FAQ: Webform ONIX 3 migration

We know you may have questions about the transition of your Webform catalogues from the older standard, ONIX 2.1, to the newer standard, ONIX 3. We’ve gathered together answers for several common questions below.

Don't see your question? You can always get in touch with our team at webform@booknetcanada.ca.

When is the migration taking place?

We expect to complete the migration in late May or early June 2026. We are currently working with major data receivers to ensure they will be ready to accept your ONIX 3 files following this transition so that we can make the process as smooth as possible for everyone.

We will be notifying all clients by email at least one week before the go-live date.

Why do I need to update to ONIX 3?

Support for the ONIX 2.1 standard was sunset back in 2014. ONIX 3 has been the current standard since that time — but it has taken the industry till now to fully adopt this new standard. We are now at a point where the majority of business is conducted using ONIX 3 as the preferred standard.

ONIX 3 reduces redundant methods of providing the same data elements, and supports the full range of metadata necessary to properly support ebook formats — including accessibility. As an international standard, its Market and Supply blocks also enable precise, scalable handling of territories, suppliers, prices, and publication dates for multiple regions and territories within a single record.

What changes will be made to my bibliographic data?

The data migration process uses a tool that maps your ONIX 2.1 data into the new ONIX 3 format. There are many changes between ONIX 2.1 and ONIX 3 that are not straightforward, so we are making our best assumptions for this mapping, based on expected usage of the ONIX 2.1 data elements.

For example:

In ONIX 2.1, Canadian contributors are identified simply by applying the Country Code 'CA' within a Contributor composite. In ONIX 3, there is an entirely new, repeatable composite available, called <ContributorPlace> that allows you to connect a contributor to a number of places, such as their current residence, their birthplace, or their nationality.

We have made the decision to map ONIX 2.1 country codes to the place relator codes to indicate nationality.

If you have questions or concerns about the mapping for specific fields, please get in touch at webform@booknetcanada.ca and we can provide more detailed information.

Do users have to take any action before the migration?

As part of our migration process, we will be backing up all of your ONIX 2.1 data before creating fresh ONIX 3 catalogues. If you would like to keep a separate back up of your ONIX 2.1 data then you can simply export ONIX 2.1 file from your Webform Catalogue.

What should I do after the update to ONIX 3?

Users are encouraged to check the validation of their new ONIX 3 records, and then send a full file to BiblioShare, and to any other regular recipients of your data.

What will change in my Webform account?

Your Webform account credentials will not change. You will be able to sign in with the same email and password to access your new ONIX 3 catalogue, and when you log in you will see some new fields and options now available to you in both the Simplified and Advanced forms.

Webform will no longer be able to export or share ONIX 2.1 files. Users will still have the ability to export/import excel spreadsheets.

We will have updated documentation for your reference following the transition.

How will my ONIX 3 data get to BiblioShare?

As part of our migration process, we will be updating the BiblioShare FTP in the Transmit to Partners function in Webform to link automatically to an ONIX 3-enabled account where your metadata and media assets will be processed and stored in BiblioShare for use by all downstream data users.

What should I do with files I send to other recipients?

University of Toronto Press Distribution

UTP will end support for ONIX 2.1 files in June 2026. We are working with the UTP data team to ensure a smooth transition for Webform publishers. If any action needs to be taken, we will reach out directly to affected publishers with more information.

Bookmanager

Bookmanager currently accepts ONIX 3 files. If you experience any difficulties with supplying your new ONIX 3 files to BookManager, you can contact the Bookmanager data support team at data@bookmanager.com.

Other external data recipients

If you send files to other data recipients not listed above, we recommend that you reach out to your data contacts at the receivers end to ensure they are prepared to accept ONIX 3 files from you. If you need to send ONIX 3 files to a different location, you can set up new destination folders using the Transmit to Partners feature.