ACCREDITATION
BIC Product Data Excellence Awards Scheme
The scheme is designed to encourage publishers to appreciate the contribution made by accurate and timely product data to their sales; to enable them to demonstrate their commitment to making that data available in the supply chain; and to enable them to benchmark their performance against their competitors.
The new scheme, launched in 2010, offers three levels of award, which recognise the issues individual publishers face and the increasing complexity of maintaining and transmitting product information: the BIC Basic award (the original ‘BIC with the tick' scheme); the BIC Excellence award; and the BIC Excellence Plus award for outstanding performance. All require data to be submitted to bibliographic agencies electronically, preferably using ONIX to do so. A supplementary ‘e-Tick' for publishers who provide product data on e-books and other digital content within acceptable time and quality standards is also available within each award level.
The BIC Basic award
This is open to publishers able to supply electronically by any agreed means the mandatory elements required by the BIC Basic standard within the following timeliness criteria: 60% of new titles fully compliant 16 weeks ahead of publication; and 80% of all currently available titles meeting the BIC Basic completeness standard. A new element (cover image) has been added to the BIC Basic standard; and this needs to be available by the date of publication.
The BIC Excellence award
This is open to publishers using ONIX in versions 2.1 and above to supply the enhanced ONIX element set (see below) within the following timeliness criteria: 60% of new titles fully BIC Basic compliant 16 weeks ahead of publication; and 80% of currently available titles meeting the BIC ONIX completeness standard.
The BIC Excellence Plus award
This is open to publishers on the same terms as the Excellence award except that 60% of new titles must be fully compliant with the enhanced BIC ONIX element set 16 weeks ahead of publication.
All awards are also dependent on updating of pre-publication data no less frequently than weekly (assuming changes have taken place) and of price and availability of published titles on a daily basis.
All publishers gaining the BIC Excellence or BIC Excellence Plus awards will also automatically be granted the BIC Basic award.
Scheme structures
Publishers will only be considered for certification who operate electronic systems to maintain product data and supply data electronically - and, in the case of ONIX users, provide valid files capable of automatic ingestion into aggregators' systems.
Accreditation will be based on all qualifying titles published by the applicant and (in the case of multi-national publishers) all titles made available to the UK market originating from overseas divisions of the same company.
The scheme is open to publishing companies or divisions of publishing groups where a stand-alone system of product data provision is in place, and will be judged on the combined performance standards of publishers and their distributors.
Certification will be granted at the discretion an independent BIC review group on the basis of information provided on the application questionnaire, parts of which will be reviewed by Nielsen BookData, Bowker and BDS to confirm that observed performance is consistent with the information provided. The group meets on a quarterly basis to consider new applications, reaccreditations and to review accredited publishers' performance.
The decision of the BIC review group will be final and not subject to appeal. Publishers whose applications have been rejected are, however, entitled to reapply when six months have passed from the initial decision of the audit group.
Certification will be granted for a period of one year, and renewal will be automatically reviewed by the review group. Where it is not possible to grant automatic renewal accreditations may at the discretion of the review group be extended for a maximum of six months (i.e. two quarters). After that period, publishers so disqualified will be invited to reapply after a further six months.
Bibliographic elements required for accreditation
For BIC Basic
For ONIX Release 2: all versions (updated May 2010)
For ONIX Release 3.0 (May 2010)
Publishers' application form and questionnaire
