Consortium of Library Networks (AGV) and Cooperative Network Applications Working Group (AG KVA)
The AGV coordinates and facilitates cooperation between library networks when introducing and maintaining innovative services.
The Cooperative Network Applications Working Group (AG KVA) develops solutions designed to improve the reciprocal use of data and is subordinate to the Consortium of Library Networks (AGV).
More about the AGV
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German Institute for Standardization (DIN) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
As cooperative partners of the German Institute for Standardization, the German National Library is involved in standardisation processes both within Germany and internationally. Staff from the German National Library are members of the Standards Committees Information and Documentation (NID) and Information Technology and selected IT Applications (NIA). These comprise subcommittees for
- Transliteration and transcription,
- Quality – statistics and performance evaluation,
- Presentation, identification and description of documents,
- Country codes,
- Collection preservation in archives and libraries,
- Records management and long-term archiving of digital information objects, and
- Character encoding.
The German National Library is also one of the sponsors of the NID.
We also participate in the standardisation committees for quality assessment for national libraries and for Universal Coded Character Set run by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
More about the DIN Standards Committee Information and Documentation (NID)
More about the DIN Standards Committee Information Technology and selected IT Applications (NIA)
Deutsche Initiative für Netzwerkinformation e. V. (DINI)
The development of modern information flows for teaching and research requires agreements, partnerships, recommendations and standards. The Deutsche Initiative für Netzwerkinformation – DINI supports this development.
The German National Library has representatives on the board and in the following working groups:
- DINI/nestor working group for research data
- DINI working group/ZKI commission "E-Framework"
- Electronic publishing (E-Pub)
- Competence Centre for Interoperable Metadata (KIM)
More about DINI
Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) Usage Board
As a member of the DCMI Usage Board, the German National Library works on the development and dissemination of DCMI Metadata Terms. The committee's task is to maintain and develop the DCMI Metadata Terms and the vocabularies associated with them. Aspects such as the compatibility of DCMI Metadata Terms with RDF (Resource Description Framework), semantic stability and backward compatibility play an important role in this context.
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European RDA Interest Group (EURIG)
Founded as an interest group in 2010, EURIG has since developed into the most important decision-making body for the RDA standard at European level. At present, it represents 40 member institutions from 26 countries. It nominates the Europe Region Representative in the RDA Steering Committee, and its EURIG Editorial Committee is actively involved in the further development of the RDA standard. The German National Library has been representing EURIG on the RDA Steering Committee in the capacity of Europe Region Representative since 2016.
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International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions is the leading international body representing the interests of libraries and information services and their users. It is also the global voice of the library and information sector. The German National Library has representatives in many IFLA working groups and divisions, and participates intensively in the development of standards, models and cataloguing codes.
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International Internet Preservation Consortium (IIPC)
The IIPC is an international consortium of institutions and facilities that operate web archives or are involved in web archiving. It comprises more than 50 members, most of which are national libraries; other members include archives, scientific institutions and corporations. As a member of the IIPC Steering Committee, the German National Library is involved in the development of strategies and standards for web archiving and digital preservation of web archives.
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Competence network nestor
Standards have yet to be developed in the field of digital preservation. The competence network nestor links institutions involved in digital preservation of digital data. Its tasks include initiating or bundling standardisation activities and preparing them for national and international standardisation. Here nestor cooperates with the national standardisation committee for records management and long-term archiving of digital information objects run by the German Institute for Standardization (DIN). The administrative office of nestor is located at the German National Library.
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MARC Advisory Committee (MAC) and MARC Steering Group
In 2004, during the course of the internationalisation of bibliographic standards, it was decided that the data format Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC 21) should be introduced at all German-speaking libraries as a uniform, mandatory exchange format. The German National Library has been delivering its data in MARC 21 format since 2009.
More about standards, concepts and guidelines
As a member of the most important committee, the MARC Advisory Committee (MAC), the German National Library makes a significant contribution to the development of this format. The MAC convenes twice a year to discuss amendments and additions to formats on the basis of discussion papers and proposals. The final decisions are made by the MARC Steering Group, in which the Library of Congress, the Library and Archives Canada, the British Library and the German National Library are all represented.
More about the MARC Advisory Committee
Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS) Editorial Board
The Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS) is an important metadata format for digital preservation that describes the structure of information packages in digital collections. As a member of the METS Editorial Board, the German National Library works on the development of this standard at international level.
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Resource Description and Access (RDA) Board
The German National Library uses the international standard Resource Description and Access (RDA) when recording bibliographic and authority data. The RDA Board is responsible for the strategic development and economic organisation of RDA. Members are appointed in accordance with the regional principle. Europe has had a National Institution Representative since 2016. This function is currently performed by the German National Library.
More about standards, concepts and guidelines
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RDA Steering Committee (RSC)
The RSC is responsible for work on cataloguing codes relating to the Resource Description and Access (RDA) standard. Members of this committee are also appointed in accordance with the regional principle, and there has been a Europe Region Representative since 2016. This function is currently performed by the German National Library. There are also numerous working groups and so-called liaisons with other working groups that focus on individual and special topics, e.g. on models such as the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Library Reference Model (IFLA LRM) and the International Cataloguing Principles (ICP), and on standards such as ISBD (International Standard Bibliographic Description) and ISSN (International Standard Serial Number).
More about the RSC
Committee for Library Standards
The Committee for Library Standards is a collaborative alliance of cultural and academic organisations and institutions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Its aim is to ensure the use of common standards for cataloguing, interfaces and formats in libraries and promote the interdisciplinary harmonisation of cataloguing and data networking. It is managed by the German National Library’s Office for Library Standards (AfS – Arbeitsstelle für Standardisierung).
More about the Committee for Library Standards
