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Standards Committee
Procedures for Review and Approval of
an SAA-Developed Standard
Standards Flow Chart
Standards Submission Form (RTF file)
Standards for Archival Description
Manual
Technical Subcommittee on Descriptive
Standards Web Site
Please note: A listserv, <saa-standards@lists.archivists.org>,
is maintained for communication and discussion among members of various
SAA
standards groups and others interested in archival standards. Contact
the Standards
Committee chair if you wish to join the listserv.
I. Purpose
The Standards Committee is responsible for overseeing the process of
developing, implementing, and reviewing standards pertinent to archival
practice and to the archival profession and for providing for effective
interaction with other standards-developing organizations whose work affects
archival practice.
II. Committee Selection, Size, and Length of Term
The Board consists of six appointed members, who serve staggered three-year
terms and one of whom shall be chair, and at least five ex officio members.
Ex officio members represent other SAA groups whose interests and activities
closely interact with those of the Standards Committee or act as SAA's
representatives to external organizations responsible for matters within
the committee's area of concern. Ex officio members shall include:
- SAA's representative to the Association for Information and Image
Management
- SAA's representative to the American Library Association's Committee
on Machine-Readable Recording of Bibliographic Information (MARBI),
responsible for maintaining the USMARC formats;
- SAA's representative to the American Library Association's Committee
on Cataloguing Description and Access (CC:DA), responsible for maintenance
of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules;
- SAA's representative to the National Information Standards Association;
and
- Other SAA representatives appointed to standards-developing organizations.
The incoming President annually appoints the chair and two appointed
members, whose terms begin at the end of the annual meeting.
The Committee may form (and disband) Technical Subcommittees for areas
requiring specialization or technical expertise, such as Description or
Preservation, in which the number of standards, the degree of technical
expertise required, and the speed of change in the standards landscape
are such that the Standards Committee by itself could not keep pace. Chairs
of the Technical Subcommittees shall be regular or ex officio members
of the Standards Committee. Working Groups may be formed (and disbanded)
by the Standards Committee, Technical Subcommittees, and shall be chaired
by a member of the Standards Committee or by other groups within SAA.
Working Groups are ad hoc and re-chargeable annually; certain Working
Groups for on-going, complex standards might continue for many years.
The Technical Subcommittees provide oversight to the Working Groups.
IV. Reporting Procedures
The chair prepares an annual report, budget submits it to Council in
accordance with established procedures. The chair is responsible for coordinating
the formulation and evaluation of the annual report and other planning
documents as needed in the consultation with Committee members. Each Technical
Subcommittee chair is responsible for preparing and submitting an annual
report of the group's activities to the Standards Committee chair.
V. Duties and Responsibilities
To fulfill its mission as described above, the Board is specifically
charged with:
- preparing and disseminating information regarding procedures for standards
governance within SAA;
- maintaining a log of standards-related activities within SAA that
will track (1) the status of ongoing standards development and review
of SAA-approved standards and (2) SAA's review and response to standards
affecting archival practice that are developed by other organizations;
- identifying and involving appropriate SAA units in the development
of specific proposals, ensuring that all affected constituencies are
consulted;
- recommending to Council action on proposed standards;
- publicizing and promoting effective implementation of accepted standards;
- establishing a process for the periodic review of all standards; and
- promoting effective interaction with allied professions and standards
organizations and overseeing SAA's participation in the cooperative
development of standards.
VI. Meetings
The Committee meets at the Annual Meeting and on other occasions as needed.
When warranted, the Committee will also hold public hearings at the Annual
Meeting to discuss procedures established for the development and review
of SAA standards and to discuss proposals for new or revised standards.
Approved by Council: June 1991 (for a period of three years); June
1992 - extended to June 1995
Revised: June 1998
Procedures for Review and Approval of an SAA-Developed Standard
I. Submission of a Proposal for a Project to Create, Revise, or Review
an SAA-Developed Standard.
