BIBLINK - LB 4034 - D1.1 Metadata Formats

Metadata Formats
Work Package 1 of Telematics for Libraries project BIBLINK (LB 4034)

Annex A. Product Information Flows in the Publications Supply Chain

A.1 Background

The purpose of this document is to outline the major flows of product information from publishers through various other agencies to libraries as they currently exist, and to identify the most widely used data standards and communication media. The present draft is based almost entirely on knowledge of the UK situation. Other strands may need to be incorporated to cover patterns which have been adopted elsewhere; and there are probably some features which are at present unique to the UK.

For the purposes of product or bibliographic information (metadata) transfer from publishers through the supply chain to libraries, it is necessary to regard electronic publications as part of a continuum which begins with conventional print; for while network publishing has some entirely new characteristics which cannot be shared with other forms, physical carriers of digital material such as diskette and CD-ROM can be and often are distributed in exactly the same way and through exactly the same channels as printed books, audio and video cassettes, and other media - frequently as parts of a hybrid package.

A.2 Organisations involved in information transmission

The organisations involved in the transmission of metadata related to serial and non-serial publications have been categorised as falling into eight types under four major headings:

1. Publishers (including distributors handling the output of a number of different and independent publishers; these may be a source of some product information on behalf of their clients).

UK examples of publishers substantially involved in a mix of print and non-print publishing and/or with relatively well-developed internal information publishers substantially involved in a mix of print and non- print publishing and/or with relatively well-developed internal information systems: Oxford University Press, Institute of Physics, Dorling Kindersley, Reed Group (both academic and general trade publishing)

2. Information services (ie compilers and suppliers of metadata independent of the supply of actual publications)

2.1 National library bibliographic agencies.

UK example: the British Library National Bibliographic Service.

2.2 Trade bibliographic agencies.

UK examples: Whitaker, Book Data, Bibliographic Data Services.

2.3 Abstracting and indexing services, typically subject-based.

UK example: INSPEC (The Institution of Electrical Engineers).

2.4 Serial contents databases, not subject-based.

These may be associated with a journal subscription agent or national library document supply service, but have been treated as a separate category for the purposes of this analysis. UK examples: Blackwells, British Library Document Supply Centre.

3. Suppliers (ie suppliers of actual publications who also supply metadata)

3.1 Booksellers and library suppliers.

UK examples of booksellers particularly active as

(a) users of externally-supplied metadata in their own business: W H Smith, Dillons, Heffers,

(b) onward suppliers of metadata to library customers: Askews, Dawsons, Holt Jackson, JMLS/Blackwells etc.

3.2 Journal subscription agents.

The major agents are international: Blackwell Group, Dawsons/Faxon, Swets, EBSCO etc.

4. Libraries

It has not been considered necessary to identify library co-operatives and system suppliers (eg BLCMP, SLS, CURL) as a separate category, although they play a definite part in facilitating access to metadata.

A.3 Metadata information flow diagram

The accompanying diagram charts the main flows of metadata between the types of organisation identified above. Each flow line is labelled with a letter (A to T), and the commentary below is keyed to the relevant letter:

A.3.1 Books and other non-serial publications

This section of the diagram includes print and non-print (eg CD-ROM, video, audio) where it is published and distributed within the book supply chain. It is worth noting that Book Industry Communication (BIC) has developed a set of guidelines for the content of publishers' in-house bibliographic databases [1]. Although these do not define a transmission format as such, they are intended to support record supply to other agencies. The guidelines have been applied by some UK publishers.

A Publisher to national library bibliographic agency. Traditionally this was based on paper forms prescribed by the agency, and was limited to pre-publication (CIP) data, with a definitive record being based on the legal deposit copy of the work; and it was (and may still be) restricted to printed publications. No standard is known to be in use for the electronic transfer of metadata from publishers to national libraries.

B Publisher to trade bibliographic agency. Two important differences between this line and line A are that advance information may be communicated to a trade agency very much further ahead of expected publication (eg up to two years for some titles) and that updates will typically continue after publication so that the trade agency can show current prices and availability.
As yet, no standard is widely used for electronic transfer at this level, but two national EDI formats exist: the BIC/ANA TRADACOMS Price & Availability Update message [2], which Book Data and others are bringing into use in the UK, but which is not designed to carry full bibliographic data; and the US BISAC X12 832 Price/Sales Catalog message [3], which will support a full bibliographic record, including a semi-structured table of contents.

C Publisher to bookseller/library supplier. Most communication from publishers to booksellers remains on paper (eg new title advance information sheets, current stocklists), but a number of publishers offer electronic information direct to booksellers, generally in a proprietary format, eg as a CD-ROM catalogue.

D Publisher to library. Again most communication has been on paper. Publishers' CD-ROM catalogues are also distributed to libraries. A recent development is the rapid growth of publishers' web sites, for which libraries are presumably a significant part of the target audience.

E Trade bibliographic agency to national library bibliographic agency. In the UK the British Library sub- contracts the CIP programme by competitive tender, currently to Bibliographic Data Services. Information supply is in UKMARC format [4], and the principal medium s understood to be Internet file transfer.

F National library bibliographic agency to bookseller or library supplier. Some library suppliers incorporate MARC records into their own databases, and/or redistribute them to libraries. The format is MARC, and supply (in the UK) may be on magnetic media, CD-ROM or by Internet file transfer.

G National library bibliographic agency to library. MARC format; the dominant medium for supply to individual libraries is either CD-ROM or on-line, but magnetic media and Internet file transfer are also possible.

