bisg town hall on bisac juvenile subject codes (webcast)

© 2015, the Book Industry Study Group, Inc.

Book Industry Study Group’s

Subject Codes Committee

Restructuring BISAC Juvenile Headings for YA ContentMarch 13, 2015 | 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. eastern daylight time

Welcome and Introductions

Antitrust Guidelines

Reason for Meeting

Goals for Meeting

Committee Proposals for Revising Juvenile Sections

Discussion

Next Steps


Increased scrutiny

No discussion of terms of sale

No over or tacit suggestion of boycott

Standards and best practices are voluntary



Q8: Would you find it valuable if BISAC included

specific codes for young adult/ teen content?


Q8: Would you find it valuable if BISAC included

specific codes for young adult/ teen content?

• YES!!!!

• This would at least double sales in the library market,

which believes in more nuanced age ranges

• This would be extremely exciting.

• Hey...you tricked me into saying yes. Of course it

would be valuable. But it would be extremely difficult

for us to implement via a mapping as we only have

two sets of proprietary subjects -- adult and children's.


3M

Amazon.com

Baker & Taylor

Barnes & Noble

Bowker

Capstone

Hachette

Houghton Mifflin

Harcourt

Nielsen

Penguin Random

House

Simon & Schuster


Young adult/teen content would benefit from

its own subject classification:

Potential sales opportunity

It has become its own subject

Awards (esp. ALA awards) tracking

Helps with unreliable or not provided

audience codes and age/grade ranges

ju·ve·nile

–adjective

of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable or

intended for young persons: juvenile books.

–noun

a young person; youth.

(definitions obtained from dictionary.com)


Juvenile Origins


In LCSH, the term Juvenilefiction is a subdivision added toa main term to indicate fictiontitles for children of any age(including YA).

Juvenile Headings (2014 Edition)

JUV002260 JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Zoos

JUV003000 JUVENILE FICTION / Art & Architecture

JUV010000 JUVENILE FICTION / Bedtime & Dreams

JUV004000 JUVENILE FICTION / Biographical / General

JNF003200 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Animals / Zoos

JNF004000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Antiques & Collectibles

JNF005000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Architecture

JNF006000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Art / General


Problem & Opportunity

Increasing awareness of a need felt by many

different quarters of the industry to classify

young adult, and to a lesser extent middle grade

and picture books, as such.

Seen as opportunity to increase discoverability

and decrease friction by making changes to

BISAC.


Goals for Today’s Meeting

Presentation of potential solutions to perceived

problem.

Recommendation from Subject Codes

Committee.

Q&A and feedback.


Questions at Hand

What is the issue that this change will resolve?

What are the expected benefits of such a

change?

What are the problems this change could

create?

Does any gain outweigh the time and person

hours that companies will possibly need to

commit to a migration?


Questions at Hand (continued)

Do the suggested changes to this section

diverge from the real intention of the subject

codes (which is to describe content)? • Are we relying on the BISAC subject for more than we

should be?

Is the change being requested simply because

there is an objection to the term “Juvenile”?


Benefits

Changes may allow for more granular sales

analysis of juvenile titles.

Provides a standard for age range distinction

between “Children” and “Young Adult”.• Raises questions: How will age range distinction between

Children and Young Adult be set? Who will set it?

• Publishers must ensure that the BISAC they provide

corresponds to age range.

In some cases, the changes will force adoption

of newest version of BISAC.


Potential for massive recoding and migration

issues for both publishers and data aggregators.

Requires publisher compliance between BISAC

provided and ONIX age range and audience

provided in age range composite.

Titles spanning the age “cut-off” between

Children and Young Adult (e.g., the Harry Potter

series or Robert Sabuda titles) may lead to

confusion.

Risks


What if the change is met with resistance and

failure to adopt?

• Parties using different versions will be providing data with a

different meaning than intended.

• Migration must be done at once – you cannot send part of

your list in one edition and part in another edition.

• Failure to implement the changes in a timely and accurate

manner could actually result in lost sales.

• Failure to migrate properly will result in data corruption.

Risks (continued)


ONIX Record

When publishers want to specify age or grade range

in metadata, they populate the Audience or Audience

range composite in their ONIX record. . .


Sample ONIX Record


BISAC Subject

Audience

(Children/Juvenile)

Age Range

(From Age 8 to Age 12)

Proposals High level view of potential changes.

Any new codes or literals shown in these

scenarios are for the purpose of example only

and are subject to change.

All decisions on specific heading detail will be

discussed and made at subsequent Subject

Codes Committee meetings.• Presented today are proposed structures – not

specific headings.


Inactivated BISAC Codes

Codes that the Committee has found are seldom

used, no longer necessary, or better suited

elsewhere in the list.

