[Web4lib] NISO I2 Working Group Releases Midterm Report: Feedback Requested

[Jody DeRidder]

The NISO I2 Working Group has released a midterm report: 
http://www.niso.org/workrooms/i2/midtermreport/

The NISO I2 WG is soliciting feedback on the report and guidance for  the
next steps in developing this standard from individuals and groups
involved in the digital information transactions.  Stakeholders include
publishers/distributors, libraries, archives, museums,  licensing
agencies, standards bodies, and service providers, such as library
workflow management system vendors and copyright clearance  agencies.
Anyone involved at any level in the distribution, licensing, sharing or
management of information is invited to participate.

Please read the information below and participate in the evaluation of our
midterm work by reading the midterm release document and  answering a few
questions about each development area.  You are the
stakeholders for this information standard.  We must work to ensure  that
it meets your needs, so your input is very valuable and  important to us.

BACKGROUND:
NISO established the  working group in 2008 to develop an institutional
identifier (I2) to uniquely identify institutions engaged in the digital
information workspace.  The goal of the I2 Working Group is to develop an
institutional identifier that is globally unique, robust, interoperable,
scalable and able to integrate smoothly with current digital information
workflows.  The working group is currently at the midterm of its efforts
and  hopes to complete its draft specification by December, 2010. 
Community input was requested through surveys and conferences to refine
the objectives, create the metadata and identify scenarios of  need.  We
are currently soliciting midterm review to provide confirmation of our
work to date, course correction as needed and to  ensure that we have
identified and are addressing all the issues
surrounding this critical enabling standard.

 THE PROBLEM SPACE:
Obtaining, using, sharing, storing and managing  information often
involves multiple institutions across the digital  information space. 
These institutions must be able to identify each  other and to trust that
the identification is both correct and  unique.  The information managed
may itself be digital (e.g., the  licensing of an e-book) or analog
information that is managed over  the digital information space (e.g.,
interlibrary loan of a physical  book).  Currently, there are many
identifiers in use, ranging from  simple naming to established codes. 
However, no single identifier  that is globally unique, trustworthy, and
able to capture  relationships among institutions and variant legacy
identifiers for  institutions currently exists.  As a result, transactions
are locked   into proprietary workflow silos and management of all the
digital information activities of an institution are not integrated.

THE PROPOSED SOLUTION:
The I2 is proposed as a globally unique,  robust, scalable and
interoperable identifier with the sole purpose of uniquely identifying
institutions.   The I2 consists of  two  parts: an identifier standard
that includes the metadata needed to  uniquely identify  the organization
-- including documenting  relationships with other institutions that are
critical for  establishing identity -- and  a framework for implementation
and use.
The I2 is envisioned as a simple, core identifier with the sole  purpose
of identifying institutions in a robust and trustworthy  manner. 
Workflow-specific implementations, such as regional ILL collaborations or
ebook licensing services, will leverage the I2.

THE BENEFIT:
Institutions will only have to request and reuse a  single identifier. 
Institutions will be able to robustly identify every institution engaged
in an information transaction. Institutions  that engage in many different
information transactions or that work with many different institutions
will be able to track and manage  institutional activities across multiple
workflows through the use of a single, authoritative identifier.

The Midterm status report and review survey are available at the following
link.  Please respond by August 2, 2010.

Thank you very much for your support of this lynchpin digital information
standard.  Your input is very valuable to us and will be carefully studied
and considered. Please download the report
and keep it open to assist you in completing the survey.

http://www.niso.org/workrooms/i2/midtermreport/


Thank you for your support.
 Grace Agnew, Rutgers University Libraries
Oliver Pesch, EBSCO
Co-chairs, NISO I2 Working Group



Jody DeRidder
Digital Services
University of Alabama Libraries
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487
(205) 348-0511
jody at jodyderidder.com
jlderidder at ua.edu