Development, Use, and Modification of Book Product Metadata

Success in publishing continues to rely extensively on consistent preparation and use of book metadata. As digital products grow and evolve, this is true now more than ever. In January 2012, the Book Industry Study Group engaged Magellan Media Consulting to map the flow of book metadata across the publishing supply chain. Research consisted of thirty interviews supplemented by an industry survey of both the US and Canadian markets. The companies interviewed included larger, medium-sized, and smaller publishers, as well as retailers, wholesalers, industry service providers, manufacturers, and digital-only firms. The resulting publication, Development, Use, and Modification of Book Product Metadata: Assessment and Recommendations, illustrates critical metadata handoffs, documents how metadata is altered or discarded, and identifies the points at which changes and revisions occur (and, in some cases, don't occur). More importantly, the report presents a series of process and "future-proofing" recommendations designed to help improve the quality and flow of book metadata.