Inactivated codes are removed from the edition

of BISAC for which they have been proposed

inactivated.

Data recipients may reject records sent with

inactivated codes.


Inactivated BISAC Codes (continued)

The Committee provides guidance for mapping

inactivated headings to a suggested

replacement. • Examples (from 2014 Edition):

Inactivated code:

ANT042020 (ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES / Sports Cards / Basketball)

Move to ANT042000 or SPO004000

EDU047000 (EDUCATION / Driver Education)

Move to TRA001080

JUV032050 (JUVENILE FICTION / Sports & Recreation / Miscellaneous)

Move to appropriate code beginning with JUV032


Proposal 1

Retain existing JUV and JNF sections.• Potentially change the literals from JUVENILE

FICTION and JUVENILE NONFICTION to

CHILDREN FICTION and CHILDREN NONFICTION.

• The codes would remain as JUV and JNF.

Create two new sections for YOUNG ADULT

FICTION and YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION.

Inactivate codes in JUV or JNF sections that

would only apply to Young Adults and move titles

to new section(s).


Proposal 1 Sample


JUV009010 JUVENILE FICTION / Concepts / Alphabet

JUV012030 JUVENILE FICTION / Fairy Tales & Folklore / General

JUV016000 JUVENILE FICTION / Historical / General

JUV018000 JUVENILE FICTION / Horror & Ghost Stories

JUV051000 JUVENILE FICTION / Imagination & Play

What may be inactivated:

JUV039020 JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Adolescence

JUV032100 JUVENILE FICTION / Sports & Recreation / Extreme Sports

JNF015000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Crafts & Hobbies

JNF022000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Gardening

JNF025000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / History / General

JNF036080 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Music / Songbooks

JNF045000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Readers / Beginner

What may be inactivated:

JNF035050 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Mathematics / Geometry

JNF040000 JUVENILE NONFICTION / Philosophy

New sections (potential headings):

YAFXXXXXX YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Fairy Tales & Folklore / General

YAFXXXXXX YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Historical / General

YAFXXXXXX YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Horror & Ghost Stories

YAFXXXXXX YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Issues / Adolescence

YAFXXXXXX YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Sports & Recreation / Extreme Sports

YANXXXXXX YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Careers

YANXXXXXX YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Foreign Language Study / General

YANXXXXXX YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / History / General

YANXXXXXX YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Mathematics / Geometry

YANXXXXXX YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Philosophy

Proposal 1 Sample


Proposal 1 Timeline


2015 Edition (Fall 2015)• New sections added with initial headings.

• Existing headings in JUV/JNF sections identified for possible

inactivation.

Fall 2015 – Fall 2016• Between the release of the 2015 Edition and the 2016 Edition,

users will need to being moving all titles from JUV/JNF headings

flagged for inactivation (including all backlist).

• All titles with headings flagged for inactivation should be

reclassified with new or existing heading.

• Reclassification guidelines will be provided by Subject

Committee (will not be a one-to-one mapping in all cases).

2016 Edition (Fall 2016)• JUV/JNF headings flagged for inactivation in 2015 Edition will be

inactivated and removed.

Proposal 1 Best Practices


Committee will release Best Practices for new

sections with 2015 Edition. This will include:• Recommendations on the mixing of headings from

top level sections.

• Recommendations on age/grade ranges for use with

Juvenile and Young Adult sections.

Some Best Practices may prove problematic to

companies using fixed ranges for grade and/or

age.

Proposal 1 Expectations


Adopters of most recent editions will be ready for

changes once each edition is released.• This includes changes to any proprietary mapping tables.

All titles with a heading proposed for inactivation in the

2015 Edition will be reclassified by release of the 2016

Edition (or before implementation of that Edition).• In the 2016 Edition, codes proposed for inactivation in the

2015 Edition will be removed.

• All backlist with an inactivated code must be reclassified.

• Titles will be moved from inactivated JUV or JNF code to

new Young Adult code.

We are redefining the underlying meaning of the

code. For example: JUV014000 (JUVENILE

FICTION / Girls & Women) now becomes

CHILDREN FICTION / Girls & Women.

Anything you have in your database retaining

JUV014000, will now be classified as a

Children’s title unless you reclassify it.

Adopters will need to move YA titles from

JUV/JNF headings to new section. This will not

be a straight one to one mapping in all cases.

Proposal 1 Issues


This scenario could also leave existing records with a

mixture of Children and YA headings. • For example, If an existing record has JUV018000 (JUVENILE

FICTION / Horror & Ghost Stories) and JUV039020 (JUVENILE

FICTION / Social Issues / Adolescence), it may be left with

CHILDREN’S FICTION / Horror & Ghost Stories and YOUNG

ADULT FICTION / Social Issues / Adolescence after the change.

