About ISBD for Manifestation
About ISBDM
Scope and purpose
The primary aim of ISBD for Manifestation is to provide the stipulations for creating metadata description sets for the manifestation entity of the IFLA Library Reference Model. The primary purpose is to create metadata that are compatible world-wide, in order to aid the international exchange of metadata between and throughout the international library and information community.
ISBD for Manifestation (ISBDM) is a partial implementation of the IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM).
ISBDM covers only the Manifestation entity of the LRM.
ISBDM provides stipulations and guidance for describing a single manifestation and relating it to other manifestations and to other LRM entities.
ISBDM is designed for stand-alone use in an entity-based cataloguing environment.
It may also be used in conjunction with other partial or complete implementations of the LRM to provide fuller descriptions of bibliographic resources.
ISBDM metadata is intended to be interoperable with metadata from other implementations of the LRM and LRM entities.
ISBDM has similar coverage to the consolidated ISBD which has a primary focus on the Manifestation entity, with secondary coverage of the other LRM resource entities Work, Expression, and Item. Most of the information recorded in a consolidated ISBD description can be recorded in an ISBDM description, albeit in a different structure.
Layout and use
The content of ISBDM is optimised for online access. It caters for browsing in the sequence of its presentation, for browsing in a sequence determined by a cataloguing agency, and for instant ad hoc access to any part of its content from within and from external documentation such as application profiles and agency policies.
The main navigation menu at the top of every page reflects the functional structure of the standard. The introduction is followed by the four functional categories of element, with augmentations coming last. Augmentations include controlled terminologies (values), a glossary, and full examples.
These main components have their own internal navigation menus that are displayed on each page. The "click-distance" between any two sections is just 2; one click on the main menu, and another click on the sub-menu. Each section or page is directly accessible and has a unique identifier in the form of a URL.
The sections of the introduction are arranged in order of general and theoretical to operational. A major section is on preliminary assessment of a manifestation before any metadata is created. This reflects the complex relationships between the WEMI components of a resource and their impact on the stand-alone description of the Manifestation component.
The element categories are arranged by general source of information: the manifestation itself (statements), the cataloguer's interpretation of how the manifestation describes itself (notes), the manifestion's intrinsic characteristics described with pre-coordinate terminologies or notes (attributes), and the wider consensus on how the manifestation relates to other library entities.
This is also reflected in the quantity and granularity of elements in each category, from a small number of elements with shallow hierarchies for statements and notes to a larger number of elements with deeper hierarchies for attributes and relationships.
The four categories of elements and their stipulations have the same internal layout: general stipulations for the category are followed by stipulations for each element. The elements are arranged in alphabetical order of their English labels, within their semantic hierarchies.
A standard layout is used for the content of each element.
An element reference card gives the definition, scope note, domain, and range of the element, and its immediate sub-types and super-types in the hierarchy.
This may be followed by additional reference information.
The stipulations are arranged in order of general to specific.
Linking to a broader stipulation is preferred to duplicating a stipulation. The element hierarchy is used to reduce repetition.
Stipulations are given in a standard format. A condition, if any, is stated first, and an indication of optionality is stated last.
Examples for a specific stipulation are displayed in a standard format. Examples can be opened and closed for display by the user. This helps to avoid page clutter and speeds up the browsing of stipulations.
Application
ISBDM stipulations support two distinct applications of entity-based cataloguing:
- linked open data applications
- relational database applications
ISBDM stipulations assume a three-part data format for each distinct metadata value, corresponding to the " triple" subject-predicate-object syntax used in linked open data and the table row-column-value structure used in relational databases.
In a single-entity standalone ISBDM cataloguing environment, the triple subject or database table row always references an instance of the ISBDM Manifestation entity.
See also: Metadata utility and processing
ISBDM is self-contained. It does not require the use of elements, stipulations, or guidance from other standards.
Links to other standards are given for additional information.
A linked data namespace for the ISBDM elements will be available for open access in the IFLA Namespaces registry.
This includes an IRI for each element, with an RDF/SKOS definition and scope notes and hierarchical links to element super-types and sub-types.
Related standards
ISBDM is related to several bibliographic metadata standards that are maintained by IFLA or are based on an IFLA standard.
