This report discusses standards in state library agencies. Little is known about state library agencies' policies for standards adoption and use. This study, undertaken in 1998, attempted to bridge the gap of information and understanding about the current situation of state library agencies' use, opportunities and issues related to technical standards.

An operating assumption for the networked environment is that many different information systems need to interoperate for users to successfully discover and retrieve distributed resources. Meaningful interoperability is often elusive. In the library community, the Z39.50 standard protocol (ISO 23950/ANSI/NISO Z39.50) for information retrieval promised seamless and transparent networked access to library resources. Too often, the reality has not lived up to the promise. This paper discusses two efforts that offer solution paths to Z39.50 interoperability.

Sumphai leh Rangleng [Sumphai and Rangleng] as told by Sankhil Thampol Khularnu of of Thamlakhuren, Part 1. Sumphai was a hardworking sister of Rangleng, but she was despised by the lazy wife of Rangleng, who nagged her husband into selling her off so that they could be alone. As the husband went to sell Sumphai, while they spent the night in a riverbank, the sister Sumphai had a dream in which their mother appeared. The mother was talking to the brother and asking him what on earth he was doing. The mother told him not sell his sister but to go back home. When Sumphai recalled her dream to her brother, he was even more furious and took a strong stand to sell her off.

Origin of the Lamkang, Part 1 as told by Bunghon Suungnem, who retells a traditional history of how in the beginning of creation man and animals spoke the same language and how man was given the authority to name the birds and animals and everything that is therein.

Translation discussion of the Story of Seven Sons as told by Angtoi Sankhil recorded by Rex Khullar and Harimohon Thounaojam.

Beshot Khullar tells a Benglam Story.

Translation of story of Raapa as told by Bunghon Suungnem. In this story, a tiger, angry at being duped by Koreng, eats him. Koreng's sisters vow to marry whoever kills the tiger, and the only one able to do it is Raapa. Jealous, the other men conspire to kill Raapa, but he survives two attempts and tricks them so that they drown. In the end Koreng's sisters kill Raapa.

A traditional story as told by Bunghon Suungnem. In this story, the parents of five sons used up all their wealth purchasing brides and so have nothing to bequeath to them. The father tells them to obey the eldest son and work together to dig up 500 rupees he had buried and distribute it equally. After a few months of digging they are unable to find it, so they ask the eldest son what to do. He has them level the field, draw new boundaries and cultivate it. He assigns the highest plot to the youngest brother, then the next to the next-youngest, and so on. (b) Their neighbors include two lazy men who never work, but live off their wives. One wife tells her husband (the less lazy of the two) to go fishing. Instead of fish, he brings back some gold he finds in the water, and threatens to beat his wife if she does not cook it. She exchanges the gold for food and clothing. The other neighbor and his wife do not prosper, as the husband refuses to work.

Suungnem Bunghon narrated a monologue/traditional account on the origin of the Lamkang clans. This is a recording of discussion translating the original source file by Rex Khullar. Translation by Daniel Tholung.

Sumshot Khular translates a recording of the story of Soombeel as told by Sankhil Thampol Khularnu of Thamlakhuren village. Soombeel is known for her beauty and wit in the Lamkang traditional folk stories.

Beshot Khullar of Phaaidam village, Chandel, tells the story of Sumphaai leh Raangleen [Sumphaai and Raangleen]. The story was collected by Rengpu Rex Khullar and Harimohon Thounaojam at the NSF-funded storytelling festival in 2009. The narration was transcribed by Reverend Daniel Tholung. This recording is of the translation discussion between Shobhana Chelliah and Daniel Tholung at the UNT in 2010.

Shekarnong Sankhil explains traditional naming practices. This system is based on birth order.

A souvenir of the reception committee of the 36th Annual conference of Bodo Sahitya Sabha/DDC, held at Barnagaon High school, Odalguri on 06-08 Jan. 2005, and an article on the important of women's education.

Article examining MARC records as artifacts that reflect metadata utilization decisions.

This is a conversation between Rawang speakers discussing establishing a school for teaching Rawang in their area. The classes happen on Sundays or in the evenings. They worry that students feel discouraged when they don't know parts of their language, especially older learners, so they would like to start classes when students are younger. They make a plan to train more teachers and create more books.

The story of Raapa as told by Bunghon Suungnem. A tiger, angry at being duped by Koreng, eats him. Koreng's sisters vow to marry whoever kills the tiger, and the only one able to do it is Raapa. Jealous, the other men conspire to kill Raapa, but he survives two attempts and tricks them so that they drown. In the end Koreng's sisters kill Raapa.

Creation of Villages as told by Bunghon Suungnem. Recorded at Storytelling Event organized by Rengpu Rex Khullar and Harimohon Thounaojam at Phaaidam village.

The Story of Seven Sons as told by Angtoi Sankhil. A man is killed by a tiger, and as his six sons go to avenge him, he kills them too one by one. The mother is pregnant with a seventh son, who is able to foretell events while still in the womb. After the child learns how his father died, he goes to confront the tiger and his wife. He avoids the tiger's attempt to kill him, takes back his father's head from the tiger's possession, and vanquishes the tiger.

A discussion of a recording we have named "The Origin of the Lamkang". Present at the dicussion are David Peterson, Shobhana Chelliah, Sumshot Khular, Daniel Tholung, and Shekarnong Sankhil. The recording illustrates how grammatical information can be gleaned in the process of translating connected text.

The story of Suhuinu or How one mimics the sound of different animals.

Beshot Khullar of Phaidaam Pantha Phaidaam asks a series of questions to a Lamkang student. Examples of the questions he asks are, 'What do you do?' and 'How big is your family?'

This article discusses automating the semiotic analysis of film, including visual representation, search and retrieval, and ways of seeing.

This report is on a study of state library agencies' information technology standards policies and practices. The study provides the National Information Standards Organization with detailed information about the current use of standards by state library agencies and a set of recommendations to better serve the standards needs of state library agencies.

This study, undertaken in 1998, attempted to bridge the gap of information and understanding about the current situation of state library agencies' use, opportunities and issues related to technical standards.