ISO standards for documents

ISO/TC 46/SC 10 Information and Documentation/Physical keeping of
Documents

ISO/TC 46/SC 10 Information and Documentation/Physical keeping of
Documents was established in 1988 with this scope: Standardization
of requirements for documents and practices relating to documents,
when the documents are to be used in libraries, archives, and
documentation centres, and are to retain their characteristics.
Photography and other media within the scope of TC 42 and
micrographics and optical memories within the scope of TC 171 are,
however, excluded from this scope.

>From 1988 Ivar A. L. Hoel, Denmark, has been the secretary and Rolf
Dahlo, Norway, the chairman of ISO/TC 46/SC 10. In 1998, there were
17 P-members with the right to vote and 13 O-members (observers). 6
working groups have been responsible for the technical work
developing the drafts of International Standards. P- and O-members
are the national member bodies, and individuals and organizations
are encouraged to participate in the work of the national
standardization organizations.

Many of the readers of the Conservation DistList will know that
ISO/TC 46/SC 10 has developed the international standard for
permanent paper: ISO 9706: 1994 Information and documentation--Paper
for documents--Requirements for permanence. Other published
international standards are ISO 11108: 1996 Information and
documentation--Archival paper--Requirements for permanence and
durability, and ISO 11800: 1998 Information and
documentation--Requirements for binding materials and methods used
in the manufacture of books.

FDIS 11798 Permanence and durability of writing, printing and
copying media on paper documents--Requirements and testing methods
will soon be circulated for ballot in its final version as a Final
Draft International Standard before publication. In 1999 FDIS 14416
Requirements for binding of books, periodicals, serials and other
paper documents for library and archival use--Methods and materials,
and FDIS 11799 Document storage requirements will also be circulated
for this final ballot before publication. A Committee draft CD 15659
Archival boards--Migration test will need further technical work
before a new ballot. Work on ISO/WD 15660 Storage and preservation
of sound and video media has been discontinued. Working group 6
prepare the working draft ISO/WD 16245 Archives boxes and file
covers for paper documents before circulation for ballot.

ISO 9706 will in 1999 come up for the systematic review of all
International Standards. Every International Standard shall be
reviewed at least every five years by the technical committee or
subcommittee responsible for it, in order to decide by a majority
vote of the P-members voting whether it should be confirmed, revised
or withdrawn. Votes shall be returned within six months of the
initiation of the enquiry. There is a technical discussion whether
the maximum limit for a Kappa number requirement should be changed
or not. Kappa number is a figure that expresses the material's
sensitivity to oxidation (ISO 302:1981 Pulps--Determination of Kappa
number). Some interested parties argue that a higher lignin content
will not harm the future strength of permanent paper. Other
interested parties argue that this view has not been proved. Other
parties may interpret the Kappa number limit also as a safeguard
against undesirable discolouration of permanent paper. Some members
voting on ISO 9706 wanted further safeguards in the permanent paper
standard limiting the maximum level of traces of some metals that
may serve as catalysts in paper degradation. See URLs:
<URL:http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla64/044-114e.htm>
(<URL:http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/dahlo/rationale.html>),
<URL:http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla64/115-114e.htm>, and
<URL:http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla64/045-114e.htm>. If the P-members
of ISO/TC 46/SC 10 decide that ISO 9706: 1994 should be revised, it
becomes a new project and shall be added to the programme of work of
the technical subcommittee. If the P-members decide that this
standard should be confirmed, ISO 9706: 1994 will remain unchanged
until there is a decision in ISO/TC 46/SC 10 to revise on the basis
on new knowledge or according to future five years reviews. I hope
that this international standard will remain a good basis for the
work to reduce future preservation needs by using paper that has the
ability to remain chemically and physically stable over long periods
of time, and that the preservation community will be aware of the
different demands for a revision of ISO 9706.

Rolf Dahlo

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:56
                 Distributed: Tuesday, January 5, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-56-001
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