What is metadata?Book metadata in product information filesBook metadata in digital content filesBook metadata carriers

Who creates and uses metadata? The metadata lifecycleWhat makes metadata powerful?

What makes metadata powerful?What are the most important metadata

elements?Core metadata elementsEnhanced metadata elements

ExercisesFinding the right informationCapturing the core metadata elementsAdding enhanced metadataCreating ONIX metadataDistributing and updating metadata

Today’s Workshop

What is metadata?

Metadata describes a product or a piece of content. It is the “language” used to communicate information needed for

commerce.

Book metadata in product information files

• Is shared with trading partners (wholesalers, distributors retailers, etc.)

• Is usually first distributed in advance of publication

• Is updated as needed pre- and post-publication

• Is used to populate bookseller sites and drives behind-the-scenes commerce and transactional activities

What is metadata?

Metadata describes a product or a piece of content. It is the “language” used to communicate information needed for

commerce.

Product metadata includes:

• Information about a book’s packaging and format

• Hardcover, paperback, digital …

• Information about a book’s content• Title, contributor, summary

• Information needed to buy and sell the book• Price, distribution details, rights information …

Book metadata in digital content files

• Is embedded in files carrying the actual content

• Should be fully leveraged but doesn’t replace the need for product information records and files

• Is used by reading devices to display information about content on “bookshelves”

• Has potential to carry much richer metadata due to the work of IDPF on the EPUB standard

The metadata carrier is not the metadata!

ONIX for Books is the international standard for sending and receiving book product metadata.

But ONIX isn’t metadata – it carries metadata just as a print catalog “carries” information about books.

EPUB is a free and open standard for carrying digital content (the product itself) and accompanying metadata.

Metadata Standards, Best Practices, and Controlled Vocabularies

•Languages have grammar (structure), style rules (best practices), and vocabularies.

•As a form of communication, metadata does too.

•In the exercises, we’ll talk about when information is taken directly from the content and when it is communicated using codes or vocabularies to make sure it’s correctly interpreted by receiving systems.

•The carrier (ONIX) dictates some metadata elements that must be present for the file to be valid.

•National and international industry organizations help define the best practices for effective communication and bookselling.

Who creates and uses metadata?

The Metadata Lifecycle

What makes metadata powerful?Powerful metadata provides a rich description of the

product and meets business needs.

Powerful metadata supports:

What readers need•A compelling search and discovery experience•User engagement, evaluation, and sales through content-rich information •Recommendation algorithms and website sort options (by subject, genre, audience, age level, format, etc.) by providing full and accurate information

What makes metadata powerful?Powerful metadata provides a rich description of the

product and meets business needs.

Powerful metadata supports:

The business needs of publishers and their trading partners

•A compelling experience for potential readers leading to more sales•Communication between publisher and bookseller•Business transactions•Publicity and marketing activities•Sales tracking and market analysis•Business intelligence

Metadata in Publishing Workflow

Metadata, Search Engines, and Search Engine Optimization

Bookseller search engines (Publisher websites, Amazon, Barnes & Noble ...)These search engines are directed at bookseller databases populated by product metadata. Publishers contribute directly to this data.

General search engines(Google, Yahoo, Bing …)General search engines websites over the entire Web. The completeness and quality of metadata sent to bookseller sites contributes to search results but so do many other factors relating to the website.

Search Engine Optimization

What’s within your control?•Some things are beyond your control but the quality of your metadata shouldn’t be one of them. •Make sure that metadata supplied to all trading partners is as rich, complete, and accurate as possible. •While there’s no guarantee that quality metadata will result in a best seller, its absence will almost certainly guarantee its obscurity.

SEO and Keywords•Good descriptive metadata is the best way to optimize for search.•Keyword stuffing and other tricks and routinely discovered and punished by search engines.•Keywords and phrases are still important but don’t write marketing content around them.•Write with the intended audience in mind, considering the most compelling way to describe the book

What are the most important metadata elements?

Metadata for search, discovery, and commerce

•Content description (Title, Author, Summary, Subjects …)•Product description (Format, Number of items …)•Commerce (ISBN, Price, On-Sale Date, Territorial Rights …)

Metadata to stand out in the marketplace

•Evaluative metadata (Reviews, Awards …)•Author information (Author biographies, Author Awards ...)•Any other information that adds value or supports search

Core Metadata Elements

Recommended for all titles and mandatory for BISG Certification

• Identifier• Product Form/Format

• Title/Subtitle• Contributor(s)

• Language of Product Content• Extent (Page count, Run time, File size …)

• Publisher/Imprint/Brand Name• Subject(s)

• Intended Audience• Textual Description

• Publisher/Imprint/Brand Name• Publisher Status Code• Publication Date• Return Code

• Product Availability Code• Price

• Digital Image of Product• Territorial Rights

Book Industry Study Group (BISG) Product Metadata Best Practices

Core Plus Metadata Elements

Highly recommended when applicable. Mandatory if applicable for BISG Certification

All products• Edition

• Country of Publication• Series/Set Information• Strict on sale date

• Age range (for juvenile and young adult)• Distributor/Vendor of record

• Related products

Physical products• Bar Code indicator

• Country of manufacture• Case pack/Carton quantity• Weight and Dimensions

• Number of Pieces

Digital products• DRM/Usage Constraints

• Software/hardware requirements

Book Industry Study Group (BISG) Product Metadata Best Practices

Enhanced Metadata Elements

Optional but strongly recommended

All formats• Author/Contributor Biography

• Illustration Details• Book Excerpt

• Prizes and Awards• Reviews

• Original Publication Date• Reading Age (for juvenile titles)• Grade Range (for juvenile titles)

• Keywords

Digital formatsDigital Product Form (EPUB, Mobi …)

Digital Product Description

Book Industry Study Group (BISG) Product Metadata Best Practices

ExercisesFind the right information

Title page

Title page verso/Copyright page

ExercisesCapture core metadata elements

ExercisesCapture core metadata elements

ExercisesAdd enhanced metadata elements

ExercisesEnter records into the ONIXEDIT system

ExercisesEnter records into the ONIXEDIT system

Validate records

Export to ONIX

Metadata in ONIX Metadata Handbook Paperback

The Metadata Handbook:A Book Publisher’s Guide to Creating And Distributing Metadata for Print and

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