Thema Essentials Training Course

Overview

Thema has become a vital ingredient in international sales and the discovery of titles for trade outside of the USA. It has become a key part of the metadata supply chain for international publishers and retailers, as well as a key piece of complementary information to the BISAC Subject Codes in the US and Canadian markets.  

With this comprehensive introductory course, attendees will gain a solid foundation in Thema, the book industry’s international subject classification scheme. Delivered over two focused 2.5-hour sessions, the training combines background knowledge with practical application. 

Attendees will explore the principles and benefits of Thema, how to adopt and integrate it effectively within an organization, and how to apply it to real-world titles. The course also includes a hands-on categorization exercise and guidance on best practices to optimize both in-store and online discovery and conversion.

Benefits of Attending

Attendees will learn the principles behind Thema and its use, and how to go about adopting it within their organization. The course includes a practical hands-on session categorizing real-world books and a encourages active discussion of best practices to optimize in-store and online discovery. 

Course Level

Beginner. This comprehensive course is suitable for attendees with little or no prior knowledge of Thema as well as those with some experience who wish to gain more understanding at how to make better use of it. The course is aimed at publishing and bookselling staff with an interest in practical book subject classification and discoverability, including those working in editorial, marketing, metadata management, publishers or retailers’ online presence, or those in physical retail.

Course Outline

The course content aims to cover Thema in a comprehensive and interactive way, including:

• An Introduction to Thema including its origins, benefits, development and adoption
• Thema Implementation
• Structure of the Thema category hierarchy
• Thema subject categories, Thema qualifiers and national extensions
  • Principles of post-coordination
  • How Thema codes are used globally
  • How Thema is used in the supply chain
  • How to use Thema alongside BISAC subject categories
  • How to use Thema with other metadata (like audience, keywords, contributor information, merchandising categories, etc)
  • Use of Thema in ONIX

• Six golden rules of classification for making best use of Thema

  • Sample titles for review 

• Hands-on, practical sessions in assigning Thema codes

  • N.B. this can include sample titles from attendees if supplied in advance to trainer

Course Instructor

Working alongside EDItEUR’s executive director Graham Bell, Chris Saynor is responsible for EDItEUR's book publishing standards including ONIX, EDItX and—most directly—Thema. He also leads EDItEUR’s work on accessibility metadata. 

He joined the organization in late 2016. Prior to that he was a metadata specialist based in Paris, and previously had a long career in bookselling in both the UK and in France.