If a data provider has not adopted the newest edition of

the codes, they may assign them with the intention to

mean one thing, and a data recipient who has adopted

the newest edition will interpret the code to mean

something else (or vice versa).

Proposal 1 Issues (continued)


Creation of new categories for Young Adult Fiction and

Young Adult Nonfiction, which can be shaped to better

reflect unique characteristics of teen titles.

Separation of teen titles from children’s is more in line with

current marketing practices.

Timeline will allow all stakeholders time to recode existing

titles and adjust best practices.

Minimal disruption to existing titles for ages 0-12.

Easier sales tracking for Young Adult Fiction & Nonfiction

titles.

Proposal 1 Benefits


Proposal 2Change the main heading to a term less “offensive” than

Juvenile, e.g., CHILDREN & TEEN FICTION, CHILDREN

& TEEN NONFICTION or CHILDREN & YA FICTION,

CHILDREN & YA NONFICTION. • Nothing would change except the literals – codes would remain

the same and retain their same meaning.

Add additional headings to these sections to make them

considerably more robust.• New headings would be more specific than those that currently

exist.

• The fiction headings would be brought more in line with the adult

FICTION section.


Proposal 2 SampleLiteral Changes:

JUV053000

JUVENILE FICTION / Science Fiction

CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Science Fiction

JNF059000

JUVENILE NONFICTION / Clothing & Dress

CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Clothing & Dress


Proposal 2 Sample


Possible Additions:

CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Fantasy / Epic

CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Fantasy / Urban

CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Romance / Paranormal

CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Romance / Time Travel

CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Art / Subjects &

Themes / Portraits

CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Body, Mind & Spirit /

Astrology

CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION / Crafts & Hobbies /

Needlework

Proposal 2 Timeline


This proposal could start being implemented for

the 2015 Edition.

Nothing more than heading additions and literal

changes.• These take place in every new edition.

New headings would be added over time as

needed or requested.

Proposal 2 Details


As in Proposal 1, decisions will be made within Subject

Committee as to what headings will be added.• These decisions will be discussed by Committee and not be

vetted for BISG opinion.

• Final proposals will be distributed to BISG for final approval

after edition close (as in previous years).

New heading proposals or literal changes can be

submitted to Committee for review.• The same guidelines for approving new headings will apply

(e.g., over 100 unique titles from different publishers).

Age range, grade range, or audience must be provided on

all records.• Records lacking this information would still not be identifiable as YA.

Since Children’s and YA titles are not shelved together in a

bookstore, this solution is not solving the retailer problem.

Growth of JUV and JNF lists might be considerable.

This proposal has least amount of disruption as it consists

of only new codes and literal changes.• Backlist may still need to be reclassified to add a more descriptive

heading, but would not have to be.

Proposal 2 Issues


Minimal disruption to existing children’s and teen

titles and sections.

Terminology more user-friendly and in line with

what teens themselves use.

Expedited timeline.

Minimal need for recoding of existing titles.

Proposal 2 Benefits


Proposal 3


Inactivate all existing JUVENILE FICTION and

JUVENILE NONFICTION subject codes.

Add five new sections:• Children’s Picture Books (ages 0-7)

• Middle Grade Fiction (ages 8-12)

• Middle Grade Nonfiction (ages 8-12)

• Teen/YA Fiction (ages 13-18)

• Teen/YA Nonfiction (ages 13-18)

Proposal 3 Sample


(Codes and literals are examples only and would be subject to change)

Children’s Picture Books (ages 0-7)Examples:

CPBXXXXXX Animals / Bears

CPBXXXXXX Concepts / Colors

CPBXXXXXX Bedtime & Dreams

Middle Grade Fiction (ages 8-12)Examples:

MGFXXXXXX Family / Parents

MGFXXXXXX Horror & Ghost Stories

MGFXXXXXX School & Education

Middle Grade Nonfiction (ages 8-12)Examples:

MNFXXXXXX Careers

MHFXXXXXX Girls & Women

MNFXXXXXX History / Medieval

Proposal 3 Sample (continued)


(Codes and literals are examples only and would be subject to change)

Teen/YA Fiction (ages 13-18)Examples:

YAFXXXXXX Dystopian

YAFXXXXXX Love & Romance

YAFXXXXXX Steampunk

Teen/YA Nonfiction (ages 13-18)Examples:

YNFXXXXXX LGBT

YNFXXXXXX Music / Popular

YNFXXXXXX Social Issues / Dating & Sex

Proposal 3 Timeline


Committee would consider making this proposal

a stepped approach.

