The document provides information about subject codes and keywords. It defines subjects and keywords, discusses how they differ and are used for search and classification. It also discusses standards for subject codes like BISAC and Thema and provides examples of applying subject codes from these standards. The goal is to assign the most specific non-redundant subject codes to describe works.

1. Demystifying
Subject Codes & Keywords
BEA 2015
Wednesday, May 27 11:00 - 12:20
Room 1E15/1E16

2. Presenters
Moderator
• Pat Payton, Senior Manager Publisher Relations, Bowker
Speakers
• Maya Battle, Ad/Promo Manager, Penguin Random House
• Yonah Levenson, Senior Metadata Analyst, Pearson
• Michael Olenick, Business Analyst, Bowker

3. Definitions
2
Subjects Keywords
industry approved list of
descriptors
word used to facilitate online search
often represented by codes memorable words, free text
used to communicate
information about your book to
buyers
used to facilitate your title showing in
search results

4. Search Options
3
Keyword Search
Subject Search

5. Shared Goals
True books for kids about dogs
Nonfiction
kids
dogs
4

6. Mixed Results
True books for kids about dogs
Nonfiction
kids
dogs
5

7. Subjects vs. Keywords
6
Subjects Keywords
fewer results more results
higher match to relevant titles includes false hits
could assign incorrect subjects even if false hit, the keyword is in the
metadata so it’s never “wrong”
better for conveying genre
fiction information
easy to identify characters and
places within the work
some headings are not intuitive no need to cross reference or know
particular terminology
meets needs of resellers &
discovery engines (shelf
classification & website
organization)
meets needs of end user searching in
small text snippets

8. Keywords: Research
and Copywriting
Maya Battle
Manager, Penguin Publishing Group Advertising and Promotions
Penguin Random House

9. Why keywords are
needed:
The transition from talking to booksellers to consumers

10. Catalog copy vs. retailer copy
• “Catalog” Copy: Aimed at booksellers, sales reps, libraries,
agents, and other industry folks
– OK to explicitly comp to other titles based on sales
trajectory/performance; OK to explicitly mention target demo
and expected selling pattern
– Make audience want to sell
• Retailer Copy: Consumer-facing/aimed at people outside
the industry in an online setting
– Better to comp only very well-known titles/shows/media your
audience would know (bestsellers, authors/titles in the news) if
you have to make a reference; more info about actual content
– Make audience want to have

11. Why even have different
versions of your copy?
• When your copy speaks directly to your audience’s needs,
they will get to the information they need more quickly.
– Example: If you’re a bookseller, you might want to know that
XYZ Book is a great hand-selling opportunity, but would you
want to know that as a consumer?
– Example: A bookseller may want to know that XYZ Book coffee
table book has similar packaging as its predecessor, ABC
Book, but you may just point out to a consumer that it is an
“oversized book” or include of product image that demonstrates
scale.
– Example: You might want to use a less formal and/or more
dramatic tone for your retailer copy with certain genres like
mystery, romance, YA, thrillers, etc.

12. What has changed over time
• Example cataloging process (old):
– TI Sheets  Launch  Copywriters for catalog copy 
Editorial/Marketing approvals  Print catalog  Catalog copy
transferred to ONIX feed
• Result? Retailer copy was often just catalog copy
• Example of cataloging process (new):
– TI Sheets/Keyword research  Launch  Copywriters for
verso copy/Use TI copy for online catalog  Copy tweaked to
serve as retailer copy (SEO optimized/keywords added or
modified)  Retailer copy submitted in ONIX feed for pre-sale
 Double-check retailer copy around on-sale
• Result? Now there are separate funnels and checkpoints for
reviewing and submitting copy, as well as checking keyword
relevancy

13. Keywords matter at every stage
of the editorial process
• Pre-pub: Keyword research should occur along side your other
research before you launch a new title
– Helps you choose a relevant title/subtitle, see what you’ll be
competing with online and where, and determine how to signal to
your target audience that this book is for them
• On-sale: Keep revisiting your keywords and keep in track of sales
and other metrics for your title so you can see if your initial go is
actually working
• Around 1 mo.+ after on-sale: Is it still working? Is your title hitting
a demographic you hadn’t previously considered and can you
optimize for them further? Are any customer reviews pointing out
issues with or praising something mentioned in book copy or
packaging?