ISBDM is a content standard and element set that implements the IFLA Library Reference Model entity-relationship model for the Manifestation entity. ISBDM metadata is designed to be encoded in UNIMARC or the ISBDM linked data element sets and value vocabularies in the IFLA namespace.
ISBDM metadata is designed to be interoperable with RDA: resource description and access.
ISBDM stipulations correspond to implementation scenarios A (Linked open data) and B (Relational or object-oriented data) of RDA.
All ISBDM elements are mapped to RDA elements, with minor differences in granularity that arise from the more restricted scope of ISBDM.
IFLA Library Reference Model
The IFLA Library Reference Model is the basis of the ISBDM ontology that includes the Manifestation entity, its attributes, and its relationships to other LRM entities. The standard is maintained by the IFLA BCM Review Group.
International Cataloguing Principles
The Statement of international cataloguing principles (ICP) underpins the stipulations and guidance for determining the selection and values of attributes and relationships. The standard is maintained by the IFLA Cataloguing Section.
ISBD consolidated edition
The ISBD International Standard Bibliographic Description consolidated edition is the basis of refinements to the LRM attributes and relationships in the ISBDM ontology with associated stipulations and guidance. The standard is maintained by the IFLA ISBD Review Group.
Names of persons
Names of persons provides additional guidance for determining the values of access points for related persons. The standard is maintained by the IFLA Cataloguing Section.
Anonymous classics
Anonymous classics provides additional guidance for determining the values of access points for related works that have no known creator. The standard is maintained by the IFLA Cataloguing Section.
UNIMARC
The UNIMARC Bibliographic Format Manual 1.1.0 is the basis of refinements to the LRM attributes and relationships in the ISBDM ontology. The standard is maintained by the IFLA Permanent UNIMARC Committee.
RDA: resource description and access
The RDA Toolkit and RDA Registry are the basis of refinements to the LRM attributes and relationships in the ISBDM ontology with associated stipulations and guidance. The standard is maintained by the RDA Steering Committee.
RDA/ONIX Framework for Resource Categorization
The RDA/ONIX Framework for Resource Categorization is the basis of the ISBDM Category of Carrier value vocabulary and the ISBDM Category of Content value vocabulary. The standard is maintained by the RDA Steering Committee.
Background and history
International Standard Bibliographic Description, or ISBD, has been positioned, from its very conception, at the centre of IFLA's programme Universal Bibliographic Control (UBC), and as such has been charged with the task of responding to changes in the information environment. The first standard edition of ISBD was ISBD/M: International Standard Bibliographic Description for Monographic Publications. It was published in 1971 as a result of international agreement on the form – printed catalogue card, and content – areas of data elements, achieved at the International Meeting of Cataloguing Experts in Copenhagen in 1969.
In the fifty years since, ISBD underwent constant development by expansion to cover different types of material, from printed and manuscript publications to electronic and web resources. The latest version was published in 2022. During this period of change, ISBD became instrumental in the development of MARC (Machine Readable Cataloguing) formats, and in particular to the IFLA UNIMARC: UNIversal MAchine Readable Cataloguing Format which was first published in 1977, by providing a content standard for its encoding structure.
The publication in 1998 of the conceptual model Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) marked the beginning of a new conceptualisation of the bibliographic universe of UBC in sync with an entity-relationship framework as a response to the changing technological environment. FRBR created two basic points of departure from ISBD: the grouping of metadata around entities that reflect user tasks and points of interest in the bibliographic universe as opposed to the linear presentation of ISBD data; and the use of four entities (Work, Expression, Manifestation, and Item, or WEMI) in place of a monolithic object of bibliographic description (ISBD's "resource").
ISBD responded to the second challenge in its 2011 consolidated edition, by including a full section in its Introduction on "ISBD and FRBR relationship". Apart from conforming ISBD data elements with FRBR ones with respect to mandatory and optional status, further steps in this direction were not possible because the concepts and their terminology had become an obstacle. That is, ISBD could not easily adopt the WEMI concepts and terms, and resolved instead to retain "resource", as its specific terminology. In terms of FRBR, "the ISBD is applied to describe manifestations, by means of description of the item in hand as an exemplar of the entire manifestation".
