The official version of the NIMAS specification was updated from 1.0 to 1.1 on July 19, 2006 and posted by OSEP at the Library of Congress. The difference between the NIMAS 1.0 DTD and the NIMAS 1.1 DTD is the same as the difference between the DAISY 2002 and DAISY 2005 DTDs. Since the NIMAS spec is based on the DAISY spec, updates to one necessitate updates to the other. When DAISY 2005 was released, NIMAS 1.1 was proposed to the U. S. Department of Education by the NIMAS Development Committee and published on the NIMAS web site. The NIMAS spec follows DAISY spec updates. For this and other reasons, the NIMAS Technical Assistance Center has and will continue to encourage publishers and other producers of NIMAS source files to use full DAISY mark-up wherever possible.
Producers of NIMAS files should transition to NIMAS 1.1 as soon as it is feasible. It is far easier and more efficient to upgrade NIMAS source files from 1.0 to 1.1 than it is to create NIMAS 1.1-compliant files from scratch. The differences between the two are rather minimal, and making changes to 1.0 files to yield 1.1 files should be relatively easy even for those who are "beginners" in creating NIMAS-compliant files.
The document below describes in detail the recommended corrections, deletions, and additions to the NIMAS version published in the Federal Register on June 29, 2005.
The obsolete NIMAS 1.0 is posted to: http://nimas.cast.org/filrs/05-12853.pdf
Note that it contained errors.
Changes by date:
- September 11, 2006
- July 19, 2006
- August 30, 2005
The NIMAS 1.1 regulations published in the Federal Register inadvertently contained errors. Errors 1–8 appeared in the July 19, 2006 publication and errors 1 and 5–9 appeared in the August 14, 2006 publication:
A minor update was made to the specification prior to publication in the Federal Register in July of 2006. It reflects the recommendations of the NIMAS Development Committee regarding the contents of the NIMAS file set. Those changes are included in paragraphs one and two introducing the baseline element set of NIMAS 1.1.
CorrectionThe Baseline Element Set details the minimum requirement that must be delivered to fulfill the NIMAS. It is the responsibility of publishers to provide this NIMAS-conformant XML content file, a package file (OPF), a PDF-format copy of the title page (or whichever page(s) contain(s) ISBN and copyright information), and a full set of the content's images. All of the images included within a work must be provided in a folder and placeholders entered in the relevant XML document indicating their location (all images must be included). The preferred image type is SVG, next is either PNG or JPG format. Images should be rendered in the same size/proportion as their originals at 300 dpi. Images should be named with relative path filenames in XML files (example: <img id="staricon4" src="./images/U10C02/staricon4.jpg" alt="star icon"/>).
NIMAS-conformant content must be valid to the NIMAS 1.1 [see DAISY/NISO Z39.86 2005 or subsequent revisions]. In addition, files are required to use the tags from the Baseline Element Set when such tags are appropriate. Publishers are encouraged to augment the required Baseline Element Set with tags from the Optional Element Set (elements not included in the Standard) as applicable. For the purposes of NIMAS, appropriate usage of elements, both baseline and optional, is defined by the DAISY Structure Guidelines. Files that do not follow these guidelines in the selection and application of tags are not conformant to this Standard. Both optional elements and appropriate structure guidelines may be located within Z39.86-2002 and Z39.86-2005 available from
http://www.daisy.org/z3986/. Use of the most current standard is recommended.
On May 27, 2005, a few corrections were made to the version of the NIMAS technical specifications posted on the NIMAS Web site. The master document (the original National File Format Report) never included the errors and thus did not require modification. The minor but important changes made to the Web version reflect corrections to the posting rather than changes to the content of the document. The corrections include the addition of the following three elements and their descriptions: <author>, <frontmatter>, and <em>. The version of the NIMAS Technical Specification that was printed in the Federal Register also contained these errors, and we recommend that they be corrected in the official version. A revised copy of the NIMAS Technical Specification with the recommended changes accompanies this cover letter.
No approach to maintaining and updating the NIMAS is offered by the statute or by the proposed rules. Those likely to be impacted by changes should be informed that the foundational NIMAS, based on ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002, will be subject to periodic, although infrequent, revision. This comment was also submitted with regard to the June 21, 2005 NPRM.
