Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections

• ADM
• ADM, Audio Definition Model
• AW
• AW, Hewlett Packard AdvanceWrite Text File
• BITS
• BITS_2, BITS (Book Interchange Tag Suite), version 2.0
• BRF
• BRF, Braille Ready Format
• CCA
• CCA, cc:Mail Archive Email Format
• CPIM
• CPIM, Instant Message Format
• CSS
• CSS, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) File Format
• DOC
• MS-DOC, Microsoft Office Word 97-2003 Binary File Format (.doc)
• DOCX
• DOCX/OOXML_2012, DOCX Transitional (Office Open XML), ISO 29500:2008-2012; ECMA-376, Editions 1-4
• DOCX/OOXML_Strict_2012, DOCX Strict (Office Open XML), ISO 29500:2008-2012; ECMA-376, Editions 2-4
• DTB
• DTB_2002, DTB (Digital Talking Book), 2002
• DTB_2002_NLS, DTB (Digital Talking Book), NLS Extension for AMR-WB+ Speech Codec
• DTB_2005, DTB (Digital Talking Book), 2005
• DVB-SUB
• DVB-SUB, Digital Video Broadcasting; Subtitling systems (DVB-SUB)
• ECMAScript
• ECMAScript, ECMAScript Language (ECMA-262), including JavaScript
• EML
• EML, Email (Electronic Mail Format)
• ENL
• ENL, EndNote Library Format
• EPUB
• EPUB_family, EPUB, Electronic Publication File Format Family
• EPUB_2, EPUB, Electronic Publication, Version 2
• EPUB_3_0, EPUB, Electronic Publication, Version 3.0 (2011). ISO/IEC TS 30135:2014
• EPUB_3_0_1, EPUB, Electronic Publication, Version 3.0.1 (2014). ISO/IEC 23736:2020
• EPUB_3_2, EPUB, Electronic Publication, Version 3.2
• EPUB_pres, EPUB (Electronic Publication) Version 3 Preservation. ISO/IEC TS 22424:2020
• HBL
• HBL, BrailleSense File Format
• hCalendar
• hCalendar, HTML Electronic Calendar and Scheduling Format
• HTML
• HTML_family, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) Format Family
• HTML_early, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), versions prior to 2.0
• HTML_2_0, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) 2.0
• HTML_3_2, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) 3.2
• HTML_4_0, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) 4.0
• HTML_4_01, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) 4.01
• HTML_5, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) 5
• iCal
• iCal, iCalendar Electronic Calendar and Scheduling Format
• IDX
• See IDX, Subtitle Index (VobSub IDX)
• IMF
• IMF, Internet Message Format
• JATS
• JATS_1, JATS, Journal Article Tag Suite, NISO Z39.96, Versions 1.x
• JavaScript
• JavaScript, see ECMAScript, ECMAScript Language (ECMA-262), including JavaScript
• MBOX family
• MBOX, MBOX Email Format
• MBOXO, MBOXO Email Format
• MBOXRD, MBOXRD Email Format
• MBOXCL, MBOXCL Email Format
• MBOXCL2, MBOXCL2 Email Format
• MEI
• MEI_family, Music Encoding Initiative File Format Family
• MOBI
• MOBI, Mobipocket File Format
• MSG
• MSG, Microsoft Outlook Item
• NCBI/NLM
• NCBIArch_1, NCBI/NLM Journal Archiving and Interchange DTD, version 1
• NCBIArch_2, NCBI/NLM Journal Archiving and Interchange DTD, version 2.x
• NCBIArch_3, NCBI/NLM Journal Archiving and Interchange DTD, version 3.0
• NewsML_1
• NewsML_1, NewsML (News Markup Language), version 1
• NIMAS
• NIMAS, National Instructional Material Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)
• NITF
• NITF, News Industry Text Format
• NLM DTD
• See NCBIArch_1, NCBI/NLM Journal Archiving and Interchange DTD, version 1.x
• ODF
• ODF, ODF (OpenDocument Format) Family, OASIS and ISO/IEC 26300
• ODF_text_1_1, OpenDocument Text Format (ODT), ODF 1.1, ISO/IEC 26300:2006
• ODF_text_1_2, OpenDocument Text Format (ODT), ODF 1.2, ISO/IEC 26300-1:2015
• OEBPS
• OEBPS_1_0, Open eBook Forum Publication Structure 1.0.1
• OEBPS_1_2, Open eBook Forum Publication Structure 1.2
• ONIX for Books