JUV/JNF sections would be left intact for the next

edition of the codes (i.e., 2015 Edition). Adopters

will have the opportunity to move titles from JUV

and JNF to new headings over extended period

of time.

May consider an interim edition in Spring 2016.

Proposal 3 Timeline (continued)


In time, all JUV and JNF codes would then be inactivated.

The Subject Committee would provide a suggested

mapping table from the JUV and JNF codes to the newly

created ones.• Mapping table could only work with accurate grade/age data.

This allows for a longer term migration plan as the JUV

and JNF codes would not be inactivated immediately –

only frozen (the recommendation being to stop assigning

these codes).

Proposal 3 Best Practices


Same as Proposal 1.

Committee will release Best Practices for new sections

with 2015 Edition. This will include:• Recommendations on the mixing of headings from top level

sections.

• Recommendations on age/grade ranges for use with Juvenile

and Young Adult sections.

Some Best Practices may prove problematic to

companies using fixed ranges for grade and/or age.

Proposal 3 Expectations


Adopters of most recent editions will be ready for

changes once each edition is released.• This includes changes to any proprietary mapping tables.

During transition period, the JUV and JNF codes should

only be used for retrospective data. New records should

only be assigned the new codes.

Once transition is complete, no one will have JUV/JNF

codes retained in their database.

We would be inactivating about 647 codes

resulting in significant updates to titles.

Records with JUV/JNF headings but no

age/grade range might be difficult to map.• May require manual reclassification.

May end up with titles that are not Picture Books

but not quite Middle Grade – where do they go?

Proposal 3 Issues


Adopters would be given adequate timeframe

for removal of inactivated codes.

Not adopting newest editions of BISAC will

result in data loss for your data recipients.

Some concern that Proposal 3 would become as

difficult to implement as ONIX 3.0 has been.• No change proposed to overall structure of BISAC

Subjects.

• Codes will remain AAA######.

Proposal 3 Issues


Rather than modifying existing categories, this represents

a completely new hierarchy.

New category divisions better reflect current bookstore

organization and marketing practices.

New subject hierarchies can be created that better reflect

unique characteristics of each group of titles.

Better sales tracking of picture books, middle grade titles

and teen titles.

Clear age range demarcation between different categories.

Proposal 3 Benefits


Heading Details (Proposals 1, 2, 3)


Decisions will be made within Subject Committee as to

what headings will be added and inactivated.• These decisions will be discussed by Committee and not be

vetted for BISG opinion.

• Final proposals will be distributed to BISG for final approval after

edition close (as in previous years).

New heading proposals or literal changes can be

submitted to Committee for review.• The same guidelines for approving new headings will apply (e.g.,

over 100 unique titles from different publishers).

Inactivations will be determined based on titles counts

acquired through research of various databases.

Proposal 4

Do nothing – leave both sections as is because

they already convey what the BISAC subject is

intended to.

Continue to rely on the age/grade range fields to

convey specific audience information.• Data providers must strive to provide accurate

information.


Proposal 4 Issues

We will probably be having this same discussion

several years down the road.

Disappointment from some quarters of the

industry.


Proposal 4 Benefits

Use of existing metadata fields.• BISAC category in conjunction with Audience Code

already provides teen subjects.

No recoding necessary.

No disruption to existing titles.


Recommended Proposal

Based on exhaustive discussions and data review,

the Subject Committee recommends Proposal 1.

Proposal 1 most meets the needs being expressed

by the industry while being only minimally disruptive

to users.• Will require significant recoding of backlist titles.

• Will require data recipients to adjust proprietary mapping

tables.

• May result in extensive clean-up of existing titles.


Next Steps


http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http://www.meterology.co.uk/next-steps.aspx&ei=f8YBVcKwC9OxsASvsoCABg&bvm=bv.87920726,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNHvXiZF7LJ8I2K9hCjPqeWjdbpxqw&ust=1426266100347027

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http://www.meterology.co.uk/next-steps.aspx&ei=f8YBVcKwC9OxsASvsoCABg&bvm=bv.87920726,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNHvXiZF7LJ8I2K9hCjPqeWjdbpxqw&ust=1426266100347027

Next Steps


Gauge industry feedback from proposals presented today.

Discuss feedback among Subject Committee (March

2015).

Agree on approach to changes as a committee (March

2015).

Begin discussion of specific headings (April 2015).

Issue new edition of Subjects with first round of changes

(Fall 2015).

Discussion?

Contact:

Connie Harbison

Chair, BISAC Subject Codes Committee

[email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

bisg town hall on bisac juvenile subject codes (webcast)

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