Blacksburg, VA – Substantial progress on the part of the VIEWS initiative is beginning to take form as a result of the growing membership and dedicated efforts of the group. This week, VIEWS is announcing:

• The launch of a VIEWS website: www.views-consortia.org. VIEWS has been posting information on the NISO website, and the group expresses thanks to NISO for that early assistance. Now, all information will be moved and new materials posted on the VIEWS website. The site will contain information on membership, FAQ's, policies, press releases, meeting minutes, surveys, and will have a member only section (for information under discussion, but not yet ready for public release).
• The initiative has also announced that the first planned web service is in the areas of authentication / authorization. The group is planning to develop a web service layer to work with some of the major authentication / authorization types in use, as determined by survey.

“It continues to be exciting and gratifying to see the industry cooperation and effort being put into VIEWS.” said Carl Grant, Chair of VIEWS, "Clearly with this backing, the group expects to be able to make major progress in the implementation of Web Services for the benefit of all in the profession.”