Making Your Metadata Rock: Improving How Your Titles Appear & Appeal To Customers 5/30/2013 Moderator: Laura Dawson, Product Manager, Identifiers Speakers: Eleanor Fanicase, Director of Data Management, Phil Madans, Director Publishing Standards and Practices, More to come! During this workshop, metadata specialists from book wholesale, data solution providers, and publishing houses will illustrate how you can improve your metadata. Enhanced metadata examples and suggestions will show you how to improve your subject codes/keywords, cover images, descriptions, Author information, and other metadata. Presentations will highlight industry best practices from the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) and Booknet Canada and how you can best use these documents during your metadata creation. Finally, speakers will give advice on how often you should update your metadata and how to handle these cycles of metadata creation.

1. Libraries

2. What Libraries Want in Data
 Accurate Info
 Print runs – Advertising Budgets
 Cover images
 Good subject classifications
 Reprint, reissue, original indicators
 Specific age/grade (not All Ages or PreK-99)
 Reviews
 Data consistency between formats

3. Timeliness
 Submit titles 6 months prior to pub month
 Price changes at least 30 days prior to effective
date (include effective date)
Status Changes (OS, PS, OP)
Replacement information
annuals
new editions

4. Consistency
 Author names
Cussler, Clive not Clive, Cussler
Cornwell, Patricia Daniel not Cornwell
Krentz, Jayne Ann not Krentz, Jayne Add
Clark, Mary Higgins not Clark, Mark Higgins

5. Consistency
Author Name Errors – Lost Sales From
Automated Shipment Program
Clive Cussler – 3,986 books
Patricia Daniels Cornwell – 1,766 books
Jayne Ann Krentz – 3,870 books
Mary Higgins Clark – 6,876 books

6. Consistency
BISAC Coding - Don’ts
Mix fiction and non-fiction on same title
Mix juvenile and adult on same title
Use general for all titles
Use general as the first then more specific
Use outdated subject codes
Assign codes that do not represent the content

7. Improving Your Data
Don’t Mix Adult & Juvenile
Title: Split Ends
Author: Jacquelin Thomas
BISAC Code 1: JUV033010 (Juvenile Fiction –
Religion/Christian/General
BISAC Code 2: REL070000 (Adult Non-Fiction –
Religion/Christianity/General
BISAC Code 3: JUV011010 (Juvenile Fiction –
People & Places/United States/African American

8. BISAC Don’ts
 Don’t assign a general subject first unless it’s
absolutely necessary.
 Don’t assign a specific code first then assign
a general code.
Black Butterfly by Mark Gatiss
BISAC Codes:
FIC000000 – Fiction General
FIC022000 - Fiction Mystery
FIC016000 - Fiction Humorous

9. BISAC Don’ts
 Assign different BISAC codes to different
editions of same title:
Fire and Ice (hardcover) FIC030000 (Suspense)
Fire and Ice (large print) FIC030000 (Suspense)
Fire and Ice (Audio) FIC000000 (General)

10. Consistency
 BISAC Coding - Do’s
Apply up to 3 subjects to a title
Use the current BISAC subject edition
Contact Data Management for assistance
Take these examples back to your editorial
staff for discussion

11. Consistency
Series Titles
Easy search for new titles
Included in B&T Continuations
(millions of dollars)
Family Key Matchpoint

12. Series Consistency
Juvenile Series: Boys-Girls Battle
Boys Rock: Boy/Girl Battle
Who Won the War?: Boys Battle Girls
The Boys Return: Boys Girl Battle Series
A Spy Among The Girls: Boys=Girls Battle
The Girls Take Over: Boys-Girls Battle Series
Lost Sales ??????

13. Consistency
Grade/Age Levels
Required for all juvenile titles
Should be same for all editions
Should be age appropriate
representation not broad market (K-12;
All Ages, Pre-K-100)

14. Data Assets
 Cover Images
Provide as early as possible - update if
necessary
Makes an impression
Sell books

15. Data Assets
 Descriptions
Important part of the data
Now displaying on B&T websites
Submissions must be in specified formats only
 Author Biographies
Brief description of the author(s)’s lives,
accomplishments and/or qualifications
Flap or Jacket Copy
Content from a book’s flap or back cover; may
contain descriptions, review quotes, testimonials,
author information, and other marketing copy

16. Data Feed - Issues
 Problem In Feeds
Missing data
Misspelled authors, titles
Wrong format (hardcover for paperback)
No grades/ages
No BISAC subjects/Outdated Codes
Missing Series title and number
Missing edition or edition number
No replacement information

17. Data Feed - Feedback
Vendor Scorecards
Review data from several feeds
Address missing or incorrect data
Recommend better BISAC subjects
Provide feedback for improvement

18. Increasing Your Sales
 Provide the best data
 Submit data as early as possible
 Select the most specific BISAC subject
 Include grade/age levels on juvenile titles
 Indicate Trade Reinforced Bindings
 Edition and edition numbers
 Series and Series numbers
 Replacement ISBN’s

19. Increasing Your Sales
Provide Enhanced Data
 Cover images
 Descriptions
 Author Bios
 Excerpts
 Flap or Jacket Copy

20. Would You Buy This Book?
Untitled Gruber
Fiction
$24.95
Coming Soon!

21. Would You Buy This Book?
12th Of Never
James Patterson
Fiction Suspense
$27.99
Available 4/29/13
Product Description
A week after giving birth, Lindsay
Boxer is investigating two cases: a
grisly murder where the main
suspect is an NFL player and an
eccentric professor who thinks his
dreams of a murder are real in this
new addition to the best-selling
series. 750,000 first printing.

22. Metadata Rocks When It Is
 Consistent
 Timely
 Complete
 Accurate
 Classified Properly
 Updated
 Enhanced