before there can be a definitive answer to the question of the universality of the Internet as an electronic publishing medium but it evident that the Internet offers high potential for innovation and access to markets. The commercial publishing world remains somewhat sceptical because of the apparent lack of management facilities to ensure security and adequate billing arrangements, the prerequisites to ensure an economic return. These aspects need careful consideration by the Working Party, if it is the intention to engage in collaborative ventures with commercial publishers.
As a result of the above conclusions a number of recommendations were made to the AVCC Working Party, all of which have seen accepted in principle. There were as follows:
Watching brief on standards development
The AVCC Working Party should continue to keep a watching brief on the development of standards in this area. This will include not only the standards covered in this document, but also any emergent standards in this and contiguous areas.

Refinement of standards model(s)
Incorporated in each revision of the standards brief should be a standards model that reflects a clearer understanding of the interworking between standards and any developments in electronic publishing. The usefulness of a model is entirely dependent on its reflection of the current standards environment.

Development of a number of standards profiles, dependent on environment and application
In order to make standards both more intelligible and more easily implementable, the authors suggest that the AVCC commission the development of a manageable number of standards profiles. These profiles should to address various aspects of Electronic Publishing, for example:
  • Electronic Publishing using Internet services;
  • Electronic Publishing in OSI environments;
  • Dual output EP, including
  • Just-In-Time hardcopy publishing using laser printing technology
  • Hardcopy publishing using automated conventional printing techniques

Convergence of standards
The Working Party should use its influence to further the convergence of the OSI and Internet standards in the interests of electronic publishing by providing continuous updates and by initiating a range of electronic publishing projects.

Liaison with Standards, Australia
Finally, the authors recommend that the Working Party liaises with relevant Standards Australia Committees, especially Standards Australia Committee IT 19 - Computer Applications: Information and Documentation.

Trends

As a result of this study of standards it is possible to identify certain trends in electronic publishing which can be summarised briefly in the following terms:
  • In spite of the variety of formats, information has evolved to a point where generic treatment is possible.
  • There are now concerted attempts to standardise storage, interchange and manipulation formats to attain application and platform independence.
  • There is greatly enhanced capacity for downstream processing through adding further value to information and transmitting it into another form or product.
  • This achievement is largely due to the separation of the different facets of information namely structure, presentation and delivery.

Development a Standards Framework

The process of standards development is very complex and is not within the scope of this paper. With regard to the role of standards bodies we stated in the report:
"There are widely differing views about the role of standards bodies, both at the international and national level. Those at the "cutting-edge" very often despise the role of official standards as being restrictive, out of date and unnecessary. The alternative view is that successful applications of technologies depend on the widespread acceptance of common standards codified at the national and international level. It is the opinion of the authors that there is some truth in both views and the vast array of standards and standards bodies referred to in this paper support a multi-pronged approach to the adoption of standards."
It had been gratifying that all three library programs funded by DEET have committed themselves to the adherence to standards wherever possible and to working with the IT 19 Committee as a means of fostering standards development in Australia.

The agenda of this Conference clearly indicates that there is a convergence of interests across fields that previously thought of themselves as being distinct fields of activity. Those involved in libraries, archives museums and other forms of record management should now reconsider the boundaries of their respective involvement with electronic information with a view to developing common approaches to standards which will allow the real goals of reusability, integration and loss free interchange of information to become realities in the electronic age.

References

  1. Neil McLean and John Cook. Electronic publishing standards. Paper for the AVCC Working Party on Electronic Publishing Nov. 1994.
    Available http://www.gu.edu.au/alib/iii/iii-doc.htm
  2. Secretariat of ISO TC 46, Information and documentation. Organisation and structure. ISO/TC 46N 1407 (1995-06-20).
  3. Commission of the European communities DEXIII/E (1993). Strategic Study on New Opportunities in the Information Services Market. CED February 1993.


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Last updated November 1995.