Bibliographic standards are always changing to keep up with the ever-evolving realities of the book industry and it’s in the best interest of your business to keep up, too. In this session, Bibliographic Manager Tom Richardson will answer your pressing questions and show you what’s new, what’s important, and what’s coming up in standards. techforum.booknetcanada.ca #TechForum

1. Standards Overview
Spring 2020
Tom Richardson
March 25, 2020

2. ONIX 3.0
Amazon announced their expectation that ALL
ONIX files submitted to them should be 3.0
– Deadline: December 31, 2020.
– Physical book feeds only.
– Digital book feeds were excluded by Amazon, but
they expect them to transition soon after.
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

3. Other retailers?
• Indigo and 49th Shelf are reviewing ONIX 3.0.
• Kobo and most major US retailers who accept
ONIX 2.1 have developed a capacity to accept
ONIX 3.0 but do not formally do so in North
America yet.
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

4. Other trading partners?
• Canadian distributors and wholesalers, many of whom
both accept and distribute ONIX 2.1, are aware of this
deadline.
• Publishers should be aware that accepting ONIX 2.1
and distributing 3.0 based on it isn’t straightforward.
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

5. Canadian Publishers?
• Many Canadian publishers use software
capable of producing ONIX 3.0. Many have
already established a 3.0 feed with Amazon.
• Some publishers appear unaware of Amazon’s
request.
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

6. BiblioShare?
• BiblioShare can accept the current
ONIX version 3.0.7
• At this time only 10% of the data we receive is
available in ONIX 3.0 and we need more of it
to build services.
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

7. CataList?
• Specific data 3.0 data is used: Contributor
Place is used now and support the new ONIX
addition promotional event is planned.
• CataList remains primarily based on ONIX 2.1
because that is the version BiblioShare can
supply to it.
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

8. Act now!
• As soon as possible begin creating ONIX 3.0
test files – BiblioShare is a great starting point
for them.
• To meet Amazon’s deadline you should have
production ONIX 3.0 files available by end of
summer.
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

9. ONIX 2.1?
• You should expect to maintain ONIX 2.1 feeds
during the transition to ONIX 3.0.
• You cannot expect a hard change date across
the entire supply chain.
• You cannot expect to maintain ONIX 2.1
forever. Switch as soon as practical.
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

10. Are you ready?
What do you need?
BookNet Canada has many resources
and will release more shortly.
A great start is Graham Bell’s webinar on the
Transition from 2.1 to 3.0
Slides
http://www.slideshare.net/booknetcanada/20150126-onix-21-to-30-transition-bnc
YouTube:
https://youtu.be/B4BDAGA9ok4
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

11. ONIX for Books
Acknowledgement Format Specification
Amazon also expects to start using it!
• confirm receipt of the original ONIX message
• report to the original sender a summary of Product records processed and
updated into the recipient’s database
• report details of any errors encountered, or any queries about the product
data supplied, or
• return to the sender details of proprietary identifiers assigned by the recipient
• It can also be used for two way communication
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

12. New in ONIX for Books
Version 3.0.7
Beyond improvements, efficiencies and greater accuracy, the
transition from 2.1 to 3.0 brings with it a decade of development.
• Version 7 introduces a new block, also 7, dedicated to trading
information on promotional events such as author tours.
• Just released: ONIX Code List Issue 49 with yet more support
for Audiobooks
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

13. New in Thema
The subject category scheme for a global book trade
Version 1.4 is about to be released
If your company cares about diversity and targets
accessibility to expand your audience,
you need Thema.
Now translated into 20 languages.
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

14. Indigenous codes
BISAC
New codes added in 2019 and upcoming replacement
with “Indigenous” or providing a Canadian alternative
to codes referencing “Native American.”
Thema
Related to Indigenous people / new language codes
covering many Indigenous languages.
Tech Forum 2020 # TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

15. ISNI.org
International Standard Name Identifier
BookNet Canada is a member organization. BTLF, our sister
organization in Quebec, is a registrar.
It’s a persistent unique identifier for content producers suitable
and recommended for both authors and publishers.
Between 50 and 70% of Canadian authors already have one
assigned, and have no cost associated with adding to feeds now.
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

16. 979 ISBN-13
979-8 are being assigned by the US ISBN Agency Bowker
Reminder: ISBN-10 are NOT compatible with 979 ISBN-13s.
It’s well past time to stop relying on ISBN-10 based reports.
Amazon Standard ID Number (ASIN) remains 10 characters but
a 979 ISBN’s ASIN is not derived by an ISBN-10 calculation.
For example: 9791091285445’s ASIN is B07Q8Q7BDQ
ISBN Canada says their 979 prefixes have not been assigned yet.
Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca

17. Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca
• EDI
• Bibliographic
• Subject Schemes
– BISAC
– Thema
• Identifiers
– ISBN/GTIN/ISNI/ISTC
• Others...
– Epub/GDSN/SAN
• BISG (US)
– Metadata / Workflow
– Subjects
– Supply-chain (EDI)
– Identifiers
• EDItEUR
– ONIX International Steering
Committee
– Thema International Steering
Committee
BNC Standards

18. Tech Forum 2020 #TechForum Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca
BNC Bibliographic Committee
– Canadian English Language
national group for ONIX
– Canadian English Language
national group for Thema
BNC Standards

19. Thank you
trichardson@booknetcanada.ca
Standards questions? biblio@booknetcanada.ca
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