After years of faithful service, two of our hard-working ONIX converters are about to find out how people fill their time in retirement. But don't worry about them, they'll be fine. And you'll be fine, too. We'll walk you through all the changes and show you the new way to get your data pristine and ONIX compliant.
The details
The two ONIX converters — the Bronze Template Excel-to-ONIX converter and the ONIX 2.1 to 3.0 converter — are going to be retired at the end of the year, on Dec. 31, 2016. After this date, neither converter will be available.
The reasons
Creating ONIX files from the Bronze Template is no longer a sufficient solution for today's metadata needs. It doesn't provide support for full and complete book data (for example, spreadsheets can't be used to manage images), and the industry as a whole should be entirely reliant on ONIX. The spreadsheet template and converter just aren't cutting it anymore. It's time to invest in a database – either in-house or through a third party.
And while ONIX 2.1 continues to be widely used in North America, support for it has ceased and use of the ONIX 2.1 to 3.0 converter has been declining steadily. It is also no longer required for our ONIX education program. ONIX 3.0 is the way to go!
Where to go from here
Never fear, we have alternative solutions for your metadata needs!
In the absence of the Bronze Template and converter, we recommend Webform. It's an easy-to-use online tool that allows small operations to create and manage book metadata, without messing around with complex ONIX files. You can create bibliographic records for your books from scratch using a simple, intuitive form, validate them to make sure they comply with all ONIX rules, and then download them as an ONIX file and send it to all your trading partners. You can find out more and sign up here.
If you're unfamiliar with ONIX, you can learn more about how it works here, or if you're still working on transitioning to 3.0, here are some posts to help you get acquainted.
Lastly, if you are currently referencing either converter in your documentation or linking to them online, take a moment to update your information and let any relevant parties know about the sunset date.
Please don't hesitate to email us at biblioshare@booknetcanada.ca if you have any questions or concerns. We're here to help!