The balance of this letter outlines recommended corrections, deletions, and additions to the NIMAS version published on June 29, 2005. Changes were recommended by CAST, the NIMAS centers, and the membership of the original National File Format Technical Committee that prepared version 1.0 of the NIMAS.
We strongly recommend the following corrections to the NIMAS. Each recommendation has been reviewed with the NIMAS Development Technical Committee members.
Insert <frontmatter> as the first Structure and Hierarchy element.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| frontmatter | Usually contains <doctitle> and <docauthor>, as well as preliminary material that is often enclosed in appropriate <level> or <level1> etc. Content may include a copyright notice, a foreword, an acknowledgements section, a table of contents, etc. <frontmatter> serves as a guide to the content and nature of a <book>. |
Insert <author> as the first Block Element and add "and <cite>" to the end of the description.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| author | Identifies the writer of a work other than this one. Contrast with <docauthor>, which identifies the author of this work. <author> typically occurs within <blockquote> and <cite>. |
Insert <em> as the first Inline Element.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| em | Indicates emphasis. Usually <em> is rendered in italics. Compare with <strong>. |
Correct the grammar of the last sentence within [ ] of the <pagenum> description.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| pagenum | Contains one page number as it appears from the print document, usually inserted at the point within the file immediately preceding the first item of content on a new page. [Only valid when an id attribute is included]. |
One element listed within the Document-Level Tags category beginning with a capital letter should be changed to lowercase.
Six elements listed within the Block Element category beginning with capital letters should be changed to lowercase.
Replace the reference to the "Usage Guidelines" at the end of each Baseline Element Set category with the following language:
Original language to be replaced (xyz used in place of language that changes)
Usage Guidelines: please refer to the xyz references in the xyz section in Appendix B, © DAISY Consortium, 2002
Recommended correction
For the most current usage guidelines, please refer to http://www.daisy.org/z3986/.
Replace the word compliant with conformant in the third sentence of the "Optional Elements and Guidelines for Use" section:
Original language to be replaced:
NIMAS-compliant files
Recommended correction:
NIMAS-conformant files
Reference to Appendix C and a Daisy URL are no longer appropriate within the first paragraph of the "Optional Elements and Guidelines for Use" section. The original language should be replaced with the recommended correction below:
Original language to be replaced:
In both circumstances the protocols for tagging the digital files should conform to the DAISY/NISO Z39.86 specification. For this reason, the optional elements beyond the baseline set are included as an Appendix C, and content converters are directed to the DAISY Structure Guidelines (http://www.daisy.org/publications/guidelines/sg-daisy3/structguide.htm) for guidance on their use.
Recommended correction:
In both circumstances the protocols for tagging digital files should conform to the most current DAISY/NISO Z39.86 specification. Content converters are directed to the most current DAISY Structure Guidelines (http://www.daisy.org/z3986/) for guidance on their use.
Edit the following text within the section with the heading "Package File."
Original language to be replaced:
And additional suggestion references
Recommended correction:
An additional suggestion references
We also strongly recommend the following deletions to the NIMAS. Each recommendation has been reviewed with the NIMAS Development Technical Committee members.
The following title segment under the heading Baseline Element Set is deleted as shown by the strikethrough since it is not necessary.
The <title> element is no longer recommended as a document-level element.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| title | Contains the title of the book but is used only as metainformation in <head>. Use <doctitle> within <book> for the actual book title, which will usually be the same. |
Some of the descriptive language for the element <head> is not necessary and the reference to <title> may be misleading. We recommend deleting the language marked with strikethrough in the <head> description copied just below.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| head | Contains metainformation about the book but no actual content of the book itself, which is placed in <book>. |
Two cases of reference notes were left in the following elements. We recommend deleting the language marked with strikethrough in the descriptions just below.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| line | Marks a single logical line of text. Often used in conjunction with <linenum> in documents with numbered lines. [ |
| linenum | Contains a line number, for example in legal text. [ |
The letter "s" follows the first instance of <col> in the description for table. We recommend deleting the "s" marked with strikethrough in the description just below.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| table | Contains cells of tabular data arranged in rows and columns. A <table> may have a <caption>. It may have descriptions of the columns in <col> |
The reference to <img> within the <caption> description is no longer accurate. We recommend deleting the language marked with strikethrough in the caption description copied just below.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| caption | Describes a <table> or <img>. If used with <table> it must follow immediately after the <table> start tag. If used with |
Section II of the original Technical Standard that was not included in the language of the NPRM. We recommend deleting the language marked with strikethrough in the section just below the specification table.
