ONIX "Essentials" Training Planned for February

BISG will offer ONIX "Essentials" training across three half-day online sessions, scheduled for February 11 to February 13. Registration for this paid course is now open. Members can sign up for $549. Non-member seats are available for $699.

The "Essentials" course introduces the ONIX standard and the essentials of producing, managing, and disseminating book metadata. It mixes the background and theory of metadata with real-world practice and guidance in an approachable but authoritative way. The three half-day sessions are led by EDItEUR's executive director, Graham Bell.

Participants learn the basics of ONIX and how it is used in the book industry. By the end of the three half-day sessions, attendees will be able to inspect and interpret details of an ONIX message file, and identify how the message could be improved.

This course is suitable for beginners with no knowledge of ONIX, although it is also of value to those who are already familiar with ONIX. It is aimed at staff with management responsibility for product metadata—either in editorial, IT, marketing or production within a publisher—or in similar roles within distribution and retailing. It is not highly technical, but software developers seeking to understand ONIX would benefit greatly from this course.

Details on the technical aspects of ONIX are provided on the landing page for registering for this course. Participants are encouraged to bring questions and examples from their own work to the workshop, as they help all participants better understand how to use the standard across multiple parts of the industry.

BISG partners regularly with EDItEUR, which oversees development of ONIX and Thema, to offer training on both standards. Through its metadata committee, BISG also maintains the U.S. national group that provides feedback to EDItEUR on proposed changes to the standard. Participation in the metadata committee is open to staff at all BISG member organizations. The work done in BISG's metadata committee  can be an effective tool to help maintain and extend what is taught in the "Essentials" course.

EDItEUR also offers an ONIX "Advanced" course (two half-days, online) and a Thema course (one half-day, online). These courses are not currently scheduled, but BISG will assess interest and may offer them later in 2025 if the demand surfaces. Contact us at info@bisg.org if that's something you'd like to see us provide.