NISO Begins Process of National Standardization of the 3M Standard Interchange Protocol (SIP)

From NISO:

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) voting members have approved a new project to formalize the 3M Standard Interchange Protocol (SIP) as an American National Standard. Introduced in 1993, the SIP protocol provides a mechanism for Integrated Library Systems (ILS) applications and self-service devices to communicate seamlessly to perform self-service transactions. This protocol quickly became a de facto standard around the world, and remains the primary protocol to integrate ILS and self-service devices. Since the protocol’s inception, 3M has continued to produce updated versions of it-most recently version 3.0 in late 2011. A NISO Working Group will now shepherd SIP 3.0 through the standardization process of becoming an American National Standard.
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“Obviously, there is close connection between SIP and NISO’s Circulation Interchange Protocol (NCIP) standard,” said Robert Walsh, representative for EnvisionWare, the Maintenance Agency for NCIP. “With both standards approved and maintained within NISO, there is an opportunity for the two standards’ working groups to clarify the structural differences and to provide the community direction on the appropriateness for each standard within a given context. This will be one of the tasks of both the new working group and the NCIP Maintenance Agency moving forward.”
“The maturity of the SIP protocol and its implementation track record should allow it to move quickly through the NISO standardization process,” stated Todd Carpenter, NISO Managing Director. “We anticipate that version 3.0, as it currently stands or with very minor revisions, could be accepted as a Draft Standard following a brief period of review within a NISO Working Group. This will allow for a range of public input into the final adopted standard. We also plan, if the standard is approved by NISO Voting Members, to appoint a Maintenance Agency or Standing Committee for future review and maintenance of SIP.”

Read the Complete Announcement
Direct to NISO/SIP Workroom
See Also: 3M to Donate Copyright for SIP, a Key Library Communication Protocol, to NISO (via Library Journal)

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