[Moderator's note: I'm forwarding the NISO press release announcing the
release of the new Library Statistics Standard. NISO is seeking comment
from all sectors of the library community, including the federal sector.
   Steve]

NISO Press Release

For Immediate Release
Contact: Vivian Campagna
July 26, 2002
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301.654.2512


Information Services and Use: Metrics & statistics for libraries
and information providers--Data Dictionary


Bethesda, MD, USA - NISO, the National Information Standards
Organization, announces the release of the 2002 Library Statistics
Standard as a Draft Standard for Trial Use. The revised standard
addresses an area critical to the information community: measurement
of electronic resources (E-metrics). The new draft standard is
available on the NISO website at this url:
http://www.niso.org/emetrics/.

"This new edition of Z39.7 is a major departure from prior versions
of the standard. Not only has the Committee embraced valuable best
practices long recognized by the U.S. library community, we have also
incorporated international definitions," said Denise Davis, Chair of
Standards Committee AY, Library Statistics. "And, by offering this
standard in a web-accessible database we are extending its reach and
functionality."

The trial use period is 12 months, supporting an annual data
collection cycle. All persons engaged in data collection activities
at the local, state, and national levels are encouraged to provide
comments to the committee. Publishers, information aggregators and
consortia are encouraged to review and use the E-metrics sections.

Comments will be accepted from July 26, 2002 - July 31, 2003. "The
Committee is very hopeful that both library staff and database
publishers will use this opportunity to test the standard and the
web-accessible data dictionary," said Denise Davis, Chair of the
Statistics Committee. The data dictionary incorporates de facto
library metrics as well as definitions and methods of measurement
adopted by international standards groups and U.S. library
associations.

Revisions to the draft Standard will be released quarterly, depending
upon the level of comment, and will be available on the NISO website.
A comment site for the Statistics Standard is available at:
http://www.niso.org/committees/public/index.html. NISO has created a
listserv to encourage discussion beyond the formal channels. To
subscribe to the listserv, send an e-mail message to:
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the subject of your message. For additional information about NISO
Standards Committee AY, visit the Committee website at:
http://www.niso.org/committees/committee_ay.html

About NISO:
NISO is the only U.S. group accredited by the American National
Standards Institute to develop and promote technical standards for
use in information delivery services providing voluntary standards
for libraries, publishers and related information technology
organizations. All NISO standards are developed by consensus under
the guidance of experts and practitioners in the field to meet the
needs of both the information user and the producer. For information
about NISO's current standardization interests and membership
possibilities, visit the NISO website at http://www.niso.org.