• ONIX for Books, ONIX (ONline Information eXchange) for Books
• OPML
• OPML_2.0, Outline Processor Markup Language (OPML) 2.0
• PDF
• PDF, PDF (Portable Document Format) Family
• PDF_1_3, PDF, Versions 1.0-1.3
• PDF_1_4, PDF, Version 1.4
• PDF_1_5, PDF, Version 1.5
• PDF_1_6, PDF, Version 1.6
• PDF_1_7, PDF, Version 1.7, (ISO 32000-1)
• PDF_1_7_ext03, PDF, Version 1.7, ExtensionLevel 3
• PDF_1_7_ext05, PDF, Version 1.7, ExtensionLevel 5
• PDF/A_family, PDF for Long-term Preservation
• PDF/A_1, PDF for Long-term Preservation, Based on PDF 1.4
• PDF/A_1a, PDF for Long-term Preservation, Based on PDF 1.4, Level A Conformance
• PDF/A_1b, PDF for Long-term Preservation, Based on PDF 1.4, Level B Conformance
• PDF/A_2, PDF for Long-term Preservation, Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF 1.7)
• PDF/A_2a, PDF for Long-term Preservation, Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF 1.7), Level A Conformance
• PDF/A_2u, PDF for Long-term Preservation, Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF 1.7), Level U Conformance
• PDF/A_2b, PDF for Long-term Preservation, Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF 1.7), Level B Conformance
• PDF/A-3, PDF for Long-term Preservation, Use of ISO 32000-1, With Embedded Files
• PDF/A-4, PDF for Long-term Preservation, Use of ISO 32000-2 (PDF 2.0)
• PDF/R-1, PDF for Raster Image Transport and Storage. Based on PDF 1.4-1.7 (ISO 32000-1)
• PDF/R-1_enc, PDF for Raster Image Transport and Storage. Encrypted, based on PDF 2.0 (ISO 32000-2)
• PDF/UA-1, PDF Enhancement for Accessibility, Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF 1.7)
• PDF/X_family, PDF/X Format Family (PDF for Prepress Graphics File Exchange)
• PDF_Portfolio, PDF Portfolio
• PostScript
• PostScript_family, PostScript Format Family
• PST
• PST_ANSI, Microsoft Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File (ANSI)
• PST_Unicode, Microsoft Outlook 2003 Personal Folders File (Unicode)
• RTF
• RTF, Rich Text Format (RTF) Family
• SGML
• SGML, Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). ISO 8879:1986
• SMIL
• SMIL, Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language
• SMS
• SMS, Short Message Service (SMS) Message Format
• SRT
• SRT, SubRip Subtitle Format
• STEP (ISO 10303)
• STEP-file, STEP-file, ISO 10303-21
• SUB
• SUB, VobSub Subtitle File
• TTML
• TTML1, VTimed Text Markup Language Version 1
• TTML2, VTimed Text Markup Language Version 2
• VTT
• See WebVTT, Web Video Text Tracks Format (WebVTT)
• WebVTT
• WebVTT, Web Video Text Tracks Format (WebVTT)
• WordPerfect
• WPD, WordPerfect Document Family
• WordStar
• WordStar, WordStar File Format Family
• XFDL
• XFDL, Extensible Forms Description Language
• XHTML
• XHTML_1_0, Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML), 1.0
• XHTML_1_1, Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML), 1.1
• XML
• XML, XML (Extensible Markup Language)
• XML_1_0, XML (Extensible Markup Language) 1.0
• XML_1_1, XML (Extensible Markup Language) 1.1
• XML_DTD, XML Document Type Definition (DTD)
• XPS
• MS-XPS, Microsoft XML Paper Specification, (.xps)
• OpenXPS, Open XML Paper Specification, ECMA-388 (.oxps)

General notes about textual formats are provided by Text Quality and Functionality Factors.

Inclusion of a format does not imply that it is preferred or acceptable for Library of Congress collections. Conversely, omission of a format from the list does not imply that it is not preferred or acceptable. See the Recommended Formats Statement for more information.

Descriptions will be drafted, added and updated over time. Persons with specialized knowledge are encouraged to review and comment on the descriptions using this contact form.