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The simplest way to transfer your data is via the Internet by way of an email attachment or FTP (file transfer protocol). First time submissions which contain an imprint or publisher name and new code may also need to be accompanied by an Excel or text file that lists the imprint or publisher's name and corresponding code. This will ensure that the codes are associated with the correct buying channels for purchasing. The retailer or distributor verifies the data and then translates it into the information you see on a web page.
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The ONIX standard is in transition but ONIX 2.1
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North America continues to use ONIX 2.1 at this time but now that EDItEUR has
However, not every ONIX user has been able to migrate yet, and in November, EDItEUR published advice for those organisations continuing to use 2.1 after sunset. In particular, this advice details a workaround to avoid validation failures in production systems. The advice was downloaded around 1500 times during December and January. At sunset (in fact on 2nd January), the online DTDs for ONIX 2.1 were removed. During January, there were 1.2 million failed requests to download these files – roughly the same number of requests as in any other month during 2014 (though of course, prior to sunset, these requests succeeded, and post sunset, the numbers are likely boosted by re-tries). During February, the number of failed requests will be around 600,000, which shows that organisations are implementing the workarounds. Reports from key national groups where 2.1 is still widely used have suggested that sunset has not caused anything other than a few isolated problems.
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remains in use
As of 2015 ONIX 2.1 is formally in its "sunset" period with only very limited support from EDItEUR. As of 2016 it will become an unsupported standard.
Being unsupported does not mean it is not used. ONIX 2.1 may remain in use for however long two companies choose to continue to use the standard. In North America ONIX 2.1 continues to be used for almost all data transfers and retailers are having difficulty finding enough ONIX 3.0 suppliers to begin to program to accept it.
For 2015 BookNet Canada recommends:
- All data suppliers continue to support ONIX 2.1 for North American data transfer
- If you can support ONIX 3.0 in addition to ONIX 2.1 please do so and ensure trading partners are aware of the option. This will facilitate retailers and other aggregators developing ONIX 3.0 support
- No one should switch from ONIX 2.1 to ONIX 3.0 without first notifying their trading partners. We think you'll find that you will still need to support ONIX 2.1
- New implementations of ONIX have a hard decision: ONIX 2.1 will not be supported for much longer but it remains the practical choice in our market.
The sunset of ONIX 2.1 has one obvious change: the ONIX 2.1 XML declaration no longer links to an active URL and that causes problems for any XML software using it. EDItEUR published advice for those organisations continuing to use 2.1 after sunset. Some organisations have sought to work around sunset by changing the DOCTYPE declaration in ONIX 2.1 files, to point to their own local copies of the 2.1 DTD. This is not recommended at all, and is not valid ONIX. The required DOCTYPE declaration in ONIX 2.1 files is: and this remains true even though there is no actual file at that address. (Obviously, 'reference' in the URI may be replaced by 'short'.) If you are changing the URI for any reason, this must be for purely internal use, and the standard DTD URI should be included in all files sent externally. Use of a non-standard URI simply causes problems for recipients who have implemented proper workarounds.
If you need help identifying these, contact biblio@booknetcanada.ca. Whatever version of ONIX you use, you should try to support the most current code list.
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ONIX 3.0 is the new version on ONIX with better support for Digital Products and capable of a much higher degree of accuracy to support truly international data exchange. There have been a couple of major structural changes since it's inital release in 2009 and any implementer should ensure that they are using ONIX 3.0.12.
In North America actual use of ONIX 3.0 is still limited and most data exchange remains using ONIX 2.1. The time for change has now come though, at the minimum would be to for all publishers and data recipients to familiarize themselves with the changes.
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Version 2.1 Revision 02 or 03 (04 is largely about changes for Japan)
Code Lists Issue 28 (See the changes for List 28ONIX_BookProduct_Codelists_Issue_28_Changes.pdf)
BISAC Subject Code list 2014 edition and Regional Themes
The overview of ONIX for Books at the Editeur website.
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