Collection Level Description

3. Collection Description

3.2 ISO 2146

This section examines the scope and utility of the ISO 2146 standard: Documentation - Directories of libraries, archives, information and documentation centres, and their databases. The latest edition of the standard predates the explosion of the Web and networked information capabilities, and comment will be made on its initial primary function and continued applicability in an online networked retrieval context.

3.2.1 Scope

The scope of the standard as identified in its paragraph 1 is stated as:

to assist in compiling directories. The rules of this standard concern international directories, national directories published in bi- or multilingual countries, and national directories intended for international use. The standard should be used for the collection of the appropriate data and for the publishing of the directories as well as for the exchange of data.

An example of how some data elements may be used could be presented:

Some implications of this table are discussed below.

The principal element to note from this scoping introduction is that the standard is defined for the collection of data for print publishing, and this core element is reflected in the overall shaping of the data within the standard definition. ISO 2146 was originally published in 1972, and the revision of 1988 was defined ahead of the surge in availability of information in worldwide computer networks. It remains a standard for the accumulation of data for presentation in a linear format, and not for retrieval in an interactive data retrieval context.

This can be shown in several areas:

• Institutional name and relationships
  The structure of the standard reflects an approach to an institution so that the central details of an organisation may be recorded and expressed simultaneously in a display with its constituent parts, so that for instance the main body is recorded under tag 'aaa' with each collection or sub-unit enumerated in multiple tags 'faa'. This provides for a logical structure in a printed directory, but will cause problems in a structured online retrieval system, where a hierarchical approach could be adopted to ensure parity of entries. Structurally, the 2146 approach is also weak in showing relationships between multiple instances of a data element. As shown in the above example, for each item 'faa', a sequence of alternative name tags 'fac' to 'fas' are provided, followed by address details 'fca' to 'fcn'; mailing address details ('fd'); communication details ('fn'); and indeed 20 additional data element groups. It is the input operators' responsibility to ensure linkage between the data elements by providing a linking numerator, which is very prone to error, and difficult to interpret cleanly for display. The example shows an extract from a hypothetical record, with hierarchical linkages difficult to see and confirm.
• Standardisation of data within data elements
  To its credit the standard refers to additional ISO standards quite extensively, to support the data entry for consistent elements such as dates (ISO 2014); languages (ISO 639); country codes (ISO 3166). However, in other - and many - tags the definition of data elements is weak, and does not provide for international entry or retrieval:

  For example:

  Data element: Archival finding aids (Tag 'pcn') is exemplified as guides, inventories, special lists, indexes'

  and more critically

  Data element: Description of services (Tag 'rad') in a single tag is called to provide:

  • Description of printed information service
  • Description of database
  • Description of enquiry service
  • Description of dialogue participation service
  • Description of profile service

  each of which enumerates a list of specific attributes for the service:

  • name of database
  • type of data
  • coverage (chronological and geographic)
  • recorded data elements
  • access
  • format.

  This approach is fine for a linear production, but is not clearly focussed to allow the type of recording and therefore retrieval that is required for a digital collection.

• Bureaucratic information. In the world of information retrieval, users are mainly interested in access to the piece of information that they require, and do not need to know full details of the bureaucracy of the organisation that is presenting the information. ISO 2146 reflects the printed directory requirement for data on the business approach, and provides copious fields for recording the name and title of the head of the organisation, and the contact point for each of the collections - with organisational detail. Details of organisational history and budgets are also provided for.

3.2.2 Currency of the Standard

Within ISO, the responsibility for this standard falls under Technical Committee 46 (TC 46: Information and Documentation), and within TC 46, to SubCommittee 9 (SC-9: Presentation, identification and description of documents). It was originally prepared by a former subcommittee of TC 46 (SubCommittee on Documentation), and passed to SC-9 in the late 1980's. As SC-9's activities are more focussed on bibliographic data - Bibliographic filing principles (ISO 7154); Title leaves of books (ISO 1086); International Standard Music Number (ISMN) (ISO 10957) as examples - this standard which is concerned with collections and institutions now stands apart from the mainstream of SC-9's activities.

ISO Standards are subject to review every 5 years: in the 1993 review of the standard there were 12 votes in favour of confirming the standard, with 2 in favour of revision, and 1 in favour of withdrawal. A further review was scheduled to take place between November 1998 and March 1999, and a growth in votes for revision or withdrawal may be expected, according to the SC-9 Secretariat, in view of the overall changes in networked infrastructures: as formulated in 1988, this standard predates the World Wide Web, and the availability of databases across the Internet. It therefore makes little reference to computer networks generally. A substantial revision would therefore seem to be appropriate.

3.2.3 Current Applications

It has been very difficult to discover working applications of ISO 2146. The TC 46/SC 9 Secretariat reports no feedback on actual implementations. Paragraph 5 of the standard calls for the establishment of a Maintenance Agency, but none was ever established, leading to some of the potential problems described above, and almost certainly ensuring that the standard will lapse with lack of ongoing support.

In the absence of a Maintenance Agency, it would still be possible to adapt the standard for controlled usage within a defined application, and particularly where such an application, although referring to widespread institutions, is maintained centrally. In a controlled capacity, it should be possible to employ the standard for administration purposes. The French InterLibrary Loan Service for Academic Libraries, run by the Agence Bibliographique de l'Enseignement Supérieure (ABES) kept a database based on ISO 2146 to detail the library members of the service, giving details of the participant institutions, with addresses and contact details, and indications of usage restrictions. As ABES is currently moving to a PICA implementation, it is not know n whether the database will be maintained in its former structure. In its call for tender for NDIS, the National Library of Australia indicated that ISO 2146 would be among a number of standards used for directory structures; again in their AMICUS implementation, it is not known whether use of the standard remains a goal.

3.2.4 Potential

It is not possible for the standard in its current iteration to be used as the basis for networked directories of collections, and much work would need to be applied to revise the standard for use in the wider network context. In particular, the following actions would be required:

• The establishment of a maintenance agency
• Definition of a collection, or determination of a hierarchical structure within the standard, to ensure focus and linkage of required data elements
• Detailed enumeration of data elements to ensure no ambiguity
• Detailed identification of codified elements to ensure exactness of approach and internationalisation of meaning
• Definition of revised elements for network connectivity to reflect advances in technology
• Definition of new elements for access control
• Definition of revised elements for terms and conditions of use

Martin Fisk, Aurora Information Technology