Moving metadata from spreadsheets to SharePoint, to an ONIX feed: Notes from a small press

Abstract

This paper describes the author’s experiences while working as manager of digital formats at Loyola Press, with the primary responsibility of converting the company’s trade books to eBooks. Bad metadata can make publishers’ books invisible, and if products cannot be seen, no one can buy them. Yet in the author’s experience, and notwithstanding its crucial importance, publishing lags behind other industries in its understanding of search engine optimisation practices, metadata standards implementation, data collection and analysis, and systems investment. This case study showing how Loyola Press moved metadata from spreadsheets to SharePoint, to an ONIX feed offers valuable lessons for any publisher working with metadata.