Nielsen BookDataDOI Registration Agency Update

Julian Sowa

DOI Project Manager

22 June 2004

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Company Profile

• Formed out of Book Data and Whitaker Information Services:– Have provided information services to the English-language book trade

for 150 years

– Over 170 staff in UK

– Revenues in 2003 around $23million

– Part of VNU, the publishing and information company whose revenues exceed $4billion

• Managed Standard Address Number agency for UK since 1991

• Managed the UK ISBN agency since 1969

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DOI Experience

• Monitored development of DOI system since 1998

• IDF membership since 2001

• Believe DOIs have huge potential in connection with our core activities – initiative only delayed due to our corporate restructuring

• Appointed as Registration Agency in January 2004

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What are we doing now?

• Implementing systems to enable online DOI registration and maintenance

• Service to be launched by this Autumn

• Working with prospective registrants

• Focus on English-language book trade, but will consider other sectors where our experience could add value

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Issues for registrants

• Reflects our experience with printed books, especially ONIX

• Education needed!

• Decisions needed on use of prefixes:– Balance between future-proofing and managability

• Decisions concerning metadata:– What applications will there be?

– Is “kernel” metadata absolutely necessary?

– Bibliographers needed

– What are the risks with side-stepping these issues?

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Next steps

• Book trade is historically conservative and risk-averse

• Development of new value-added services: a “chicken and egg” process?

• Business model depends on identifying registrants’ current and future needs

• Further pilot registrants welcome