However, ISBD did respond, within its scope, to the new technological changes. In the section on "Purpose of the ISBD", a new aim was added, to "enhance the portability of bibliographic data in the Semantic Web environment and the interoperability of the ISBD with other content standards". This was a result of activities initiated by the ISBD Review Group in 2008, and was realised by including a list of the ISBD data elements in a special table at the end of the "Outline of the ISBD" section. This list became the basis for publishing an ISBD element set in Resource Description Framework (RDF), the basic syntax of the Semantic Web, initially in the Open Metadata Registry in 2015 and since 2020 as the ISBD Vocabularies in the IFLA Namespaces registry. The decision to encompass the new online information environment and to react to it within the scope of its purpose, so that ISBD elements can be used to encode bibliographic data as linked open data in the Semantic web environment, empowered ISBD's position as a relevant international content standard, not only for human but also for machine use.
The publication in 2017 of the IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM) that superseded the FR family of models, including FRBR, marked the full conformance of the IFLA's conceptual model for the bibliographic universe with the current technology to support semantic linked data. It became obvious, following the release of LRM's draft versions, that the new model would have a significant impact on the ISBD, which would have to undergo a major reconstruction as well as reconceptualization in order to position itself as an implementation of the LRM. The position of the ISBD in relation to the FRBR WEMI entities, the core entities of the LRM, was already acknowledged in the 2011 edition. What was required was an understanding of the direction of a "reconstruction as well as reconceptualization" of the standard.
The ISBD Review Group set up the ISBD Manifestation Task Force in 2019 to develop the ISBD, with the following terms of reference and deliverables:
Terms of reference
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Complete an alignment of the ISBD to the LRM at the Manifestation level, working out an element set for that alignment.
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Analyse the gaps, i.e. the elements of the 2021 Update of the ISBD Consolidated edition 2011; that in the cited alignment have been excluded, and that are considered mandatory, mandatory if the information is available, or optional.
Deliverables
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The ISBD for Manifestation. That is a document consisting of:
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the ISBD to LRM Manifestation Elements Set
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a set of stipulations for describing a manifestation according to LRM
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Reflection on Transforming the ISBD into a Full Implementation of the LRM, a working document that will constitute the basis of the future work encompassing all of the LRM elements and other components, and which would entail rethinking the structure of the ISBD.
The ISBD for Manifestation presents the result of the first deliverable.
The work on draft versions of the ISBD for Manifestation and issues to be solved were presented at IFLA WLIC conferences from 2021 to 2023. Consultation was carried out via webinars and by publishing an online "demonstrator" of an interactive and adaptive view of the working content.
Presentations from the January 2023 webinar are available at From ISBD to ISBDM – a bibliographic standard in transformation.
A separate review phase for experts from related standards was added to the review process, preceded by a webinar for invited experts held in February 2024.
The review time-frame of the ISBDM was as follows:
| Review Phase | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| ISBDM Task Force Review | from mid July until the end of September 2023 |
| ISBD Review Group Review | beginning of November until end of December 2023 |
| Experts Review | from mid February until mid April 2024 |
| Official World-wide Review | from 15 May until 15 July 2024 |
Following the ISBD Review Group members' individual review, at its January 2024 meeting the ISBD Review Group approved of the draft ISBD for Manifestation and decided to forward it to the review of the wider interested communities.
The ISBD Review Group and the ISBD for Manifestation Task Force received responses from 8 institutions with about 160 comments containing feedback from the expert's and World-wide reviews. The Task Force did not see anything in the feedback delaying the planned submission of the ISBDM to the internal IFLA standards approval process, and the ISBD Review Group submitted the draft version of ISBD for Manifestation to the Committee on Standards on 17th October 2024.
To meet the second deliverable the submission to the Committee on Standards included the document "Transforming the ISBD into a Full Implementation of the LRM. Phase 2 alignment: ISBD for LRM. Report to the Advisory Committee on Standards, October 2024". The report finds that, although the ISBDM can be used as a standalone single-entity standard, the advantages for a multiple-entity ISBD overweighs those of a single-entity ISBD, and proposes to set up a new task force for a phase 2 of the alignment project. The report also proposes a phase 2 project output, and a working method developed by the first phase.
The ISBD Review Group received the review with comments from the Committee on Standards on January 2025 with recommendation to review and resubmit. The ISBD for Manifestation Task Force edited the standard following given comments, and resubmitted it on March 2025 to the IFLA Committee on Standards for endorsement by the IFLA Professional Committee.
Credits and acknowledgements
ISBD for Manifestation was developed by the ISBD Manifestation Task Force as a project of the ISBD Review Group.
