KBART: the UKSG and NISO form a working group to improve supply of data to knowledge bases
In early 2006, information industry association UK Serials Group (UKSG) commissioned a research report (Link Resolvers and the Serials Supply Chain) ‘to identify the new relationships and information exchange requirements … [necessary] to maximise the benefit of OpenURL linking’. Central to the efficient operation of the OpenURL is the knowledge base, which consists of data supplied by content providers including publishers.
The report found that a lack of awareness on the part of many publishers of the OpenURL’s capabilities and requirements is impacting the quality and timeliness of data they provide to populate knowledge bases, and thus undermining the potential of this sophisticated technology.
In response to the report, the UKSG has worked with the US' National Information Standards Organisation (NISO) to set up KBART (Knowledge Bases And Related Tools), a working group that intends to develop guidelines and educational resources to improve the supply of data to providers of knowledge bases and related tools. These guidelines, and their associated program of education and advocacy will be focussed on content providers (particularly smaller publishers) to improve the efficacy with which OpenURL is currently implemented, and thus to improving its impact on the library community. The group includes representatives from across the information community, including librarians, consortia members, link resolver and ERM vendors, publishers, aggregators, subscription agents, online content hosts, and representatives from other related organisations such as ALPSP and CrossRef.
The working group will be chaired by our own Group Marketing Manager, Charlie Rapple, on behalf of UKSG, and we will publish information about its progress in forthcoming issues of this newsletter. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact Charlie with any questions that you may have about the group's activities.