- International ISTC Agency Announces 4 New Registration Agency Appointments
- International ISTC Agency Announces New Registration Agency Appointments
- International Organization for Standardization Formally Publishes International Standard Text Code Standard
- International Standard Text Code Agency Announces New Registration Agency Appointments
International ISTC Agency Announces 4 New Registration Agency Appointments London, UK (February, 2011) – The International ISTC Agency, the official Registration Authority for the International Standard Text Code (ISTC), is pleased to announce its appointment of four new official registration agencies (ISTC-RAs). All will start operating in early 2011. In Australasia, two ISTC-RAs have been appointed - Thorpe-Bowker, based in Australia and Nielsen Book Asia Pacific (NBAP), based in New Zealand. Thorpe-Bowker is the existing ISBN agency for Australia, and the Standard Address Number (SAN) agency for both Australia and New Zealand. It has been in operation from 1 January 2011. NBAP intends to provide an ISTC registration service primarily for book publishers, of texts covering any subject matter in either English or Maori, based in Australia or New Zealand and commenced at the beginning of February 2011 There are also two new ISTC-RAs in Europe – Boekenbank in Belgium and the Federation of Intellectual Property Rights (FIPR) in Russia. Boekenbank, which has one of the most comprehensive and accurate online title databases of books that are either published or distributed in Flanders aims to establish itself as the ISTC agency for the Dutch language book market. It will start operation in April 2011. FIPR has been set up by the Russian Reproduction Rights Organisation (Copyrus) and the Russian State Library. It will register all kinds of text originating in the Russian Federation in a variety of languages and commenced operations in January 2011. The ISTC is an approved ISO standard (ISO 21047), providing a means of uniquely identifying textual works in information systems. It facilitates the enhancement of discovery tools, enabling them to identify and group together publications of the same textual content. The ISTC also facilitates exchange of information about such works between publishers, authors and authors associations, collective management organizations, libraries, search engines and others on an international level. More information regarding the ISTC standard is available at www.ISTC-international.org, the official web site of the International ISTC Agency. “These appointments mean that we now have 8 ISTC-RAs in operation and we cover many of the major markets – US, UK and Russia as well as the French, German and Dutch speaking language areas”, says Julian Sowa, Chairman of the International ISTC Agency. “It is excellent news that we have expanded further in Europe and broken new ground in Australasia. 2011 will be the year when ISTC really takes off and we look forward to a record number of registrations”. Publishers, authors, rights-holders and others interested in the ISTC are encouraged to participate with their local ISTC registration agency to exchange required meta-data about their works and groupings of works that are intended for ISTC assignment. Registration of textual works on the central ISTC database is in many cases entirely free of charge. General information about the ISTC, including a list of agency contacts, can be accessed at www.ISTC-international.org. The International ISTC Agency encourages organisations wishing to become an ISTC Registration Agency to contact the International ISTC via: James Boyd, Communication and Product Development, IFRRO at +32 2 551 08 97 or james.boyd@ifrro.org. About The International ISTC Agency
Formed in 2008, The International ISTC Agency is a not-for-profit company appointed by the International Standards Organisation ISO as global authority responsible for the promotion,
coordination and supervision of ISO 21047 - International Standard Text Code (ISTC) standard and system.
The International ISTC Agency Ltd
Incorporated in England and Wales
Company Number 06674385
Registered Office: Care of 19 Cavendish Square, London W1A 2AW
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International Standard Text Code Agency Announces New Registration Agency Appointments London, UK (October 1, 2010) – The International ISTC Agency, the official Registration Authority for the International Standard Text Code (ISTC), is pleased to announce its appointment of Cercle de la Librairie in Paris, France, as the fourth official ISTC registration agency. Cercle de la Librairie is to delegate responsibility for operating their agency to Electre, the French language bibliographic data service. This means that Electre are now authorized to assign ISTCs to textual works on behalf of authors, publishers and other content owners or representatives. Although no ISTC registration agency has exclusive rights to operate within a specific domain, Electre intend to focus on works which are written in French and/or published in France.
The ISTC is an approved ISO standard (ISO 21047), providing a means of uniquely identifying textual works in information systems. It facilitates the enhancement of discovery tools, enabling them to identify and group together publications of the same textual content. The ISTC also facilitates exchange of information about such works between publishers, authors and authors associations, collective management organizations, libraries, search engines and others on an international level. More information regarding the ISTC standard is available at www.ISTC-international.org, the official web site of the International ISTC Agency.
