What's New in BNC CataList?
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This release introduces updated contributor filters in search, new Indigenous territoriality statements for contributors who chose to share that information in the metadata, Quick Share for the Notes feature, and more!
Search results: Contributor place filters
On the CataList search results page, the Contributor location filter is replaced by Contributor nationality and Contributor residence filters.
When title data includes contributor nationality or residence information, CataList surfaces that data in the applicable filters so that you can easily identify authors local to your region, or more broadly, those that are Canadian.
Contributor Place
Contributor place is a repeatable composite in ONIX 3 where each composite includes a contributor place relator code that describes the relationship that the contributor has with a location.
For ONIX 3 records, CataList uses code ‘08’ (Citizen of) and code ‘04’ (Currently resides in) from List 151 to filter for titles with contributors that are a citizen of a country, or currently reside in a region.
While the new contributor filters do support titles that source information from ONIX 2.1 metadata, we recommend that publishers transition, or start planning their transition, to ONIX 3 in order to use CataList to the fullest. If you’re a CataList publisher and have questions about transitioning your account to ONIX 3, contact us at catalist@booknetcanada.ca.
Title detail page: Contributor locations
We’ve updated the design of the Contributor locations section in the Author Bio tab to make it easier to show more than one relationship that a contributor may have with a location.
CataList now displays the contributor’s Indigenous geography or territoriality, and the contributor’s residence when such information is provided by the publisher.
Indigenous to (Indigenous geographies or territorialities)
BookNet Canada acknowledges that there is much to be done on the road to reconciliation, in how we can support the voices of Indigenous contributors. Including Code 12 from List 151 in CataList is one of many ways for Indigenous contributors to share with the bookselling community the land on which they live. This code is a new addition to the Contributor Place composite in ONIX 3, and is used to indicate that an Indigenous contributor has chosen to be publicly identified as an Indigenous person associated with a particular territory or geography.
Additional resources
An overview of product metadata standards that support the discoverability of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis publishing and books by Indigenous authors.
A TechForum presentation on how ONIX supports discoverability of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis publishing and books by Indigenous authors.
Care and attention should be put into deciding what information is shared in the Contributor Place composite. While it is a good place for publishers to share location information about their authors that can help promote them locally, nationally, or internationally, we encourage publishers to seek permission from their authors before supplying this data.
Quick Share
Designate one or more groups, contact lists, or individuals to be your default note recipients. Once you’ve set this up, you can use the Quick Share button to share the note with those recipients without having to choose them every time.
To set up Quick Share, go to the Sharing Options tab in your Settings and follow the instructions.
After saving your Quick Share recipients, the Quick Share button is available for you to use when creating or editing notes.
Hover over the Quick Share button to see who you’ve currently saved as your Quick Share recipient.
An example of using Quick Share
Let’s say you typically create notes directly in CataList when you review catalogues with publisher teams, and your notes will be useful for everyone else in your company. You can save a step by using Quick Share to share the note automatically when you create it.
Choose the My Company group to be your Quick Share recipient so that every new note that you create using the Quick Share button will automatically be shared with everyone in your company.
Tip: If you’re reviewing titles in a catalogue, you can create notes even quicker in the Scrolling View, wghere you can choose to always display the Notes field. That way, the Add Notes button is always available.
You can change the Quick Share recipients so that the note recipients tied to the Quick Share button are updated for new notes. Notes that were previously created with the Quick Share button won’t be affected.
Other updates in this release
The Title column in catalogue grid view now sorts items based on TitleWithoutPrefix, allowing for clearer sorting of catalogue items.
Updated the text for the “Contact List” tab to “Sharing Options” to encompass the new settings that are available in that tab.
Updated the text for the Search result filter “Geographical location” to “Place and setting” to make a clear division between locations for contributors, and locations relevant to the book’s subject matter.
Contact list creators can now easily add their own name to their contact lists, which supports more ways of using shared contact lists.
Updated the Ebook filter in the Advanced Search form to also filter for ONIX 3 codes that identify digital formats.
Latest features added on June 4, 2026.
Check this space often to find out more about the changes and new features added to BNC CataList.