Proposals must be submitted by official groups within the SAA. Individuals
interested in the development of a standard may consult with the Standards
Board on appropriate groups for submission of a standards proposal.
I.A. The proposing group shall:
I.A.1. Request a blank PROPOSAL FORM from SAA Office or the Standards
Board
I.A.2. Complete the PROPOSAL FORM, which shall include:
- name of sponsoring group and name of individual to contact
- concise statement of
- identified need for standard
- expected effect/impact on individuals and institutions
- scope of coverage/application
- format, content
- known existing standards that are closely related to or affected
by the proposed standard
- list of other SAA subgroups, outside organizations, and experts
who will be consulted during the development or will be asked
to review the standard before it is submitted for adoption by
SAA Council
- time table for development process
- budgetary implications for SAA, including direct costs for meetings,
travel, copying, postage, as well as indirect costs for SAA staff
time.
I.A.3. File the PROPOSAL FORM with the Standards Board.
I.B. The Standards Board chair shall:
I.B.1. Enter receipt of the PROPOSAL FORM in the STANDARDS PROJECT
LOG maintained by the Standards Board and send acknowledgement of
receipt to proposing body
I.B.2. Distribute copies of the PROPOSAL FORM to the other members
of the Standards Board
I.B.3. Collect comments and suggestions from members of the Standards
Board.
II. Standards Board Action in Response to Proposal.
The Standards Board will take one of the following actions in response
to a proposal, as appropriate:
II.A. Return for revision
The Standards Board will return to the proposing group a PROPOSAL
FORM that is incomplete or that requires revision and request that
it be revised and resubmitted.
II.B. Decline proposal
The Standards Board may decline to approve undertaking a standards
project because
(1) a similar standard already exists; (2) the proposed standard
is in direct conflict with an SAA-adopted standard or policy; (3)
another group is already working on a similar standard (in which
case the Standards Board will suggest that the two parties work
together toward common ends); (4) there is insufficient demand or
potential benefit to SAA members to warrant the expense of its development;
(5) the proposed standard does not fall within the scope of the
Standards Board. The proposing group may file an appeal with Council
within 60 days of notification by the Board.
II.C. Submit for Council approval of undertaking project (when necessary)
Some proposals may require significant financial support from SAA
(e.g., creation of an ad hoc task force). If the Standards Board
agrees that the proposal has merit but may require significant SAA
funding, the Standards Board will send the PROPOSAL FORM and any
accompanying correspondence or other documentation to SAA Council
for approval of undertaking the project. Council's Executive Committee
may be able to grant approval and expedite the process so that further
action does not have to wait until the next full Council meeting.
II.D. Approve proposal and announce intention to initiate project
If the Standards Board agrees that the proposal has merit (and
any necessary Council approval to undertake the project has been
granted), it will publish a "Notice of Intention to Initiate"
in the next issue of the Society's newsletter. This step is taken
to notify the membership that a project will soon be under way and
to solicit comments and participation from interested parties. Official
project approval will automatically be granted 30 days after publication
of the "Notice" unless the comments received by the Standards
Board chair are such that the proposal warrants reconsideration,
in which case the Board will refer the proposal and comments back
to the proposing group for review and response.
II.E. Assignment to primary group for development.
For all approved standards development projects, the Standards
Board will assign to an SAA group principal responsibility for developing
(i.e., creating, revising, or reviewing) the standard. In most cases,
the proposing group will be the primary development group. In some
cases, however, Council may create a task force or working group
(see II.C. above) to take responsibility for the development process.
III. Standards Development Process.
III.A. Consultation with other SAA subgroups and external organizations.
The developing group will engage in extensive consultation with interested
parties inside and outside of SAA, essential to the development of
standards, and must submit to the Standards Board evidence that such
consultation has taken place. The developing group must address all
written comments addressed to the group and all comments made at an
SAA open meeting.
