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Four Additional Publishers Adopt NISO’s KBART Guidelines

Four Additional Publishers Adopt NISO’s KBART Guidelines

January 2021

Information Industry News

Four more publishers have recently started supplying metadata that conforms to the NISO recommended practice, KBART: Knowledge Bases And Related Tools (NISO RP-9-2014). A total of 62 publishers have now achieved KBART compliance since the recommended practice was originally published in 2010. 

An estimated 40% of full text usage on publisher sites is driven by library databases (including Google Scholar and Next Generation Discovery Tools). Much of this access flows through OpenURL link resolvers that rely on detailed knowledge base title data provided by publishers and other content providers, making accurate, up-to-date information essential to maximize usage. By adopting the universally-accepted KBART metadata structure, publishers ensure a timely exchange of standardized information and updated product availability details across the whole supply chain.

The newest KBART-endorsed organizations are:

A full list of publishers that have implemented the KBART recommended practice can be found in the Registry (https://sites.google.com/site/kbartregistry/). The KBART Standing Committee is now working on its Phase III recommendations, which will be shared for public comment in 2021. 

“We are delighted to have added four more organizations to the list of KBART-endorsed content providers,” said Noah Levin, KBART Standing Committee Co-chair. “With over 60 KBART-compliant content providers, librarians and readers around the world have access to the accurate, up-to-date information they need.”

“It’s encouraging to see global adoption of KBART continuing to increase with these new endorsed content providers from Canada, Switzerland, the UK, and the US,” added Andrée Rathemacher, the Committee’s other Co-chair. “We encourage other content providers to implement our guidelines, which are developed by and for the whole information community, and to submit their files for KBART endorsement.”

Nettie Lagace, Associate Executive Director of NISO echoed these sentiments, saying, “We are grateful to all organizations that have implemented the KBART guidelines and helped improve information flow for libraries, publishers, and users alike. NISO appreciates  Noah, Andrée, and all their colleagues on the KBART Standing Committee for their hard work developing and maintaining this recommended practice.”