June 15 Open Teleconference: NISO E-Book Metadata Working Group

The topic for this call will be the NISO E-Book Metadata Working Group, which has finalized its NISO Recommended Practice to be available soon for public comment. All NISO Open Teleconferences are open to everyone!

It is anticipated that this detailed NISO Recommended Practice will be available for public comment in the next few weeks.  Co-chairs Ravit David (Scholars Portal, University of Toronto Libraries) and Alistair Morrison (Sheridan Libraries, Johns Hopkins University) will discuss the information it contains, next steps for review, and what they hope will follow in interest and reaction (not to mention adoption and support!)

The overarching goal of this recommended practice is to promote shared understanding and ongoing communication about the most fundamental e-book metadata elements among all the different types of stakeholders. This recommended practice provides a guide to creating and using e-book metadata as consistently as possible across the different types of stakeholders, who must also adhere to the existing standards and communities of practice applicable to them.

E-books are still evolving as technology and as cultural artifacts. The format, transmission, and applications of book metadata are changing. Metadata workflows and data exchange are becoming ever more automated, massive in scale, and networked. In this fast-changing environment, it is crucial for the various producers and users of e-book metadata -- publishers, retailers, libraries, service providers, and preservation agencies -- to develop awareness and become conscious of one another’s standards, practices, and purposes.