The following sentence copied from the last paragraph of the NPRM is not necessary and may be misleading. We recommend deleting the language marked with strikethrough near the end of the package file description.
We also strongly recommend the following additions to the NIMAS. Each recommendation has been reviewed with the NIMAS Development Technical Committee members.
The following two paragraphs should be inserted between the title for the table of elements and the table itself. The language has been taken from the original NIMAS technical specification agreed to by the National File Format Technical Committee and the NIMAS Development Committee. It includes a necessary reference to the provision of a PDF file, a reference to file validation, and mention of optional elements.
The Baseline Element Set details the minimum requirement that must be delivered to fulfill the NIMAS. It is the responsibility of publishers to provide this NIMAS-conformant XML file along with a separate PDF file with embedded images for reference in creating descriptions, and a NIMAS-conformant package file. It is strongly recommended that the images within a PDF file be compressed so that the resolution is appropriate for screen rendering rather than for high-quality printing.
NIMAS-conformant content must be valid to the dtbook110.dtd [see ANSI/NISO Z39.86 or subsequent revisions].1 In addition, files are required to use the tags from the Baseline Element Set when such tags are appropriate. Publishers are encouraged to augment the required Baseline Element Set with tags from the Optional Element Set (elements not included in the Standard) as applicable. For the purposes of NIMAS, appropriate usage of elements, both baseline and optional, is defined by the DAISY Structure Guidelines. Files that do not follow these guidelines in the selection and application of tags are not conformant to this Standard. Both optional elements and appropriate structure guidelines may be located within Z39.86-2002 and Z39.86-2005 available from http://www.daisy.org/z3986/. Use of the most current standard is recommended.
A small number of elements have been deleted from DAISY/NISO Z39.86-2005 but are referenced by the full National File Format report since they were originally included in ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002. We strongly suggest adding the following paragraphs at end of the section labeled "1.The Optional Elements and Guidelines for Use":
Since the publication of the original National File Format report from which these technical specifications were derived, ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002 has been updated and is now DAISY/NISO Z39.86-2005. It may be best to avoid using the following optional elements which are no longer included in DAISY/NISO Z39.86-2005:
style, notice, hr, and levelhd.
Also, the following new elements were introduced by DAISY/NISO Z39.86-2005 and should be considered optional elements for the NIMAS:
bridgehead, byline, covertitle, dateline, epigraph, linegroup, and poem.
Please refer to DAISY/NISO Z39.86-2005 for additional information regarding these elements. To access the DAISY/NISO Z39.86-2005 specification, go to http://www.daisy.org/z3986/.
Insert <img> as a required baseline element immediately following <imggroup> in the Images category.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| img | Points to the image to be rendered. An <img> may stand alone or be grouped using <imggroup>. |
The following language should be added as section 3 at the very end of the NIMAS in order to provide guidance to publishers, authorized entities, and conversion houses that will mark up specialized content included within some textbooks:
3. Modular Extensions
The most current DAISY/NISO standard, formally the DAISY/NISO Z39.86, Specifications for the Digital Talking Book defines a comprehensive system for creating Digital Talking Books. A part of this standard is DTBook, an XML vocabulary that provides a core set of elements needed to produce most types of books. However, DTBook is not intended to be an exhaustive vocabulary for all types of books.
Guidelines for the correct approach to extend the DAISY/NISO standard have been established. Mathematics, video support, testing, workbooks, music, dictionaries, chemistry, and searching are some of the extensions that have been discussed. Visit http://www.daisy.org/z3986/ to learn more about modular extensions.
These comments were submitted on behalf of CAST, the NIMAS Development and Technical Assistance centers, and the NIMAS Development Technical Committee.
1 - Note that the NIMAS specification has been updated to 1.1 as of July 19, 2006 and therefore the reference to the dtbook110.dtd in paragraph two of the Addition 1 section is no longer current; DAISY/NISO Z39.86 2005 should be used.
The NIMAS Development and Technical Assistance Center, supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), works with states, TA systems, disability advocates, national associations, technology experts, publishers and content conversion houses to improve the timely delivery of high quality accessible educational materials to students with disabilities.The NIMAS Center was launched on October 1, 2004.The project officer for both the Development and TA Centers is Bonnie Jones, Ed.D. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the Department of Education's position or policy.