Governed by an Independent Standards Process
TrustMarcs do not determine whether information is true. Instead, they provide a transparent way to document who evaluated content, what standards were applied, and why that content can be trusted.
TrustMarcs are issued using criteria reviewed and approved through an open standards process overseen by the TrustMarc Standards Council. The Council does not evaluate individual items. Instead, it reviews and approves the frameworks, policies, and criteria used by TrustMarc Issuers, ensuring that standards are transparent, consistent, and publicly documented.
Organizations may submit their own review, accreditation, endorsement, preservation, or assessment frameworks for approval. Once approved, these frameworks become part of the TrustMarc ecosystem and may be used to issue TrustMarcs. Organizations without established criteria may adopt or adapt TrustMarc Recommended Criteria, which are openly licensed under CC BY 2.0
All approved frameworks, TrustMarc Issuers, and TrustMarc certificates are publicly documented and verifiable. This separation of responsibilities allows standards to be governed independently while enabling trusted organizations to evaluate content within their own areas of expertise.
The result is a transparent, scalable, and accountable trust infrastructure that can be used across scholarly, policy, educational, and public-interest information.
The TrustMarc Standards Council
Christian Dupont
Council Chair
Christian is Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources at Boston College and founder of Aeon, the pioneering platform for managing access to archives and special collections. A widely respected library leader, speaker, and author, his work focuses on trust, stewardship, preservation, and scholarly communication, and his ideas on sharing collections and user data have influenced numerous library and digital scholarship initiatives, including the principles underlying TrustMarc.
Buhle Mbambo-Thata
Council Member
Buhle is University Librarian at the National University of Lesotho and one of Africa’s leading library and knowledge-access advocates, known for her work advancing the visibility, preservation, and global integration of African scholarship and cultural heritage. A leader within the International Federation of Library Associations she has championed efforts to ensure that knowledge from the Global South is fully represented within the world’s scholarly infrastructure.
Toby Green
Council Member
Toby began his career in scholarly publishing, working with leading applied science publishers Pergamon and Elsevier from 1982 to 1997. In 1998, he joined the OECD, where he delivered critical research beyond traditional books and journals. Recognizing that this "grey literature" was often difficult to discover, access, and preserve, he became a pioneer in advancing its visibility and use within the scholarly ecosystem. In 2019, Toby co-founded Coherent Digital.
Stephen Rhind-Tutt
Council Member
Stephen is an innovator in digital libraries, and knowledge discovery. Over his career, he has helped develop and expand influential research platforms, including leadership roles at SilverPlatter, Alexander Street Press, and Coherent Digital. His work has focused on making high-value knowledge more discoverable and impactful. Stephen currently serves on the Board of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and previously served on the University of California Press Board. As a member of the TrustMarc Standards Council, he brings extensive expertise in information trust, metadata standards, digital preservation, scholarly publishing, and the evolving role of trust in an AI-driven world.
Carol Mandel
Council Member
Carol A. Mandel is a distinguished leader in research librarianship, digital preservation, and scholarly communication. As Dean of Libraries at New York University for nearly two decades, she guided the development of library services and digital infrastructure across NYU’s global campuses. Carol has served in leadership roles with numerous national and international organizations, including the Association of Research Libraries, HathiTrust, CLIR, and the Digital Library Federation. Her deep expertise in trust, governance, preservation, and sustainable information ecosystems brings invaluable perspective to the TrustMarc Standards Council.
