[SigLT-L] NISO Publishes Recommended Practice on Exchanging Serial Content

[NISO Announce]

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) announces the
publication of a new recommended practice, *Protocol for Exchanging Serial
Content (PESC)* (NISO RP-23-2015), which provides guidance on the best way
to manage the elements of digital serial content packaging in a manner that
aids both the content provider and the content recipient in understanding
what has been delivered and received.



"Many diverse organizations—such as publishers, content aggregators,
archives, and indexing services— exchange and work with the heterogeneous
digital files that make up serial content,” states Kimberly A. Tryka,
Research Data Librarian, National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) and Co-chair of the NISO PESC Working Group. "Organizations that
exchange serial content know that lack of consistency in packaging and
describing the items being exchanged leads to frustration and inefficiency.
The PESC recommended practice is intended to inform members of the
scholarly information community about preferred practices for packaging and
exchanging serial content which can enable the creation of better automated
processes to receive and manage serial content."



"Use cases including a diverse array of actors helped map out the complex
ecosystem in which the exchange of serial content occurs," explains Leslie
Johnston, Director of Digital Preservation, National Archives and Records
Administration and Co-chair of the NISO PESC Working Group.  "The PESC
recommended practice includes guidance to communicate about the package
itself, a manifest document, folder structure for the content of the
package, and package format. There are also examples of three various
conformance levels, which are intended to communicate various levels of
exchange between organizations. These demonstrate the flexibility of PESC
to be suitable for use in assorted situations between parties. The
recommendations include advice for maximizing the effectiveness of the
recommendations, and detailed examples of packages and an FAQ included in
the document's appendices should also help practical adoption of PESC. This
could additionally serve as a model for the interchange of other forms of
electronic content."



"By following these recommendations, exchanging organizations can clearly
communicate more systematically what content has been transmitted, how it
is organized, and what processing is required when a new package is
received," comments Todd Carpenter, NISO Executive Director. "We are
pleased to publish the collaborative product of another successful Working
Group. As we have done with other initiatives, NISO will create a Standing
Committee that will provide maintenance, education, and outreach for PESC."



*Protocol for Exchanging Serial Content (PESC)* (NISO RP-23-2015) is
available for free download from the PESC Working Group webpage on the NISO
website at www.niso.org/workrooms/pesc/ .


Nettie Lagace

NISO Associate Director for Programs

nlagace at niso.org
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