Call for Participation to Revise ANSI/NISO Paper Permanence Standard

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The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) is seeking participants for a working group to revise the standard Permanence of Paper for Publications and Documents in Libraries and Archives (ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R2009)). This standard establishes criteria for coated and uncoated paper that will last several hundred years without significant deterioration under normal use and storage conditions in libraries and archives. It identifies the specific properties of such paper and specifies the tests required to demonstrate these properties.

"Since it was first issued in 1984, the Paper Permanence standard has been widely used to ensure that paper documents needed for archival or long-term retention were produced on paper that will last for hundreds of years or longer," states Betty Landesman, Head of Technical Services and Content Management at University of Baltimore, Langsdale Library, and Co-Chair of the NISO Content and Collection Development Topic Committee that has responsibility for this standard. "The paper permanence symbol defined by this standard is well-recognized as an indicator of compliance."

"In conducting the five year periodic review of this standard, last revised in 1992, it was determined that it should be updated to reflect changes in paper technology and testing," explains Marti Heyman, Executive Director, Metadata Standards and Services at Cengage Learning and Co-Chair of the NISO Content and Collection Development Topic Committee. "Specifically, the convened working group will be asked to look at issues of lignin, recycled content, and fillers; investigate further testing of how lingin affects permanence; and investigate methods to reveal compliance."

"For the revision working group, we are seeking individuals with experience in paper preservation needs; paper composition, fiber, and stability; and/or paper analysis and test methods," said Nettie Lagace, NISO Associate Director for Programs. "We are interested in having individuals from both the user community and paper producers."

Anyone interested in participating should contact NISO using the online contact form (www.niso.org/contact/) and indicate your areas of related knowledge or expertise. The current version of the Paper Permanence standard can be downloaded from the NISO website at: http://bit.ly/1De8vYP.

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