14. How to come up with
keywords and where to
put them:
A very quick-n-dirty overview

15. Working guides for keywords and
structuring copy for SEO
• Learn the rules for the retailers you’re sending feeds to (incl.
word counts, blacklisted words, general no-nos)
• Use analytical tools (more on this later)
• Read the BISG Best Practices for Product Metadata guide
(it’s free!)
• Join metadata and SEO groups on LinkedIn and follow
industry blogs and websites (Moz is a great one for SEO
copywriting, so is Copyblogger, as well as seoWorks)
• Check out Bowker’s resources

16. Research Tools
 Do some on-the-ground research! Check out Goodreads, Library Thing, genre blogs, and customer
reviews for previous format or for strong comp titles to see how people are talking about your book
and what they like or don’t like
 Radian6: Tracks social media trends, tags, and mentions; creates word cloud; gives you information
about top influencers; reporting feature
 Google AdWords (Keyword Tool): A whole set of online tools meant for purchasing search ads, but
you can also use to compare keywords, come up with new ones, and run tests
 Google Trends: Tracks different categories of trending topics/terms; good way to track spikes in
interest and most popular searches; also enables you to track where in the world those things are
popular
 Google autofill: What suggestions are given when you start typing in your current keywords? Some
might be helpful!
 Ubersuggest.org: Kind of does the same thing, but gives you extensive suggestions in alphabetical
order organized under different categories of content (Web, Videos, Images, etc.); based on real
consumer queries
 Look in the book!: Check out the Table of Contents and Index; if there are References or Suggested
Further Reading, also take a look at how those books are marketed, if relevant

17. SEO brought into copywriting
• Think of your consumer-facing metadata as online
content
• Share your keywords with your colleagues also working
on the title (marketing, publicity, advertising,
especially), so they can also keep them in mind in their
work
• Encourage authors to repurpose the content on their
websites and bylines, where appropriate

18. Examples
and how you would walk
through the keyword
process

20. Benefits of
Subject Classifications
Yonah Levenson
Senior Metadata Analyst
Pearson

21. Pearson is in
80+ countries
educating
130+
Million People
Pearson’s Global Footprint

22. Definitions
 Discipline: Broad layer that is used for initial
filtering. Broad academic category.
 Subject: The term(s) used to indicate the
subject matter of the collection. Major
descriptive heading.
 Topic: Often considered a synonym to Subject.
Discipline terms specific to a curriculum.
 Keyword: a word or phrase that describes the
content or theme that is relevant to the work,
and that supplements other data.
BEA: May 2015

23. Pearson Higher Ed Discipline:
Broad Term
BEA May 2015

24. Pearson Higher Ed Subject:
Narrower Term
BEA May 2015

25. Pearson School Disciplines
BEA May 2015

26. Pearson School
Programs/Subjects
BEA 2015

27. Barnes and Noble
Textbook Subject: Broad Term
BEA 2015

28. Barnes and Noble:
General Subjects
BEA May 2015

29. Barnes and Noble Subject:
Narrow Term
BEA May 2015

30. Who Needs Subject Codes?
 External/Customer Facing:
 Facilitates browsing
 Support Search Engine Optimization
 Customers can review returned results and act
accordingly
 Internal:
 Searching
 Reporting
 Audience includes: Marketing, Sales, Editorial,
etc.
BEA 2015

31. Internal Subject Codes
 Start with Standards
 Need to be able to communicate externally
 Others use the information
 Internally to your company:
 Content creators’ needs
 More descriptive granularity is needed
 Facilitates internal search
 Legacy
BEA 2015

32. Which Subject Codes?
 Start with Standards
 They exist for a reason
 Accepted and expected
 If you think a Standard doesn’t have what you
need:
 Communicate with that Standards body
 Maybe it does!
 Online discussions will help provide direction
and answers
BEA 2015

33. Standards
 Subject Classification Standards examples:
 BISAC: Topical Book Classification
 Thema: Global Book Trade
 CEDS: Common Education Data Standards
 Schema.org: “About”
 And … Companies often have their own flavors
BEA May 2015

34. Considerations
 Who is the audience?
 Internal
 External
 Granularity of the Subject vocabularies
 Some standard’s scheme’s subject fields are free
text
 Languages other than English
BEA 2015

35. Best Practices
 Don’t be too rigid
 Multiple standards may be needed
 Make sure the company’s needs are being met
 Cross map when using more than one standard
 External
 Internal
 Be able to address delivery requirements
 Keep the audiences in mind
 Stay current
 Communicate
BEA 2015

36. How to Apply Standard Subjects
Presented By
Michael Olenick

37. What Is the Point of Standard Subjects?
• Uniformity of usage
• Shared language understood by all parties involved
• Specificity depends on the list
• While the idea is always to help sell your books, subjects
tend to be less marketing-oriented than keywords (a
subject will not be the name of a best-selling author of
other books)
• Grouping data together for
– Analytical purposes
– Data retrieval
– Shelving
36