H Trade bibliographic agency to bookseller or library supplier. MARC format on magnetic media or by Internet file transfer is likely to apply where the bookseller requires MARC for redistribution to a library clientele. Proprietary or tailored formats apply elsewhere.
The BIC EDI update format [2] is coming into use. CD-ROM is the dominant medium for smaller booksellers. On-line is used scarcely or not at all. Trade bibliographic agency to library. CD-ROM, with MARC download, is probably the dominant medium, together with on-line access through library host systems.

J Bookseller or library supplier to library. Predominantly MARC format, in a variety of media; but note also the recent development of suppliers' CD-ROMs, replacing approval collections, and in some cases offering download of order records in a TRADACOMS or EDIFACT EDI order format to be passed to the library acquisitions system.

A.3.2 New serials and changes to serials

K	Publisher to national library bibliographic agency. Notification of new serial titles and substantial changes are sent to the agency as national centre for ISDS, responsible for the assignment of ISSN, and are incorporated into the national bibliography. Electronic transfer does not apply at this level.
L	Publisher to subscription agent. There is necessarily a continuous flow of product information from journal publishers to subscription agents. Some electronic transfer takes place in proprietary formats.
M	Publisher to library. Essentially the same as D above. Publishers' CD-ROM catalogues and web sites are likely to cover serial and non-serial publications.
N	National library bibliographic agency to library.
O	Subscription agent to library.

A.3.3 Serial issue contents

P	Publisher to abstracting and indexing service. Traditionally A&I services have worked from the printed copy of the journal issue, but some are receiving electronic copy from a limited but growing number of publishers. Available standards are SGML-based: MAJOUR [5] and SSSH [6].
Q	Publisher to serial contents database. Essentially the same as P above.
R	Publisher to library. There is some direct supply of electronic tables of contents from large publishers to individual libraries, by Internet file transfer or web site.
S	Abstracting and indexing service to library. Dominant media are on-line and CD-ROM, with proprietary formats?
T	Serial contents database to library. Dominant media are on-line and CD-ROM, with proprietary formats?

A.4 Existing standards referred to in the text

[1] BIC Manual on Publishers' Bibliographic Databases, draft, 1994 (unpublished, but available on request from Book Industry Communication.

[2] Book Trade Price & Availability Updates File, TRADACOMS File Format 108, Version 1, London, Book Industry Communication/Article Number Association, July 1993.

[3] BISAC X12 832 Price/Sales Catalog, New York, Book Industry Study Group, 1996

[4] UKMARC Manual

[5] MAJOUR: Modular Application for Journals, European Workgroup for SGML, 1991

[6] SSSH: Simplified SGML for Serials Headers, London, Book Industry Communication/PIRA International, 1996

A.5 Standards under development

The following standards are the subject of development work which is currently in hand in national and international groups representing the book and serials sectors:

SGML formats for book and serial product information
EDIFACT formats for book and serial product information

Next	Table of Contents

A	Publisher to national library bibliographic agency. Traditionally this was based on paper forms prescribed by the agency, and was limited to pre-publication (CIP) data, with a definitive record being based on the legal deposit copy of the work; and it was (and may still be) restricted to printed publications. No standard is known to be in use for the electronic transfer of metadata from publishers to national libraries.
B	Publisher to trade bibliographic agency. Two important differences between this line and line A are that advance information may be communicated to a trade agency very much further ahead of expected publication (eg up to two years for some titles) and that updates will typically continue after publication so that the trade agency can show current prices and availability. As yet, no standard is widely used for electronic transfer at this level, but two national EDI formats exist: the BIC/ANA TRADACOMS Price & Availability Update message [2], which Book Data and others are bringing into use in the UK, but which is not designed to carry full bibliographic data; and the US BISAC X12 832 Price/Sales Catalog message [3], which will support a full bibliographic record, including a semi-structured table of contents.
C	Publisher to bookseller/library supplier. Most communication from publishers to booksellers remains on paper (eg new title advance information sheets, current stocklists), but a number of publishers offer electronic information direct to booksellers, generally in a proprietary format, eg as a CD-ROM catalogue.
D	Publisher to library. Again most communication has been on paper. Publishers' CD-ROM catalogues are also distributed to libraries. A recent development is the rapid growth of publishers' web sites, for which libraries are presumably a significant part of the target audience.
E	Trade bibliographic agency to national library bibliographic agency. In the UK the British Library sub- contracts the CIP programme by competitive tender, currently to Bibliographic Data Services. Information supply is in UKMARC format [4], and the principal medium s understood to be Internet file transfer.
F	National library bibliographic agency to bookseller or library supplier. Some library suppliers incorporate MARC records into their own databases, and/or redistribute them to libraries. The format is MARC, and supply (in the UK) may be on magnetic media, CD-ROM or by Internet file transfer.
G	National library bibliographic agency to library. MARC format; the dominant medium for supply to individual libraries is either CD-ROM or on-line, but magnetic media and Internet file transfer are also possible.
H	Trade bibliographic agency to bookseller or library supplier. MARC format on magnetic media or by Internet file transfer is likely to apply where the bookseller requires MARC for redistribution to a library clientele. Proprietary or tailored formats apply elsewhere. The BIC EDI update format [2] is coming into use. CD-ROM is the dominant medium for smaller booksellers. On-line is used scarcely or not at all. Trade bibliographic agency to library. CD-ROM, with MARC download, is probably the dominant medium, together with on-line access through library host systems.
J	Bookseller or library supplier to library. Predominantly MARC format, in a variety of media; but note also the recent development of suppliers' CD-ROMs, replacing approval collections, and in some cases offering download of order records in a TRADACOMS or EDIFACT EDI order format to be passed to the library acquisitions system.