Consultation should be pursued through several means, as follows:
III.A.1. Letters sent at the beginning of the project to heads
of organizations known to have an interest in the standard under
development, inviting their comments and/or participation in the
development process, as appropriate
III.A.2. Publication of notices in the newsletters of these organizations
about the intention to develop the standard and, later, providing
updates on the progress of the development project
III.A.3. Publication of the draft standard in SAA's newsletter
and/or SAA section newsletter(s), as appropriate
III.A.4. Publication of the draft standard in external publications
and/or circulation of the draft standard to heads of interested
organizations
III.A.5. Circulation of the draft standard to groups and individuals,
inside and outside of SAA, with particular interest or expertise
in the topic, including posting on electronic networks
III.A.6. Joint meetings with interested organizations to discuss
common concerns. These meetings could occur at the outset of the
project or after circulation of a draft standard
III.A.7. Open forums or hearings at the SAA annual meeting.
III.B. Preparation of the package containing the final draft of
the standard and supporting documentation
Once it has completed the consultation process and prepared the
final draft of the standard, the developing group will compile a
package to forward to the Standards Board for its review. This package
will include:
III.B.1. Full text of the proposed standard
III.B.2. Introductory narrative
This section must include the scope of application, in particular
- the purpose or objective of the proposed standard and
- the specific audiences, circumstances, or techniques to which
it is directed.
- It should also contain background and other supplementary
information, as necessary, that can provide a context for understanding
how the standard was developed and when and how it will be used,
including
- brief history and methodology of its development
- participants in the development process
- relationship to predecessor documents
- significant changes from earlier versions
- glossary or definitions of terms, if necessary
- illustrations or examples of how the standard can be applied
- bibliography, if necessary.
III.B.3. Documentation of the consultation process
The developing group must submit documentation that the consultation
process has taken place and that a reasonable agreement has been
reached on the contents and intent of the proposed standard. This
evidence may take the form of:
- Copies of letters from other organizations supporting the
proposed standard;
- Clippings from publications that publicized the development
project or published drafts of the standard;
- Copies of correspondence discussing areas of dispute in the
proposed standard;
- In case of unresolved disputes, explanations from the group
responsible for development of efforts made to accommodate the
expressed concerns and/or justification for approving the standard
in the absence of universal agreement.
III.B.4. Maintenance and review plan.
The submitting group must recommend a plan for maintenance and
review of the standard it has developed. All adopted SAA standards
will be assigned to a permanent SAA subgroup for necessary maintenance
and review. Each will be assigned to a review cycle (typically
in the range of 5-7 years) at which time SAA Council will be asked
to reaffirm, revise, or rescind the standard. The "Maintenance
and Review Plan" will suggest the appropriate subgroup for
assignment and length of the review cycle.
III.C. Notice of abandoned project.
In the event that the developing group fails to reach general
agreement on a draft standard or, for whatever reason, chooses
to discontinue its work on the proposed standard, it shall notify
the Standards Board that it has abandoned the project. The Standards
Board shall publish a notice in the SAA newsletter that the project
has been discontinued.
IV. Standards Board Review of Draft Standard.
Upon receiving the final draft package from the developing group, the
Standards Board will take the following actions:
IV.A. Review package
The Standards Board will review the package to insure that it is
complete and that adequate consultation and review has taken place.
It may return the package to the developing group if significant elements
are missing.
IV.B. Notice of project completion/publication of revised draft standard
IV B.1. Notice of project completion
If the final draft package is deemed complete, the Standards Board
will publish a notice in the next newsletter announcing that the
standards development project has been completed and the draft standard
forwarded to Council (see IV C).
IV B.2. Publication of revised draft standard.
Based on the substance of the revisions, the potential breadth
of impact, and any apparent substantive remaining conflicts on content,
the Standards Board may determine that the entire revised text should
be published in SAA's newsletter or made available from the SAA
office, in order to insure the broadest participation and awareness
of the standards development process. The Standards Board will accept
written comments on the revised draft addressed to the Standards
Board chair within thirty days of publication of the revised draft
or notice of the availability of the revised draft.