38. What Are BISAC Subjects? *
• North American book industry standard for subjects
• Maintained by the BISAC Subject Committee of BISG
with new edition issued annually in the Fall
• 4000+ codes/subjects grouped under 50+ sections
• https://www.bisg.org/complete-bisac-subject-headings-
2014-edition
• No cost for lookup purposes
– Licensing the list allows you to download versions and
use in internal systems
* Or “You Probably All Know this Already, but Just in Case…” 37

39. 38

40. What Are BISAC Subjects?
• Codes are three letters followed by six numbers
• “Dumb” codes except that:
– First three characters reflect the section
– First code in each section ends with 000000
• Subjects are hierarchical based on text
• Literal is the section name followed by one or more
subheadings separated by /
• Includes notes, edition differences, inactivated codes
• Not as specific as LC subjects but this allows for
statistically significant groupings
39

41. BISAC Subjects
ARC000000 ARCHITECTURE / General
ARC022000 ARCHITECTURE / Adaptive Reuse & Renovation
ARC023000 ARCHITECTURE / Annuals
ARC024000 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / General
ARC024010 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Landmarks & Monuments
ARC011000 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Public, Commercial & Industrial
ARC016000 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Religious
ARC003000 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Residential
ARCHITECTURE / CAD (Computer Aided Design) see Design,
Drafting, Drawing & Presentation
ARC019000 ARCHITECTURE / Codes & Standards
ARC001000 ARCHITECTURE / Criticism
ARC002000 ARCHITECTURE / Decoration & Ornament
ARC004000 ARCHITECTURE / Design, Drafting, Drawing & Presentation
ARCHITECTURE / Feng Shui see BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Feng Shui
40

42. Thema
• First global subject category system for the book trade
• Made for all members of the supply chain to use for
physical and digital data
• Not a replacement for BISAC (possibly a replacement for
BIC)
• Maintained via a global steering committee under
EDItEUR
• Developed and updated with input from several national
groups
• Free download and instructions available from
http://www.editeur.org/151/thema/
41

43. Qualifier
1KBB-US-NAKC New York City
Subject Heading
DNBS Biography: Sport
SFC Baseball
• Thema classification has two parts: subject headings
and qualifiers
• Codes are variable length and hierarchical
• Qualifiers can be used with any Thema subject (adult,
children’s, fiction, non-fiction, etc.)
• Qualifiers not attached to subject (seven identifiers in
ONIX Code List 27: one for subjects, six for qualifiers)
Thema: What Does It Look Like?
42
modifies

44. Code Heading
L Law
LA Jurisprudence & general issues
LN Laws of specific jurisdictions & specific areas of law
LNJ Entertainment & media law
LNJD Defamation law, slander & libel
What Does Thema Look Like?
43
HIERARCHY
Subject Headings
The variable-length codes are hierarchical and
determine the order in which the subjects are
presented. The text of the subject or qualifier does not
contain all parts of the hierarchy and is meant to stand
on its own when output.

45. Geographical Qualifiers
1D Europe
1DS Southern Europe
1DST Italy
1DST-IT-T Central Italy
1DST-IT-TS Tuscany
1DST-IT-TSF Florence
Language Qualifiers
2H African languages
2HC Niger-Congo languages
Time Period Qualifiers
3K CE period up to c 1500
3KB c 1 CE to c 500 CE
3KBF 1st century, c 1 to c 99
Educational Purpose Qualifiers
4C For all educational levels
4CD For primary education
4CX For adult education
Interest Age & Special Interest
Qualifiers
5A Interest age / level
5AN Interest age: from c 12 years
Style Qualifiers
6B Styles (B)
6BA Baroque
6BB Barbizon school
Qualifiers: Six Different Types
44

46. Differences Between BISAC and Thema
• BISAC subjects do not have qualifiers
• BISAC subjects are meant to be used in conjunction
with Merchandising Themes and Regional Themes
• BISAC codes do not indicate the sequence in which the
subjects are presented (BISAC literals are hierarchical
but codes are not)
• If the list is reorganized, codes remain the same even if
the literal changes (unless a subject is moved to another
section)
45

47. Implications for BISAC Users
• Reduces mappings to standards not used in the US
• Thema and BISAC will operate in parallel
• No timeline for BISAC being deprecated
• BISAC 2014-to-Thema 1.1 mapping is available free to
BISG members and free to non-members with purchase
of the BISAC Subject Codes List
• But the mapping is only as specific as BISAC subjects
are
46

