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This document has been superseded by a longer and more complete document A guide to BNC Webform data entry and code list references It remains here in case companies have linked directly to it |
BookNet Canada's Webform /wiki/spaces/bish/pages/1395126 for ONIX creation and some other ONIX supporting software have simplified screens and are intended to used by rank beginners. Using ONIX properly has a real learning curve and the full manual is always the best resource.
But here we give you
...
quick answers.
First off: What are you doing in general? Well look at Amazon or Indigo On-line and you can see stuff up on books. If you've done that you already know most of what you need to know here. The best site to explore for what you can put into a file for Canadian publishers is
...
Second point is you're creating a "Product" record – something someone will buy by looking at your information about your book on another company's website. So if it's a print book pick it up. The Title comes off the title page and the subtitle is the secondary title found there. Contributor is the author, the measures are found by using a ruler and a scale, you say where a retailer can find the barcode... and so on.
If it's a digital book, go about it exactly the same way, except if you can't measure, weigh or barcode then DO NOT supply metadata on that. If it doesn't apply don't use it. You will need to supply special codes that describe a digital book – just the same way there are special codes for describing physical ones.
In short: You're describing what the consumer gets. Every product get's it's own ISBN and it's own ONIX record.
On When using a "simplified" form you should check out all options but if they don't apply don't sweat it – just leave it them blank. For example Series are useful for marketing but not all books are in series.
THIS TABLE ASSUMES YOU ARE USING ONIX 2.1
| TagName | Short answer | Expected? | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record reference | Use the ISBN-13 here | YES all records | Every ONIX record should carry a unique number – used to identify the metadata record. |
| Notification type | default as "03" | YES all records | Notification type is about the record as well. It tells the recipient how much trust to put in the metadata (pre-publication information can change) or might be used to convey advanced problems that a small publisher should email trading partners about. |
| product form | BC=paperback BB=hardcover DG=digital book (PDF or eBook) | YES all records | An ONIX record is a Product record as defined above. What form does it take in the broadest terms possible? That's what goes here. DO NOT use code BA "book." |
| It's there for situations |
| like if a distributor doesn't know |
| more. Audio books are "A_" Ask for help if you need to describe a product with more than one Product |
| Form like "book and toy" or "book and DVD" | |
| Product form detail | B102 is Trade paperback |
Optional but expected | A place to add detail to what you've said for Product Form. If it's a paperback retailers need to know what type it is |
| - and that's almost always a "Trade Paperback" . Look at the list and you'll find things that might describe your book, and the full ONIX code list contains good explanatory notes. Google terms you don't understand as you'll usually find definitions. Don't kill yourself adding "Detail" but these are primary data points used by retailers – you'll need to understand what's important to your trading partners. | ||
| Epublication type | 002 is PDF | Digital books only |
| In ONIX 2.1 digital books don't |
| typically use Product Form Detail (there are some choices for fixed format or free flow choices), but this the digital equivalent to |
| a Product Form Detail. In ONIX 3.0 these values are found in Product Form Detail. | ||
| Barcode | Code: 10 is likely | Physical books |
| only | Do you have a standard ISBN-13 based barcode? It's called an EAN13 Barcode. |
, so choose the expected one for book retailers |
: EAN13 Barcode | |
| Work identifier | Use |
when you've |
published this |
|
than one |
format | Optional, but expected | Digital book sellers in particular want this but each ONIX record describes a Product. If you sold the same "work" or title in multiple formats wouldn't it be nice if ALL the records shared an identifier? So in all such records select "01 Proprietary" and fill in a shared value in the box beside it – a unique code please – don't use the book title spaces and all as that's no help to anyone. |
| Title prefix Title without prefix | Use only if your book title contains a prefix |
for indexing – help the retailer out by putting
If your title has a prefix, then it's useful to separate prefix text from the remaining text to help the retailer index the title properly. Simply put the Prefix in one box and the title without it (how it would be alphabetized) in the |
box |
for Title without prefix. If your title does not have a prefix, simply ignore the prefix and title-without-prefix fields and leave them blank. Only enter the full title in the main title field. | |||
| Distinct title | As it appears on the book | YES all records | |
| Imprint: Name code type Name code value | Use only if you're supplying your ONIX metadata to Amazon | More than you want to know available here: |
| Imprint name |
| As it appears on the book | YES all records | The Publisher is the company who published the book. The Imprint is the brand, how it appears on the book |
They are usually
| . Publisher are Imprint are often the same thing but retailers like to know for sure. | |||
| Publisher name | As it appears on the book | YES all records | See Imprint Name above – but normally the Publisher Name is the name of the company that signs contracts and whose name appears on the Title and Copyright page |
| Publication date | The date this ISBN was first sold | YES all records | Dates in ONIX are YYYYMMDD – no hyphens, slashes or marks. Dates are "text" fields |
| Publishing status | 02 is forthcoming 04 is Active | YES all records | A way for the supply chain to understand where your book is in it's lifecycle. Nothing is in print forever. "Forthcoming" is "before publication" and you should update your record to "Active" when it becomes available. The value should make sense with the Publication Date and the Supply Detail's Product availability code. |
SUPPLY DETAIL: | Print and digital products 10 is Forthcoming | YES all records | For Print books the Supplier would normally be your distributor but whatever company that a For Digital books, the Publisher's name appears as the Supplier because they are who a retailer The Product availability information is mandatory. |