If additional comments received after publication of the revision
indicate widespread disagreement on the revised draft within the
membership of SAA, the Board may determine that the draft should
be referred back to the developing group for response. Substantive
changes to the draft standard as a result of these additional comments
may require publication of a new "Notice of Completion"
and notification or publication of a new revised draft.
The Board may determine that issues raised in the additional comments
were already addressed adequately during the development and consultation
process. It will then publish the notice of completion and forward
the package to SAA Council.
IV.C. Recommendation to SAA Council.
At the conclusion of the development process, the Standards Board
will send to Council a report on the process and a recommendation.
IV.C.1. Recommendation to consider adoption
When the Standards Board is satisfied that the development and
consultation process has been satisfactorily completed, it will
after publication of the notice, forward the package to SAA Council
with a recommendation that Council consider adopting the draft document
as an official standard of the Society of American Archivists.
IV.C.2. Report on "irreconcilable differences."
The Board, after reviewing all documentation, may determine that
disagreements raised represent substantive irreconcilable differences
of views or professional positions. The Standards Board will forward
the package to SAA Council with an explanation of the remaining
problems, and, depending on the type of standard and breadth of
impact, may or may not recommend that Council consider whether to
adopt the draft as an official standard of the Society of American
Archivists.
V. Promulgation, Maintenance, and Review of Adopted Standards.
The Standards Board shall insure that the following actions are taken
for each standard formally adopted by SAA Council. Often the subgroup
that developed the standard will be actively involved or have primary
responsibility for these activities.
V.A. Publication of the standard
V.A.1. Full text in the SAA newsletter
The preferred method of publication will be to publish the full
text of the adopted standard in the American Archivist.
V.A.2. Notice of availability in newsletter
Some standards may be too long to publish in the American Archivist.
For these, a notice of their approval and a summary of their contents
will be published in the next SAA newsletter along with information
about how to obtain a copy from the SAA office.
V.A.3. Notice in the American Archivist.
As the journal of record, the American Archivist carries
minutes for the SAA Council which will record all formal approvals
of SAA standards.
V.B. Promotion of the standard
V.B.1. Notice to heads of allied professional organizations
The President and/or Executive Director should send a letter and
copy of the adopted standard to all interested outside organizations
notifying them of SAA's action. The subgroup that developed the
standard should help draft the letter and identify which groups
to contact.
V.B.2. Press release to editors of professional journals and newsletters
The Executive Director and/or Managing Editor should, in cooperation
with the developing subgroup, draft a press release to editors of
allied professional journals and newsletters announcing the approval
of the standard and providing its full text when possible.
V.B.3. Other publicity.
For standards of interest beyond professional circles, the Executive
Director, Managing Editor, and developing subgroup should determine
how best to publicize their approval.
V.C. Maintenance of the standard
V.C.1. Subgroup responsible for maintenance and review
As part of the approval process, the Standards Board will assign
the standard to a permanent SAA subgroup for maintenance and review.
In most cases, the subgroup will be one that has been actively involved
in its development.
V.C.2. Review cycle
As part of the approval process, the Standards Board will assign
each standard a review cycle usually in the range of 5 to 7 years,
at the end of which SAA council will be asked to reaffirm, revise,
or rescind the standard. Of course, proposals to revise adopted
standards may be submitted at any time.
V.C.3. Monitoring and promulgating use.
The maintaining subgroup will be responsible for promoting the
proper and effective use of the standard.
V.D. Review of the standard
At least one year before the review cycle expires, the Standards
Board will notify the maintaining subgroup that it should initiate
a formal review of the content and use of the standard. In consultation
with the Standards Board, the group will prepare a plan that will
insure consensus through the same kinds of broadly based consultation
and review that occurred when the standard was originally developed.
