Standards publications being developed by scientists, engineers, and business managers in Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) standards committees can be applied to electronic image management (EIM) processes including: document (image) transfer, retrieval and evaluation; optical disk and document scanning; and document design and conversion. When combined with EIM system planning and operations, standards can assist in generating image databases that are interchangeable among a variety of systems. The applications of different approaches for image-tagging, indexing, compression, and transfer often cause uncertainty concerning EIM system compatibility, calibration, performance, and upward compatibility, until standard implementation parameters are established. The AIIM standards that are being developed for these applications can be used to decrease the uncertainty, successfully integrate imaging processes, and promote "open systems." AIIM is an accredited American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards developer with more than twenty committees comprised of 300 volunteers representing users, vendors, and manufacturers. The standards publications that are developed in these committees have national acceptance and provide the basis for international harmonization in the development of new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards. This presentation describes the development of AIIM's EIM standards and a new effort at AIIM, a database on standards projects in a wide framework of imaging industries including capture, recording, processing, duplication, distribution, display, evaluation, and preservation. The AIIM Imagery Database will cover imaging standards being developed by many organizations in many different countries. It will contain standards publications' dates, origins, related national and international projects, status, key words, and abstracts. The ANSI Image Technology Standards Board requested that such a database be established, as did the ISO/International Electrotechnical Commission Joint Task Force on Imagery. AIIM will take on the leadership role for the database and coordinate its development with several standards developers. Patricia BATTIN Characteristics of standards for digital imagery: * Nature of digital technology implies continuing volatility. * Precipitous standard-setting not possible and probably not desirable. * Standards are a complex issue involving the medium, the hardware, the software, and the technical capacity for reproductive fidelity and clarity. * The prognosis for reliable archival standards (as defined by librarians) in the foreseeable future is poor. Significant potential and attractiveness of digital technology as a preservation medium and access mechanism.