In an era where information must be both accessible and interoperable, the way we publish and share standards is evolving. As Chair of the IFLA METATEC Review Group, I’m excited to share how we are embracing this evolution by moving IFLA’s bibliographic standards from static PDF documents to dynamic, web-based linked data.

The IFLA Namespaces site is our central platform for publishing IFLA standards as linked data was launched in 2020. This initiative supports the broader goal of making bibliographic standards more usable, discoverable, and machine-readable—key pillars of digital access. By structuring standards as linked data, we enable libraries, developers, and metadata professionals to integrate them directly into cataloguing tools, discovery systems, and research workflows. The RDA Toolkit links to our Namespaces as a practical link to other standards in the bibliographic ecosystem.

Our next major milestone will be the publication of the ISBDM (International Standard Bibliographic Description – Manifestation) model, now available online as a draft that the committee created: https://www.iflastandards.info/ISBDM/ and now the METATEC Review Group is taking feedback from this pilot and testing various aspects of it on this pilot site: https://jonphipps.github.io/ISBDM/. This marks a significant step forward in how we think about bibliographic description—not just as a document to read as a PDF, but as a living, structured model that can be queried, reused, and extended. With this new ISBDM site structure it will allow it to connect behind the scenes to the IFLA Namespaces site, so that the aspects that are linked data are just another aspect of the work we do with this standard.

Why move away from PDFs? While PDFs have served us well, they are inherently limited in terms of accessibility and interoperability. They are difficult to parse programmatically, often inaccessible to screen readers, and disconnected from the web of data and the linked data we have been publishing online for the past five years. By contrast, publishing standards as dynamic webpage connected to the linked data allows for:

  • Greater accessibility: Web-native formats are more inclusive and adaptable to different user needs.
  • Interoperability: Standards can be linked to other vocabularies and datasets, enriching the global bibliographic ecosystem.
  • Sustainability: Updates and corrections can be made incrementally without republishing entire documents.
  • Innovation: Developers can build tools and services that directly consume and apply standards in real time.

This transformation is not just technical—it’s cultural. It reflects a commitment to openness, collaboration, and the future of library metadata. As we continue to publish more standards in this format, we invite the global library community to engage with us, provide feedback, and explore new ways to use these resources.

Digital access is not just about putting documents online—it’s about rethinking how knowledge is structured, shared, and sustained. At IFLA, we’re proud to be part of that journey.

Author: Joseph Hafner, Chair IFLA METATEC Review Group