A book is a book in any other markup language

Ronald Snijder

Mon 16 Jun 2025

Read this article at hypothèses.org

Updating the OAPEN Library’s metadata feeds 

Since the launch of the OAPEN Library in 2010, the metadata feeds for our collection of open access (OA) books and chapters have always been and will continue to be freely available for anyone to access, download, and use as they need from the OAPEN website.   

Metadata is information about a publication that allows readers to discover it. It includes descriptive elements of a book or chapter, such as the title, subtitle, publisher, ISBN, and DOI, to name a few.  

Libraries and content aggregators can download the metadata in their preferred format and directly incorporate the OAPEN Library collection of over 40,000 publications into their catalogues. Available formats include ONIX, MARC, KBART, JSON, CSV, and RIS.  

Since our move to the DSpace platform in 2020, we deployed a hard coded set of metadata exports available for download. These metadata feeds have been operating on the same technical setup since then but now we’re implementing changes that will improve their distribution and the overall service we provide to those that use them.  

What changes are we making? 

We discussed possible improvements to our metadata feeds with several stakeholders and based on that, we decided to set up several feeds using a different technical solution which will apply to ONIX, MARC, KBART, and JSON. They will still contain all information about the books and chapters hosted in the OAPEN Library, as previously, but with some additional data (such as OCLC Control Numbers or accessibility metadata, where available).

This new solution can be used to export the description of the whole OAPEN Library collection or any subset of it. Additionally, it’s now possible to use metadata exports that only contain book descriptions and no descriptions of chapters, to ensure easier integration into catalogues.   

These change will be in effect as of today, Monday 16 June.   

Why are we making changes? 

Libraries and aggregators will have access to feeds that better conform to the MARCXML and KBART standards. Updated MARCXML feeds will also contain the OCLC Control Number – if known to us – enabling libraries to connect the OAPEN metadata to the corresponding WorldCat catalogue record. 

Our new metadata feed setup will also give us greater flexibility to comply with legal regulations, such as the European Accessibility Act legislation, due to come into effect in July 2025. Starting then, describing the accessibility options of online books will be mandatory; a task made easier by a flexible metadata tool. 

How do the changes apply to the metadata? 

All metadata feeds discussed below are updated on a daily basis and are released into the public domain using CC0. You can find them on the OAPEN website.  

MARCXML 

MARC (machine-readable cataloging) is a standard set of digital formats for the machine-readable description of items catalogued by libraries. OAPEN provides the data based on the XML standard. The updated feeds also contain the OCLC Control Number – if known to us – which enables libraries to connect the OAPEN metadata to the corresponding WorldCat catalog record. 

Penn State University Libraries provides MARC21 records created from MARCXML metadata supplied by OAPEN. Download the data here: https://dx.doi.org/10.26207/9w9c-jc15.  

KBART 

KBART, short for ‘Knowledge Bases and Related Tools’, recommends best practices for the communication of electronic resource title list and coverage data from content providers to knowledge base suppliers. In consultation with EBSCO, we have set up two KBART feeds: one describing all titles and a feed containing book descriptions only. 

ONIX 

The ONIX for Books Product Information Format is the international standard for representing and communicating book industry product information. The updated ONIX feed has been optimized to better follow the specifications from EDItEUR, the international group coordinating development of the standards infrastructure for electronic commerce in the book, ebook, audiobook and serials sectors. 

JSON 

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a metadata format based on JavaScript’s notation for object literals, and it is often used by web applications to exchange information with servers. OAPEN’s metadata in this format is based on the OPDS standard, which is also used for the Palace Project. 

CSV and RSS 

These feeds will continue to be available, based on the current technical setup and still contain all information about the books and chapters hosted in the OAPEN Library.  

How this may impact you

If you are using our ONIX, MARCXML, KBART, and JSON metadata directly, please be aware of this change the next time you want to update the OAPEN Library collection in your catalogue as the records may look different to what you’re used to. You will still be able to download the metadata in your preferred format through a link on the OAPEN metadata webpage.  

The four updated metadata feeds (ONIX, MARC, KBART, and JSON) will still contain all information about the books and chapters hosted in the OAPEN Library, as will the two unchanged formats, CSV and RIS.  

If you access the OAPEN Library collection through an intermediary such as OCLC, EBSCO, ExLibris, or CloudSource, you do not have to do anything. We have informed them accordingly.  

Publishers will have access to an updated ONIX feed that conforms to the EDItEUR specifications. The JSON, CSV, and RSS feeds enable integration in a wide range of automated systems. 

Future developments 

We are continuously monitoring the landscape and discussing the needs of our stakeholders, with our stakeholders. If, in future, it’s necessary to update the OAPEN metadata feeds again or create new ones, we can do so.  

As accessibility metadata will become more common, we will integrate this is our MARCXML and ONIX feeds. Later this year, we will also update the metadata export feeds for DOAB. Once that is in place, we will create the same metadata feeds comparable to the ones which have been set up for the OAPEN Library. 

You’re welcome to reach out to us if you have any suggestions, questions, or comments.