“We are very excited to welcome Cercle de la Librairie and Electre to the ISTC community, says Julian Sowa, Chairman of the International ISTC Agency, “especially as they bring with them valuable recent experience and insight in to the process of cataloguing publications based on their content. This is an approach which directly fits the philosophy of the ISTC. With the appearance of so many new ways to consume the same content, especially in digital as well as conventional print formats, we believe that the ISTC, as a content-identifier, is becoming increasingly important. We are very pleased that there is now a dedicated ISTC registration agency for such a vibrant publishing industry as that of France”.
“Our willingness to promote the ISTC standard responds particularly to the conviction, which was shared by the whole of the profession at the time of the latest Frankfurt Book Fair, that the quality of the metadata for the diffusion and sale of books is even more decisive in the digital universe than in the physical world” said Philippe Beauvillard, CEO of Electre. “The reorganization of our bibliographical system as a work driven database, which we realized in 2010, already integrates the ISTC concept. This recent realization gives us a specific competency to organize the progressive diffusion of this standard to the benefit of the professionals”.
Publishers, authors, rights-holders and others interested in the ISTC are encouraged to participate with their local ISTC registration agency to exchange required meta-data about their works and groupings of works that are intended for ISTC assignment. Registration of textual works on the central ISTC database is inexpensive and, in many cases, entirely free of charge. General information about the ISTC, including a list of agency contacts, can be accessed at www.ISTC-international.org.
The International ISTC Agency encourages organisations wishing to become an ISTC Registration Agency to contact the International ISTC via: James Boyd, Communication and Product Development, IFRRO at +32 2 551 08 97 or james.boyd@ifrro.org.
About The International ISTC Agency
Formed in 2008, The International ISTC Agency is a not-for-profit company appointed by the International Standards Organisation ISO as global authority responsible for the promotion, coordination and supervision of ISO 21047 - International Standard Text Code (ISTC) standard and system.
The International ISTC Agency Ltd
Incorporated in England and Wales
Company Number 06674385
Registered Office: Care of 19 Cavendish Square, London W1A 2AW
About Cercle de la Librairie
Cercle de la Librairie is a French interprofessional organism which regroups representatives of the different steps of the book process. Since its creation in 1847, it has efficiently adapted itself to the key changes which have occurred in the book sector. Today, its commercial subsidiary, Electre, manages the Éditions du Cercle de la Librairie, as well as publishes the magazine of the book trade, Livres Hebdo. Via the Electre database, it also offers to the whole of the sector’s participants - editors, booksellers and libraries – the supply of professional bibliographical information and associated services. Already ensuring the management of the organism in charge, in France, of the attribution of ISBN numbers, Cercle de la Librairie is thus from now on the regional ISTC registration agency.
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International Organization for Standardization Formally Publishes International Standard Text Code Standard Publishers, authors and rights-holders are encouraged to pursue ISTC assignments to optimize catalogue management and book discoverability
London, UK (March 19, 2009) – The International ISTC Agency, the official Registration Authority for the International Standard Text Code (ISTC), today announced that the International Organization for Standardization has formally published ISO Standard 21047, which is available now at http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=41603.
The ISTC system provides a means of uniquely and persistently identifying textual works in information systems, and facilitates the exchange of information about such works between publishers, authors and authors associations, collective management organizations, libraries, search engines and others on an international level. The ISTC makes it possible to group products containing the same content, or even in some cases, different content with the same origins, together, optimizing their discoverability in search engines, retail and library cataloging systems.
More information regarding the ISTC standard is available at www.ISTC-International.org, the official web site of the International ISTC Agency.
“The publication of the ISTC brings to an end a long period of development and we can now look forward to the implementation in the U.S. and elsewhere of a standard that should do much to help how books are discovered and retrieved,” said Michael Healy, executive director of the Book Industry Study Group. ”I hope publishers, booksellers, librarians and our entire industry join together to help make this important standard a success throughout our industry.”
“I was involved in the development of ISTC at the very beginning of the ISO process, and have long believed that the ‘text’ sector needed a standard identifier for the identification of abstract ‘works’ within the supply chain,” commented Mark Bide, executive director of EDItEUR. “The importance of mechanisms to secure the identity of all types of resources for network commerce is becoming increasingly clear. The ISTC has a potentially significant role to play in many different parts of the value chain, from discovery to rights management.”