48. Library of Congress
• Most often encountered via MARC files
• Very specific
• Highly structured
• 6XX fields in MARC
• Field denotes subject type (e.g., 650 = topical subject)
• Indicators denote level of subject and thesaurus (e.g.,
first indicator 1 = primary subject, second indicator 0 =
Library of Congress Subject Headings)
• Subfield codes indicate subdivision type (e.g., $y =
chronological subdivision, $z = geographic subdivision)
• 650 #0$aVocal music$zFrance$y18th century
47

49. The Goal
No matter what schema you are using, the goal is to
assign the most specific non-redundant subject(s).
BISAC
• ART016000 ART / Individual Artists / General
• ART015030 ART / European
• ART015080 ART / History / Renaissance
• ARC016000 ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Religious
Library of Congress
• Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564--Criticism and interpretation.
• Cappella Sistina (Vatican Palace, Vatican City)
• Bible. Old Testament--Illustrations.
• Mural painting and decoration, Italian--Vatican City.
• Mural painting and decoration, Renaissance--Vatican City.
48

50. What Should Publishers Provide?
• At least one valid code
• Most specific code(s) applicable fielded correctly
• Primary code first (be aware that the person you are
sending data to may only use the first code)
• Multiple codes to show different aspects of a book
• Usually up to three codes should do it
• But don’t worry if you get it in one code!
• > three codes only for cases where it is necessary to
convey the multidisciplinary aspect of a work
• All formats & editions should have the same codes
• If using a mapping, be aware of its limitations
49

51. Errors to Avoid
• Duplicate codes
• Inactive codes
• NON000000 NON-CLASSIFIABLE
• General codes used for non-general books
• General codes along with more specific codes
• Mixing codes
– Fiction & nonfiction
– Adult & juvenile
50

52. Additional Tips
• Check the latest version for newly added codes
• Use other data to help you subject code
– Descriptions
– Table of Contents
• Match subject codes to other metadata fields
– Age
– Grade
– Audience
– Reading Level
– Keyword
– Themes
51

53. Example 1: Avoid General Only
• Too general - CKB000000 COOKING / General
• Better - CKB109000 COOKING / Methods / Slow
Cooking and CKB070000 COOKING / Methods / Quick
& Easy
52

54. Example 2: Avoid General with Specific
• Good - TRV010000 TRAVEL / Essays & Travelogues
and TRV001000 TRAVEL / Special Interest / Adventure
• Not Needed - TRV000000 TRAVEL / General
53

55. Example 3: Check for New Codes
• Good – several MED, SOC and PSY subjects
• New subject could be added – PSY045070
PSYCHOLOGY / Movements / Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy (CBT)
54

56. Example 4: Use Multiple Codes
• Good - JUV043000 JUVENILE FICTION / Readers /
Beginner
• But add also - JUV002200 JUVENILE FICTION /
Animals / Pigs
55

57. Example 5: Primary Code First
• First subject better as second - JNF048000 JUVENILE
NONFICTION / Reference / General
• Second subject better as first - JNF051050 JUVENILE
NONFICTION / Science & Nature / Biology
56

58. • JNF003260 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Animals / Cows
assigned along with HIS036000 HISTORY / United
States / General
Example 6: Don’t Mix Adult and Juvenile
57

59. • Only code assigned was inactivated in 2001 -
SEL022000 SELF-HELP / Recovery
Example 7: Check for Inactive Codes
58

60. To Map or Not to Map?
59
Mapping Manual Assignment
Lots of codes on a lots of data quickly Takes more time
Consistent results People might assign subjects differently
Two things have to be correct More accurate (in theory)
Even if assignment and mapping are
correct, the results may not be optimal
Mapping results should be reviewed to
improve specificity/eliminate superfluous
codes – but usually results are final
Useful for doing large-scale updates Better for “micro-assignment”
Works best specific  general
Works best as direct mapping rather
than multi-level mapping
SCI089000 SCIENCE / Life Sciences /
Neuroscience is mapped to PSAN
Neurosciences -- PSAN2 Developmental
neuroscience could be assigned directly
(or mapped from proprietary code)
Okay for schemas of equal specificity
(but note BISAC and Thema are specific
in different areas)
Thema has qualifiers more specific than
carried by BISAC subjects (e.g., for
Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel)

61. User Preferences
• How tolerant are people for wading through a lot of
results?
• Do they prefer quantity or quality (is “fewer and better”
preferred to “more and pretty good”)?
• Are people “Googlized”?
• Subjects feel valuable…but sometimes it is hard to
monetize this (and subjects “cost” more)
60

62. 61
michael.olenick@bowker.com