Standards Banquet: What happens when IFLA and ISO come to the same table

Abstract

Cooperation between IFLA and ISO was established after World War II under the auspices of UNESCO. Both organizations have a long history of involvement in standardization in the field of information and documentation. IFLA focuses on standards for library services and bibliographic processing. ISO specializes in technical standards. The development process for ISO standards follows several stages from inception to publication. This work is carried out by groups of experts appointed by the members of the committee concerned. ISO shows through its collaborations with organizations with category A liaison status that standardization work can bring together experts from different backgrounds for the benefit of the international community. A joint IFLA/ISO work programme could be developed on the basis of the draft standards under development on both sides.