According to Richard Owens, director of the copyright e-commerce, technology and management division for the World Intellectual Property Organization, “Over 12 years ago, the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty recognized the importance of protecting digital identifiers under the heading of ‘rights management information’. Since then, identifiers like the ISTC have become essential tools for managing copyright across a spectrum of uses, in developed and emerging markets. The ISTC has great potential for building accuracy and reliability in the trading of text materials, and sets a positive example for further development of standard identifiers.”
The International ISTC Agency has already received a number of formal expressions of interest from prospective ISTC registration agencies in Europe.
“The expressions of interest we’ve received to date demonstrate that there is a real demand for the benefits available from using the ISTC standard,” says Andy Weissberg, spokesperson for the International ISTC Agency and vice president of identifier services and corporate marketing at Bowker. “Together with participating registration agencies, publishers and authors, we can proceed with confidence toward adopting the ISTC as a global standard for optimizing book discoverability and catalogue management.”
About The International ISTC Agency
Officially founded in 2008, The International ISTC Agency is responsible for the promotion, coordination and supervision of the International Standard Text Code (ISTC) standard and system. Bowker, Nielsen, CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) and IFFRO (The International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations) are founding members of the International ISTC Agency.
To participate in ISTC pilot programs, or to learn more about the ISTC standard, in the UK, contact Julian Sowa, Chairman, at +44 (0) 1483 712330 or Julian.Sowa@nielsen.com. US-based inquires should be directed to Roy Crego at 908.219.0240 or roy.crego@bowker.com. General information about the ISTC can be accessed at www.ISTC-International.org.
About The International Organization for Standardization
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. ISO began operations on 23 February 1947.ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of some 157 countries, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system. More than 100 of ISO's members are from developing countries. ISO has more than 17 700 International Standards in its current portfolio. ISO's work program ranges from standards for traditional activities, such as agriculture and construction, through mechanical engineering, manufacturing and distribution, to transport, medical devices, the environment, safety, information and communication technologies, and to standards for good practice and for services. For more information, visit www.iso.org.
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International Standard Text Code Agency
Announces New Registration Agency Appointments
London, UK (January 5, 2009) – The International ISTC Agency,
the official Registration Authority for the International Standard Text Code (ISTC),
is pleased to announce its appointment of Bowker and Nielsen Book as ISTC registration
agencies that are now authorized to assign ISTCs on behalf of publishers, authors
and content owners.
An approved ISO standard (ISO 21047), the ISTC provides a means of uniquely and
persistently identifying textual works in information systems, and facilitates the
exchange of information about such works between publishers, authors and authors
associations, collective management organizations, libraries, search engines and
others on an international level. More information regarding the ISTC standard is
available at www.ISTC-International.org,
the new official web site of the International ISTC Agency.
“We are very enthusiastic about bringing to market this very important industry
standard,” says Andy Weissberg, Vice President of Identifier Services and
Corporate Marketing at Bowker. “For publishers, authors and rights-holders,
the ISTC will optimize and streamline consumer discovery of various book product
and format options, providing an industry-standardized framework for linking and
co-locating print and digital manifestations of original textual works in retail,
search engine and library catalogues,” added Weissberg.
Authors, rights-holders and others interested in ISTC are encouraged to participate
in pilot programs offered by both Bowker and Nielsen that will provide free registration
of ISTCs on a semi-limited basis through May 2009. Within these programs, participants
are encouraged to exchange required meta-data about their works and groupings of
works that are intended for ISTC assignment, for which selected portions shall be
validated for ISTC assignments for free during the pilot program period.
The International ISTC Agency encourages entities that wish to apply to become an
ISTC Registration Agency to contact the International ISTC Agency to participate
in the expression of interest process: James Boyd, Communication and Product Development,
IFRRO at +32 2 551 08 97 or james.boyd@ifrro.org,
or Eric Baptiste, Director General, CISAC at cis@cisac.org.
About The International ISTC Agency
Officially founded in 2008, The International ISTC Agency is responsible for the
promotion, coordination and supervision of the International Standard Text Code
(ISTC) standard and system. Bowker, Nielsen, CISAC (International Confederation
of Societies of Authors and Composers) and IFFRO (The International Federation of
Reproduction Rights Organizations) are founding members of the International ISTC
Agency.
To participate in ISTC pilot programs, or to learn more about the ISTC standard,
in the UK, contact Julian Sowa, Chairman, at +44 (0) 1483 712330 or
Julian.Sowa@nielsen.com. US-based inquires should be directed to Roy Crego
at 908.219.0240 or roy.crego@bowker.com.
General information about the ISTC can be accessed at
www.ISTC-International.org.
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