ISBD for Manifestation Task Force, 2019-2025
| Name | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Elena Escolano Rodriguez (2019-2022) | Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital | Spain |
| Gordon Dunsire (main design and content editor) | United Kingdom | |
| Mikael Wetterstrom | National Library of Sweden | Sweden |
| Mirna Willer (main design and content editor) | Croatia | |
| Rehab Ouf | Bibliotheca Alexandrina | Egypt |
| Renate Behrens (chair) | Deutsche Nationalbibliothek | Germany |
| Saeedeh Akbari-Daryan | National Library of Iran | Iran |
| Szabina Ilácsa (2019-2022) | National Széchényi Library | Hungary |
Prescription and Granularity Task and Finish Group
| Name | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Holden | Library of Congress | USA |
| Fatma Zahra Ali Pacha | Algiers | |
| Gordon Dunsire (group moderator) | United Kingdom | |
| Irena Kavčič | National and University Library | Slovenia |
| Maliheh Dorkhosh | Iran | |
| María Camila Restrepo Fernández | Colombia | |
| Mihwa Lee | Kongju National University | Republic of Korea |
Examples Task and Finish Group
| Name | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Aicha Afaf Saha | University of Algiers | Algeria |
| Antonin Benoit Diouf | Senegal | |
| Ederina Demo | National Library of Albania | Albania |
| Elia Ekinović Micak | National and University Library in Zagreb | Croatia |
| Honor Moody | Harvard University Library | USA |
| Hyejin Kim | National Assembly Library of Korea | Republic of Korea |
| Jennifer B. Dimasaca | National Library of the Philippines | Philippines |
| Mirna Willer (group moderator) | Croatia | |
| Mounira Hattab | University of Algiers | Algeria |
| Priscilla Pun | University of Macau Library | China |
| Rosinda Ferreira | Spain | |
| Saeedeh Akbari-Daryan | National Library of Iran | Iran |
ISBD Review Group
| Name | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Anisatul Wahidah Abdul Wahid | National Library of Malaysia | Malaysia |
| Ederina Demo | National Library of Albania | Albania |
| Elena Escolano Rodriguez | Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital | Spain |
| Hyejin Kim | National Assembly Library of Korea | Republic of Korea |
| Jennifer B. Dimasaca | National Library of the Philippines | Philippines |
| Judit Fejes | University Library and Archives of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) | Hungary |
| Madireng Monyela | University of Limpopo | South Africa |
| Mihwa Lee | Kongju National University | Republic of Korea |
| Mikael Wetterstrom (chair; 2023- | National Library of Sweden | Sweden |
| Rehab Ouf (chair; 2019-2023) | Bibliotheca Alexandrina | Egypt |
| Renate Behrens | Deutsche Nationalbibliothek | Germany |
| Saeedeh Akbari-Daryan | National Library of Iran | Iran |
| Szabina Ilácsa | National Széchényi Library | Hungary |
Liaisons of ISBD Review Group / ISBD for Manifestation Task Force
| Name | Organization |
|---|---|
| Gordon Dunsire | IFLA Bibliographic Conceptual Models (BCM) Review Group |
| Isabel Garcia-Monge | IFLA Rare Books and Special Collections Section (RBSCS) |
| Juan Ignacio Modenes | ISSN International Centre (2024-) |
| Mikael Wetterstrom | ISSN International Centre (2019-2024) |
| Mirna Willer | IFLA Permanent UNIMARC Committee (PUC) |
| Renate Behrens | RDA Steering Committee (RSC) |
Expert advisors of ISBD Review Group
| Name | Country |
|---|---|
| Ben Gu | China |
| Massimo Gentili-Tedeschi | Italy |
Status
ISBD for Manifestation is pending approval by the IFLA Committee on Standards and endorsement by the IFLA Professional Committee.
The March 2025 version of the ISBD for Manifestation elements is based on version 1.0.0 of the pending ISBDM namespace.
Feedback and maintenance
The ISBD Review Group welcomes comments and suggestions for improving ISBD for Manifestation, including notification of errors.
Please contact the Chair of the ISBD Review Group.
ISBDM is updated when the need arises.
A version of ISBDM is designated by the month and year of the last update.
This is separate from the semantic versioning of the ISBDM element set in the IFLA namespaces.