The plan may include:
V.D.1. Consultation with other SAA subgroups and interested organizations
outside of SAA
V.D.2. Joint meetings with some of these subgroups and/or organizations
to discuss proposed revisions
V.D.3. Public hearings at the SAA annual meeting
V.D.4. Publication of notices about the initiation of the review
in SAA publications and/or in publications of other organizations
V.D.5. Publication of the text of any proposed revisions in SAA
publications and/or in publications of other organizations.
V.E. Recommendation to SAA Council
V.E.1. The maintaining subgroup will submit a package to the
Standards Board containing its recommendation to reaffirm, revise,
or rescind the standard along with documentation about the review
process
V.E.2. The Standards Board will review the package to insure
that the review plan was adequate. Assuming that no procedural
questions remain unresolved, it will forward the package to Council
with the recommendation to reaffirm, revise, or rescind.
V.F. Notice and publication of reaffirmed, revised, or rescinded
standards.
An information dissemination process similar to that outlined under
V.A. and V.B. (above) for new standards will be followed to insure
broad awareness of SAA actions concerning reaffirmed, revised, and
rescinded standards.
Revised June 1995
Standards Development and Review
Responsibilities of the Standards Committee
The SAA Standards Committee, created by Council of the Society of American
Archivists in 1990, is responsible for oversight and coordination of the
process of developing and reviewing standards pertinent to archival practice
and to the archival profession and for providing for effective interaction
with other standards-developing organizations whose work affects archival
practice.
As part of its responsibilities, the Standards Board establishes, with
Council approval, procedures for initiating, developing, reviewing, and
approving all standards developed by the Society of American Archivists
through its subgroups, as well as procedures for reviewing standards submitted
by outside groups to SAA for its endorsement.
The Standards Committee works with groups on standards and projects from
the initiation of the proposal, through development and review, to submission
of the standard to Council for final approval.
The Committee also serves to coordinate the work of SAA representatives
to standards organizations, such as the National Information Standards
Organization (NISO), the Association for Information and Image Management
(AIIM), the American Library Association (ALA), and the American Institute
for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC).
Types of Standards
Standards of many kinds are now central to archival practice. These include,
for example, standards used in automated information systems, in preservation
management, and other technical areas as well as standards and guidelines
relating to professional practice. Standards make possible sharing of
information, development of common vocabularies, and more effective interaction
among archivists, librarians, and records managers and information managers,
preservation administrators, historians and other allied professions.
Standards can take many forms. The most exacting are technical standards
(e.g., Z39.50 — the standard for intersystem data searching and retrieval)
which, if applied correctly, can be expected to produce uniform and consistent
results. A second type is conventions or rules which are more flexible
and accommodate more variation in local practice (e.g. Hensen's Archives,
Personal Papers, and Manuscripts: A Cataloging Manual). They will produce
similar but not necessarily identical results when applied consistently.
A third type is guidelines, which provide models of preferred practices
and/or serve as criteria against which to measure products or programs
(e.g. SAA's Guidelines for the Development of a Curriculum for a Master
of Archival Studies).
While SAA will rarely be in a position to develop technical standards
on its own, it will play an important role as a participant in work undertaken
by other organizations, such as NISO and AIIM, that do develop technical
standards. SAA will more often be involved in developing conventions or
rules, usually working with or through organizations, and guidelines,
which are developed through the Society's committees, sections, roundtables,
or other designated groups.
Developing Standards within SAA
The Standards Committee recognizes the central importance of consensus
to the development of b standards. However, consensus on a specific standard
may not always equate with unanimous and unqualified approval by all concerned,
for in most cases it will be difficult to achieve.
