Industry Skills Development & Training

26 August 2024

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This document was produced by the Metadata Committee of the Publishers Association of South Africa (PASA) as a result of requests from stakeholders in South Africa to have an agreed-to, technically capable list of minimum requirements that could be applied across the industry locally. This list is intended to be a summary of minimum requirements, and should be read in conjunction with the PASA Best Practice Guide.

We encourage you to consider this a good point at which to begin producing ONIX messages, and to expand into the more detailed use of other features, which will be required when dealing with services and recipients external to South Africa.

For best results for your ONIX metadata, the generation of product records should be done by having as complete and accurate a message as is possible; making strategic choices about the data that is required for the type of publishing that you are engaged in.

Minimum Metadata Requirements List

Particular metadata fields for each product are required. This list is intended to be used as a reference list of ONIX 3.1 data elements. More detail on each data element group is given in the PASA Product Metadata Guidelines (which we strongly recommend a working knowledge of), and of course the full standard documentation is available from EDItEUR at this link https://www.editeur.org/93/Release-3.0-and-3.1-Downloads/#Specifications. A comprehensive EDItEUR Implementation and Best Practice Guide is also available.

• Product identifiers: 13-digit GTIN product number (formerly EAN-13 article number). Normally this is the same number as the ISBN (with first three digits 978 or 979)
• Product form and format (for example audio, paperback, hardback, EPUB etc.) including dimensions and packaging, or for digital products, the file format
• Collection if the product is part of a series or collection
• Book title. Separate title and subtitle into unique fields. Do not insert marketing information in the subtitle field.
• Contributor (forenames and surname) and role (for example author, editor, translator, illustrator etc.) Include sequence numbering where there is more than one contributor
• Edition number (2nd, 3rd etc) and/or edition type (abridged, bilingual, large print, school edition etc) whenever applicable
• All languages in the text must be indicated
• Extent, playing time and other content such as the number and type of illustrations.
• For digital publications, include information on accessibility standards conformance where applicable
• At least one Thema subject category code
• Audience for the product
• Short description of the product (other marketing text such as reviews, a long description is also valuable)
• Front cover image
• Publisher and imprint name
• City and country of publication
• Original date of publication as well as the publication date of the current edition
• Publishing status (for example active, forthcoming, no longer available, out of print, remaindered, etc.)
• Sales rights and sales restrictions specified across all territories (i.e. where can the product be sold, and where it cannot be sold)
• Related products such as the ISBNs of the new edition or alternative formats
• Supplier information (for example distributor to end-customers, retailer, sales agent, etc.)
• Recommended retail price (including VAT) in South African Rands, and a price to be used as a basis for export sales (probably in Rand, without VAT)

Compiled from Editeur, BISG and BIC sources with permission.
This document is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC licence.
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26 August 2024

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As a member of SANMUG, attending meetings and/or other SANMUG events, either in person, or virtually, and with due care to ensure that contacts with competitors do not otherwise create a basis for anti-competitive conduct, I declare the following:

Before attending a meeting

i. I will ensure that I have received a meeting agenda in advance and, should there be concerns about any agenda content, I willraise those concerns directly with SANMUG and/or PASA’s legal department/team before attendance at the meeting

While at a meeting

ii. I will ensure that I avoid becoming involved in discussing the following topics:
• Current, near-past or imminent pricing, costs, discounts
•Future business plans
•Current, near-past or imminent output levels, including stock/W-I-P, inventories, production, sales, volumes or capacity
•Bidding tactics
•Specific customers, territories, market shares or product or service lines and offerings
•Wages, salaries, remuneration paid by participants
•Specific terms and conditions of sale
•Credit terms and discounting arrangements
•The timing and effect of any planned manufacturing or plant shutdowns (or start-ups)
•The timing of any price increase or decrease
•Any other competitively sensitive topic

iii. In addition, I will ensure that:
• Comprehensive minutes are taken, covering all topics discussed at the meeting
• I will stick to the agenda
• I will not engage in informal or side conversations with other members
• I will exercise good judgment at all times
• Should things go wrong, like anti-competitive behaviour, inappropriate remarks, I will ensure the following:
• I will not engage in the improper conduct
• I will raise the matter directly with the chairperson and ask that concerns/objections are noted in the meeting minutes.
• Should inappropriate discussions continue, I will leave the meeting immediately and have it recorded in the meeting minutes, making comprehensive notes as soon as possible after leaving the meeting, including the time the issue was raised or comment made, what was stated (‘word-for-word’ or as near as possible), other members comments and my own actions.
• Further, that I will evaluate critically what the meeting is aiming to achieve, while being vigilant, for instance, that activities like standard or policy setting don’t restrict entry into the industry, don’t deter innovation, nor discriminate against competitors or otherwise inhibit the ability of persons to compete.

This document is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC licence.
Creative Commons CC-BY-NY

26 August 2024

You can download this document by clicking here

Are you looking for help with creating ONIX messages for your books? You don’t have to code XML yourself! There are various ONIX software suppliers on the market that cater to publishers’ needs and can assist you with implementing ONIX for Books standards in your workflows.

Here are some questions to ask about potential suppliers:
• Do they provide accurate, consistent ONIX messages to receivers that are in line with current ONIX and Thema specifications (e.g. ONIX 3.1 and Thema 1.5)?
• Do they have reputable distribution partners that receive their metadata? Do they send to your big distributors and booksellers?
• Do they have a reputation for handling metadata produced? Do they have a low error rate with organisations who provide assessments? e.g. BIC, Editeur
•Do they have similar clients to your business size and unique business requirements?
•Do you need other services that they are able to assist with? (e.g. book metadata management, title management, content management, production, royalties, forecasting)
•Are they responsive to your queries even if you are from a small organisation?
•Do they participate in industry-wide standards bodies?
•Are they able to manage multilingual metadata?

This document is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC licence.
Creative Commons CC-BY-NY

You can download this document by clicking here

The Publishers’ Association of South Africa Product Metadata Guidelines are intended for South African publishers in the preparation of ONIX 3.0 and 3.1 data feeds, by setting out notes on data element inclusion and usage which have been reviewed and agreed by the Publishers’ Association of South Africa’s Metadata Committee. These guidelines are adapted with permission from the BIC Product Metadata Guidelines: ONIX for Books Release 3.0 and 3.1, revised July 2024.