At the TC46/SC9 meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on February 7, 2006, the Working Draft (TC46/SC9 document N409), agreed upon by the participants of the ISMN Panel Meeting in Zagreb (May 2005), was evaluated in the light of the comments and suggestions which the TC46/SC9 members had put forward while voting on this draft document.

In the light of the fact that two of the members had questioned a separate standard number for editions of notated music, Dr. Walravens, the Director of the International ISMN Agency, explained the differences between the book market and the market for printed music necessitating separate numbering standards for both types of print product.

The results of the discussion in Chiang Mai will lead to a Committee Draft (CD) which will be drawn up and disseminated by the TC46/SC9 secretariat soon. There will be a voting period of three months. With the acceptance of the CD by the voting members of TC46/SC9, a Draft International Standard (DIS) will be reached. If no more general objections against the ISMN standard or parts of the Committee Draft will be raised, it is hoped that the revision process of the ISMN standard will proceed according to a "fast track" mode.

The Russian Book Chamber signed a contract with the International ISMN Agency laying the foundations for the opening of an ISMN office in Russia. Both parties consider this an important step towards a worldwide dissemination of the ISMN! Running the Russian ISBN office since 1987. the Russian Book Chamber is well experienced in handling numbering standards. In March 2006, a seminar dealing with the ISMN and its potentials will be organized in Moscow for Russian music publishers with Dr. Walravens, Director of the International ISMN Agency, holding the key paper.

The revision process of the ISO standard 10957:1993 (ISMN) has officially been started! The TC46/SC9 Secretariat informed the International ISMN Agency that the national standard institutions of all participating countries (P-members) voted in favor of an approval of a New Work Item 10957. The Secretariat appointed Dr. Hartmut Walravens as project leader of this Work Item. Furthermore, the draft of the standard text, discussed and agreed upon during the ISMN Panel Meeting in Zagreb, May 2005, was approved as Committee Draft (CD). The discussions of the New Work Item will begin during the TC46/SC9 meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on February 7, 2006. On this occasion, Dr. Walravens will suggest to follow a relatively tight schedule ("fast track") during the revision process heading for a publication of the revised standard text in 2007. Details will be given after the hopefully successful meeting!

The 14th International ISMN Panel Meeting will take place on June 8 and 9, 2006, in Helsinki. Our kind host will be Ms. Maarit Huttunen, the head of the Finnish ISMN Agency.

The Music Publishers Association is very pleased to announce that it is joining forces with DE-PARCON GmbH to work on the development and expansion of the MPA's Catalogue of Printed Music.

DE-PARCON, a software technology company based in Hürth near Cologne in Germany, has already developed IDNV (International Database for Printed Music) for the German Music Publishers Association and the German Music Retailers Association. IDNV has been working successfully for the German printed music industry for several years and the partnership with DE-PARCON offers an excellent opportunity for the MPA to take advantage of building on a pre-existing system which already fulfils many of the requirements sought to take its own Catalogue forward and to streamline the administration of ISMNs in the UK and Eire.

The decision to proceed with DE-PARCON is fully supported by members of the MPA's Board and Printed Music Publishers Committee. Final negotiations between the two partners are already in hand and work on the new system is now under way. The MPA will launch the revamped Catalogue in its new online format in Spring 2006.

We shall keep you informed of progress but in the meantime please contact Mrs Lois Clark or Herr Wolfram Krajewski if you require further information.

Mrs Lois Clark Editor
MPA Catalogue
Managing Partner Music Publishers Association Ltd
New contact details from 5 December 2005:
6th Floor, British Music House;
26 Berners Street
London W1T 3LR, UK
Direct Tel: +44 (0)20 7637 4052
Fax: +44 (0)20 7637 3929
Email:lclark@mpaonline.org.uk

Herr Wolfram Krajewski 
DE-PARCON GmbH 
Kalscheurener Straße 8 
D - 50354 Hürth Germany 
Tel.: +49 (0)2233 - 804 100 
Fax: +49 (0)2233 - 804 1030 
Email: wk@de-parcon.net

The proposal for a new work item which includes the Working Draft of the revised standard text as agreed upon during the ISMN Panel Meeting in Zagreb was circulated among the P-members of TC 46 / SC 9 for voting. Members are requested to vote on the adoption of the proposal as a new project and on the adoption of the associated draft as a Committee Draft (CD).

A contract was signed with the National Library of the Philippines and the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina paving the way for the introduction of the ISMN in these two countries.

On May 19-20, the 13th ISMN Panel Meeting took place in Zagreb at the National and University Library on the occassion of the 10th anniversary of the Croatian membership in the ISMN system.

The revision of the ISMN standard was the major topic of this meeting. A first draft of the revised standard text presented by the International Agency was the point of departure for an extended discussion of the regulations laid down in the text for ISO 10957. The second draft which was agreed upon in Zagreb and is supposed to be submitted to the ISO TC46 /SC 9 secretariat takes into account the new 13-digit structure of the ISMN and the increased importance of virtual items offered in the Internet as digital notations. The term "printed music" is supposed to be substituted by "notated music." Furthermore, it was announced that the institutional status of the International ISMN Agency will have to change within the next few months.

Post-panel activities included a visit at the music department of the National and University Library and at "Cantus" music publishers. A detailed report about the meeting will be published in the ISMN Newsletter No. 15. For a photo gallery click here.

The ISMN flyer introducing into the ISMN system appeared in French and Spanish. A PDF version of both documents can be downloaded here (fr. / sp.)

Based on the third edition of the ISMN Users' Manual from 1998, a revised edition has been published with minor additions and corrections. For a download of a PDF version of the manual, click here. If you want to order printed copies, please send us an e-mail.