The Standards Committee procedures for standards development within SAA
mandate broad review of any proposed standard by all groups both inside
and outside SAA that have an interest in the standard. Important features
of the review process are:
- establishment of the need for the standard through a formal "request
for initiation of a standards project,"
- publication of notices in the SAA newsletter about initiation and
ongoing progress in standards development projects,
- publication and/or distribution of full texts of proposed standards
through the SAA office,
- formal invitations to representatives form outside organizations to
participate in the development and/or review of drafts of proposed standards.
The Standards Committee will be primarily concerned with process.
The best possible effort will be made to insure that all reasonable opinions
are considered in the development process and most disputes resolved before
a document is deemed ready for consideration by Council as an SAA standard.
The responsibility for the content of the standards will rest with
the group that is developing or revising the document. This may be an
existing subgroup within SAA or one that is created on an ad hoc basis
specifically to develop the standard in question.
Final adoption of a document as an SAA standard will rest with
the Officers and Council of the Society of American Archivists.
Once the standard is adopted, it is crucial that an ongoing subgroup
in the Society is assigned maintenance responsibilities so that
the document can be promulgated widely, monitored in its application,
and revised when necessary.
The Standards Committee has prepared detailed procedures for standards
development and review that are summarized in the attached flow chart.
Initiating a Standards Development Project
SAA subgroups wishing to initiate a standards development project should
request a "Proposal for an SAA Standards Project" form from
the SAA office or the Standards Committee chair. These projects may include
any of the following: the development of a new SAA standard, the review
and approval of an existing document as an SAA standard, or the review
of an existing SAA standard leading to its reaffirmation, revision or
rescission.
The form requests that the proposing subgroup prepare a brief written
statement describing the scope and intent of the project (see the attached
form for details). The statement is intended to provide enough information
to the Board and SAA Council to determine if sufficient resources are
available to pursue the project and to insure that similar or conflicting
activities are not already being pursued elsewhere.
Elements of a Standards Document
When a standard has been drafted and is ready to begin the review process,
the developing subgroup will also need to prepare a package of accompanying
documentation that will provide a context for understanding how it was
developed and when and how it should be applied. In addition to the specific
principles or specifications that constitute the body of the standard
itself, the final standards document should contain the following supplementary
information:
Background
- Name of the developing group (including names of individual members
who participated in development and/or were members when the group approved
the current version, as well as acknowledgment of other participants
in the development process).
- History of the development of the standard (charge or authorization
under which it was developed, methodologies used during development,
predecessor and/or related documents, significant changes from earlier
versions).
- Dates of formal approval or adoption by the developing group.
- Recommendations specifying which permanent SAA subgroup should be
charged with maintaining and/or revising standard, following approval.
Scope of Application
- Purpose or objective of the standard.
- Specific audiences, circumstances, or techniques to which the standard
is directed.
- Supplementary information (as necessary).
- Glossary or definitions of terms.
- Illustrations or examples of how the standard can be applied.
- Bibliography.
For Information or Assistance
The Standards Committee is ready to assist any SAA subgroup or outside
organization devise a strategy for developing a new standard or for the
review and/or revision of an existing document so that it can be considered
for formal adoption as an SAA standard. Please feel free to contact the
chair or any member of the Standards Committee for further information.
Meetings of the Standards Committee
The Standards Committee meets once a year at the SAA annual meeting and
again in midyear depending upon operational need and contingent upon SAA
funding.
While regular meetings are open to any SAA member who wishes to attend,
the Committee shall also hold public meetings at the SAA annual meeting
to report on the progress of ongoing standards development of review projects
and to receive questions and suggestions.
Records of Standards-Related Activity
The chair of the Standards Committee maintains a record of standards
related activity within SAA. The official record will begin with 1) the
receipt of the proposal to develop a standard within SAA, 2) receipt of
the proposal to reaffirm, revise, or rescind an existing SAA standard,
or 3) receipt of a request to review a standard developed by an organization
outside of SAA. Entries will be annotated with the dates each step in
the review and approval process is completed.
Approved by SAA Council June 1995
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