Standards work in progress

IFLA generally uses the term “standards” to refer to the following types of documents:

• Guidelines (documents consisting of instructions, advice and models of preferred practices)
• Best practice (documents consisting of procedures and techniques based on experience and research)
• Conceptual models
• Rules for resource description
• Digital format codes

They are developed following the IFLA Standards Procedures Manual.

Once completed and endorsed by the IFLA Professional Committee on behalf of the Governing Board, new Standards are published in the IFLA repository, announced via the news feed and included in the list of current IFLA Standards.

IFLA Standards in progress

The following IFLA Standards are in the standards review and approval process.

In final review and endorsement stages

• International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD), update 2021 to the 2011 consolidated edition (Status: approved by CoS in November 2021 and forwarded to the Professional Committee; endorsed by the PC February 11, 2022; in final publication process)
  Further information, contact ISBD Review Group
• Common Practices for National Bibliographies in the Digital Age (Status: revised draft reviewed by CoS in January 2022; approved to be prepared for publication and forwarded to Professional Committee for final endorsement at its April 2022 meeting)
  Further information, contact Bibliography Section
• SET Guidelines for LIS Education from the Building Strong Library and Information Science Education (BSLISE) working group (Status: approved by CoS in February 2022; forwarded to Professional Committee for final endorsement at its April 2022 meeting)
  Further information, contact Section on Education and Training

Standards reviewed and returned to the Units

• Reference and Information Services Guidelines (Status: revised draft reviewed by CoS in January 2022; returned to Section to revise and resubmit)
  Further information, contact Reference and Information Service Section
• Guidelines for Audiovisual and Multimedia Collection Management in Libraries (Status: CoS review comments returned to Section in June 2017; revisions projected July 2023)
  Further information, contact Audiovisual and Multimedia Section

Standards development in progress

• Guidelines for Library Services for People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Deafblind, revision (expected submission date December 2022). Further information, contact: Library Services to People with Special Needs Section

Recently completed and published standards

• Competency Guidelines for Rare Books and Special Collections Professionals (endorsed by the Professional Committee in October 2020)
• Guidelines for Setting Up a Digital Unification Project (endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2019)
• IFLA Guidelines on Public Internet Access in Libraries (May 2019, endorsed by the Professional Committee in June 2019)
• Gifts for the Collections: Guidelines for Libraries, expanded 2019 edition (endorsed by the Professional Committee in March 2019)
• IFLA Guidelines for Library Services to Children aged 0-18, 2nd edition, version 1.1.1, June 2018 (endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2018)
• IFLA Guidelines for Library Services to People Experiencing Homelessness (endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2017)
• Guidelines for translations of the IFLA ISBD namespace in RDF, version 1.0, April 2017 (endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2017)
• IFLA Library Reference Model: A Conceptual Model for Bibliographic Information (endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2017, amended and corrected December 2017)
• Definition of PRESSoo: A Conceptual Model for Bibliographic Information pertaining to Serials and Other Continuing Resources, version 1.3, August 2016 (endorsed by the Professional Committee in March 2017)
• Definition of FRBRoo: A Conceptual Model for Bibliographic Information in Object-Oriented Formalism, version 2.4, November 2015 (endorsed by the Professional Committee in December 2016)
• Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (ICP) (approved November 2016, endorsed by the Professional Committee in December 2016)
• IFLA Guidelines for Continuing Professional Development: Principles and Best Practices, 2nd edition (approved June 2016, endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2016)
• Guidelines for Parliamentary Research Services (approved August 2015)
• IFLA School Library Guidelines, 2nd revised edition (endorsed by the Professional Committee in June 2015)

See also the full list of current IFLA Standards