ONIX for Serials
ONIX is a family of standards for communicating rich metadata about books, serials, and other published media, using common data elements. The ONIX standards include ONIX for Books, ONIX for Serials, and ONIX for Licensing Terms. ONIX for Serials is a group of XML formats for communicating information about serial products and subscription data.
What is it?
ONIX for Serials is a group of XML formats for communicating information about serial products and subscription data, using the design principles and many of the elements defined in ONIX for Books.
Following the success of ONIX for Books, EDItEUR worked with NISO to develop ONIX for Serials. Initial work concluded that a standard exchange format for serials data would benefit all parties in the supply chain. Since then, three sets of application messages have been (or are being) defined and piloted with business partners:
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Serials Products and Subscriptions (SPS)
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Serials Online Holdings (SOH)
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Serials Release Notification (SRN)
Each will be supported by a specification, XML schema, and full documentation. All three will share a common glossary and a common file of coded data elements, including permitted code values for each element. ONIX for Serials might be viewed as a growing ‘toolkit’ of individual and composite elements and content definitions for constructing messages for a variety of applications.
Serials Products and Subscriptions (SPS)
SPS conveys information about subscription products, either with or without price information, and either generically or relating to a particular subscriber. Currently four messages have been defined:
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Product List Unpriced – A list of subscription products offered by a publisher, subscription agent, online publisher, or content hosting service, without price information.
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Product List Priced – A list of subscription products offered by a publisher, subscription agent, online publisher, or content hosting service, including price information.
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Product Subscription List – A list of products subscribed to by a particular subscriber or group of subscribers. It may or may not include prices.
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Product Subscriptions Quote – A list of subscription products with a price quote offered to a particular subscriber.
Typically, the sender will be a publisher or subscription agent. Recipients can include libraries, agents, consortia, or a ‘broadcast’ customer base for priced product lists.
Serials Online Holdings (SOH)
SOH conveys holdings information from suppliers or intermediaries (e.g. content hosting services, publication access management services, agents, or publishers) to subscribing organisations. There are two types of message – by host and by title.
SOH messages can be used to advise libraries about subscribed resources, the formats, and sources. Alternatively, they can be used to populate resolution servers within the library organisation concerned.
The extent of coverage of each subscribed resource (date or volume/issue ranges) is included in the SOH exchange, as are details of any applicable embargo conditions in place. The format is specifically designed so that resources may be grouped in a flat ‘A-Z’ listing or hierarchically by supplying service.
Serials Release Notification (SRN)
SRN conveys information about the planned or confirmed publication or electronic availability of one or more serial releases. For the current version of SRN this would include:
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Notification that a serial item has been published in print or made available online
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Notification of a change in the expected date of a forthcoming release
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Advance notice of a combined release.
Future versions will support provision of structured tables of contents, notification of pattern changes, advance notification of publication schedules, and notification of single-article releases.
Parties to SRN exchanges will include publishers, content hosting services, A&I services, document delivery agencies, subscription agents, DOI registration agencies, and libraries.
The Standard
Work on ONIX for Serials was initially overseen by the NISO/EDItEUR Serials Joint Working Party and is now overseen by the ONIX Serials Steering Group. The ONIX for Serials web site gives full details of the standard and the status of work and most recent release for each application.
ONIX for Serials in the PALS Programmes
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TOCRoSS
– Emerald used RSS to place journal table of contents data into a library catalogue and extended the RSS 2.0 specification to carry the metadata in ONIX for Serials SRN format.
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AIMSS
– EDINA and Serials Solutions used ONIX for Serials SOH messages to update holdings in the SUNCAT national union serials catalogue.
Further Information