IFLA Standards’ Groups

Committee on Standards

The Advisory Committee on Standard (CoS) coordinates standards work within and beyond IFLA and support standards activities in IFLA professional units, principally in Sections.

CoS is also the parent committee to IFLA’s four Review Groups:

Relations with External Standards’ Bodies

IFLA has formal relationships with the following library standards-issuing bodies. The Governing Board appoints representatives to attend meetings of these bodies and these representatives submit regular reports to the IFLA Committee on Standards

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

ISO is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organisations. ISO is the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards. IFLA is registered as Category A liaison (Organizations that make an effective contribution to the work of the technical committee or subcommittee for questions dealt with by this technical committee or subcommittee) with:

IFLA Representative: Paola Manoni (2010-)

European Committee for Standardization (CEN)

CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation) is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to foster the European economy in global trading, the welfare of European citizens and the environment by providing an efficient infrastructure to interested parties for the development, maintenance and distribution of coherent sets of standards and specifications.

IFLA is represented on the Technical Body: CEN/TC 346 – European Committee for Standardization’s Technical Committee – Conservation of Cultural Heritage

IFLA Representative: Renate Behrens (2019-2021)

International ISBN Agency Board

The International ISBN Agency Board meets twice a year to discuss the key issues which affect the ISBN system and to report on projects that the agency is involved in or which are relevant to its operations. IFLA was granted observer status to the International ISBN Agency Board in 2007; re-affirmed in March 2013.

IFLA is an ex officio Director of the Board (no voting rights and no term limit but has influence over discussions of the Board). The ISBN Agency Board meets in person twice a year – once at the London Book Fair (April each year) and once in September at the venue where the Board has it AGM.

IFLA Representative: Ulrike Junger (2019-2021)