[IP-OA_Forum] New report: International Metadata Recommendations and Platform-Specific Requirements for Open Access Books and Chapters, incl. a two-tiered metadata framework

[Toby Steiner <info@flavoursofopen.science>]

Dear colleagues,

Thoth Open Metadata are pleased to announce the release of a new international metadata guidance report: International Metadata Recommendations, and Platform-Specific Requirements for Open Access Books and Chapters (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18173982), published January 27, 2026.

Drawing from multiple perspectives of not-for-profit Diamond OA book publishers, librarians, and open infrastructures, this comprehensive report reviews international metadata standards, policy landscapes, metadata formats, and aggregator requirements to support small-to-medium sized independent, scholar-led, and institutional publishers of open access books and chapters. The goal is to improve discoverability, interoperability, and sustainability of long-form OA publications across the scholarly communications ecosystem.

The report consolidates research from major initiatives, including the work within the Copim community and European projects such as DIAMAS, CRAFT-OA, and PALOMERA, mapping current policies, identifying key gaps, and proposing a harmonised open approach to metadata for books and chapters.

The report highlights that metadata openness and interoperability are essential for ensuring OA books are included in research assessment, policy monitoring, and equitable dissemination. It also points out how fragmentation of formats (e.g., ONIX, MARC, KBART) and platform-specific variations thereof, an uneven adoption of persistent identifiers (such as DOI, ORCID, and ROR), and the systemic silo-ification of the book supply chain at large continue to impede visibility and reuse of OA books and chapters. 

📊 A Two-Tiered Metadata Framework

In response, the report proposes a two-tiered metadata framework that publishers are encouraged to adopt. The two metadata tiers comprise:

Essential Metadata: Core bibliographic and access elements needed for inclusion in discovery channels and library systems. This includes information on title and subtitle, contributors, copyright holders, subject classifications, landing page and full-text URLs and/or DOIs at book and chapter level, licence, publisher details, publication date.

For the metadata record itself, releasing metadata into the public domain and making this explicit in the metadata record (e.g. via a CC0 dedication) to facilitate easy re-use e.g. across libraries is deemed an essential criterion that is supported e.g. by the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information. 

Desirable Metadata: Enrichments that improve interoperability and discoverability as capacity allows. These include elements such as a fuller set of Persistent Identifiers (ORCID, ROR), usage of a broader set of controlled vocabularies, multilingual metadata, abstracts, cover images, tables of contents, and funder details.

The proposed framework is intentionally format-agnostic. It is not about enforcing a single standard or workflow, but about supporting interoperability across different systems and enabling publishers to disseminate metadata to platforms such as OAPEN, DOAB, JSTOR, Project MUSE, and many more, without losing valuable information along the way.

📚 Alignment with Good Metadata Practice for Books and Chapters

The framework is well-aligned with emerging international standards and policy documents, including the Diamond OA Standard (DOAS), quality criteria from organisations such as the German Working Group of University Publishers (AG Universitätsverlage), NISO and NAG recommendations, and findings from the PALOMERA project on emerging OA policies for books and chapters.

It also provides practical guidance for integrating data with key discovery platforms and aggregators, supporting both traditional and alternative distribution pathways for academic libraries.

💡Why the report matters for publishers, libraries, and policymakers

For publishers, and with a particular view on independent scholar-led presses and institutional publishers such as university- or library-based presses, the report offers a clear and well-defined way to prioritise metadata work and retain full control over their data and operations without being overwhelmed by overlapping or even competing requirements, while also steering clear of the danger of being locked into proprietary solutions.

For libraries, it provides a clearer basis for understanding what good metadata for OA books looks like, why openness matters, and how the majority of existing supply chain stakeholders fall short of meeting that premise – particularly when it comes to enabling reuse, accessibility, and preservation.

For policymakers and funders, the report highlights why book publishing needs community-led approaches that are distinct from journals, and why metadata quality and openness are prerequisites for meaningful policy implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

📥 Read the full report and attached resources here:

Steiner, T., Arias, J., Bennett, M., Booth, E., Edmunds, J., Gatti, R., Higman, R., Hillen, H., Laakso, M., Nason, M., O'Connell, B., Pogačnik, A., Rabar, U., Ramalho, A., Stone, G., van Gerven Oei, V. W. J., & Wake Hyde, Z. (2026). International Metadata Recommendations, and Platform-Specific Requirements for Open Access Books and Chapters (1.0). Thoth Open Metadata. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18173982

A PDF detailing the full two-tiered metadata framework is also available via the supplementary files added to the above Zenodo deposit.

And an accompanying blog post on the Copim Community’s blog can be found at https://copim.pub/new-report-published-international-metadata-recommendations-and-platform-specific-requirements-for-open-access-books-and-chapters/ 

With best wishes,

Toby