Metadata Committee Charter (2025)
How we provide value to the industry
Defining Metadata: What it is and why it matters
Metadata is the information used by publishers to communicate to the global supply chain about a book (in any format) and book-related items. If you think of the publishing supply chain as a circulatory system, then metadata is the blood carrying all of the information that the system needs to function and complete its mission, joining readers to books.
Metadata is used by printers, distributors, retailers, educational institutions, libraries, and consumers. Across all segments of the supply chain, metadata provides the bibliographic, marketing, and commercial guidance that enables publishers to create and booksellers to sell their books.
Bibliographic metadata builds on multiple standards, such as identifiers or subject classifications. as well as data fields specific to a certain title, author, series, or purpose, like physical specifications for printers. Marketing metadata includes promotional copy, territory, rights, and other fields that define the audience the book is intended to reach. Commercial metadata provides the distribution arrangements, price, discounts, and other terms relevant to selling a book. All three areas are critical components of how a book is discovered and purchased.
Metadata is broader than BISAC, leading people to a book (discovery), informing the decision to purchase (conversion), and making the global supply chain more efficient. This committee helps shape and communicate metadata standards such as ONIX 3, Thema, ISBN and ISNI. A separate committee maintains and updates the BISAC Subject Codes list.
Current State
Industry feedback indicates that current priorities are: identifying and sharing ways to better manage metadata across the supply chain; helping the industry provide timely, high-quality metadata; and using metadata to better market and sell books, in part by ensuring that the end user is able to discover relevant and desired content.
Metadata helps the US supply chain future-proof its ability to meet the changing requirements of international trade. Rules around origin of products, raw materials, liabilities, import / export, product safety, and more can be met with effective metadata management. Metadata can also be used to communicate physical specifications to on-demand printers and audiobook suppliers, enabling production. For physical products, e-books and digital audio, many publishers deliver metadata using the ONIX 3 standard, driven in part by industry requirements. Greater consistency in adoption of ONIX 3 can help.
Objectives
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In the U.S. and Canada, educate about and promote the consistent use of standard metadata between trading partners across the book publishing industry. Efforts to educate and promote the use of the standard are targeted at companies of any size or supply chain role, recognizing global applications where relevant.
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To help the industry better create and manage metadata, the committee works to strengthen documentation of the metadata supply chain, identify weaknesses in the current approaches, and make recommendations for operational improvements to metadata or structural changes in the metadata supply chain that would address any shortcomings.
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Build on BISG best-practices recommendations to help metadata providers and recipients provide timely, high-quality metadata for all book formats.
Stakeholder Impact/Benefits
This committee addresses metadata requirements across the supply chain, representing the interests of stakeholders including publishers, manufacturers, retailers, libraries, distributors, software vendors and intermediaries, so that readers have access to the information they need to inform their decisions. Benefits of the committee’s work include:
- Improved understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the current metadata supply chain, to promote the wider use of best practice, reducing rework and improving the quality of information available across the supply chain (e.g. accuracy of measurements, prices)
- Recommendations for changes that would improve the way metadata is managed between trading partners, with direct application of prior best-practice work in areas that are of greatest need
- Provide support to the essential use of metadata as a tool to promote discovery and purchase
- Provide guidance on the implementation of the ONIX
Deliverables
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Publish an updated Metadata Best Practices Guide.
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Support BISG’s efforts to transform supply chain communication, participating in work to outline benefits and make the business case for change. Specific components are shown in the timeline, below.
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Oversee the efforts of an ISNI working group
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Oversee the efforts, in concert with the Workflow Committee, of an accessibility metadata working group to elevate exposure of accessibility metadata in the U.S. market both in files and in ONIX. Help the supply chain prepare for Title II implementation.
Blockers
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Ability to recruit committee members from across the supply chain
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Ability of committee members to commit sufficient time to tackle multiple projects in the planned timeframe
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Ability or willingness of supply-chain participants to implement recommendations to improve the metadata supply chain
Timeline
Jan 2025 |
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Feb 2025 |
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Mar 2025 |
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Apr 2025 |
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May 2025 |
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Jun 2025 |
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Jul 2025 |
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Aug 2025 |
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Sep 2025 |
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Oct 2025 |
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Nov 2025 |
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Dec 2025 |
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