Date created: | Last Updated:

Category: Communication

Description: Standards development is not a siloed process. International delegates cross physical and cultural borders to participate in online and biannual in-person meetings in an ongoing effort to advance a common understanding of archival PDF technology. ISO delegations are comprised of industry professionals and practitioners of libraries, archives, and records management. These members ensure that PDF technology standards are thoroughly vetted and documented, but also meet the needs of the archival community. In this panel, delegates from the International Organization for Standardization’s technical committee for Document Management Applications (ISO/TC 171 SC 2) will unpack: the development process for PDF/A; coordination with digital preservation specialists; concerns about PDF/A’s implementations and limitations; and the consequences of failure to participate in the process. This panel seeks to shed light on the full context of PDF standardization, fostering conversation with the preservation community about how archivists and information professionals can utilize specifications of PDF and how these communities can engage with the development process of the format. In this sense, having these discussions about PDF format in particular, enables us to raise awareness and build digital preservation capacity for a variety of stakeholders, to address cultural gaps or barriers that result from using and developing one common format, and to expand on how gaining context and knowledge of technical specifications and development of even one format can inform how that format is implemented across cultures and communities, whether they’re artistic, scientific, or both. Panel attendees can expect the following: an in depth discussion of PDF standards development (the who, what, how); perspectives of developers, tool creators, archivists, and standards committee members regarding the intended and applied role of PDF/A in various communities - as a format, as it interacts with tools, as it’s used by users, developers, etc); and the issues “beyond PDF,” including concerns about the PDF format and various “what if’s” about using PDF in a preservation capacity. Attendees will have a better understanding of the development, use, and technical specifications of PDF format in addition to learning how to get involved in the process and provide feedback to the ISO committee.