The wrong version of this press release was inadvertently sent to
SERIALIST.  This is the correct version, containing more background
information.

ONIX for Serials - Coverage statement and SOH v. 1.1 now available for review

London, UK, June, 2007.  EDItEUR, the international group coordinating
development of the standards infrastructure for electronic commerce in the
book and serials industries, is pleased to announce the availability of a
draft of a detailed ONIX for Serials Coverage statement.  Coverage is an
XML structure capable of carrying simple or complex statements of holdings
of serial resources, both physical and electronic.  The Coverage Statement
is not a message format in itself, but rather a structure that is included
in other ONIX for Serials formats.  The Coverage Statement may also be used
to express holdings or coverage in XML structures other than those
specified in ONIX for Serials.  Coverage allows the expression of more
complex holdings than the structures currently found in the SOH and SPS
formats.  Among other things, it allows for the expression of "moving
starts" (aka "rolling starts") and the enumeration and chronology of
supplements.

The Coverage draft schema and overview can be reviewed at
http://www.editeur.org/onixserials/ONIX_Coverage09.html.

At the same time, EDItEUR has published a draft release of a new version of
the ONIX for Serials SOH (Serials Online Holdings) format, version 1.1,
which makes use of the Coverage statement.  The overview and schema can be
reviewed at http://www.editeur.org/onixserials/ONIX_SOH1.1.html.

Please note that SOH version 1.1 allows the expression of holdings through
the use of either the old-style composites or the new <Coverage>
composite.  However, the use of the new Coverage composite is encouraged,
because the old composites may eventually be phased out in future as part
of a Release 2.0.  But this step will only be taken after due consultation
with users.

EDItEUR invites comments and review on both of these formats through
September, 2007, at which time they will no longer be considered
drafts.  And of course EDItEUR welcomes any efforts to pilot Coverage and
SOH 1.1.  Please send comments to brian@bic.org.uk.

About ONIX for Serials:

ONIX for Serials is a family of XML formats for communicating information
about serial products and subscription information, using the design
principles and many of the elements defined in ONIX for Books.

The SOH (Serials Online Holdings) format is used for communicating
library-specific electronic serials holdings details from publication
access management systems to libraries.  This format is in its first
production release, and has been implemented by a number of vendors,
including Serials Solutions, EBSCO and TDNet as senders and Innovative
Interfaces and OCLC as recipients.  The SOH message is of great benefit in
the maintenance of library catalogs and other end-user applications such as
link resolvers and A-to-Z lists, where up-to-date and accurate online
holdings statements are needed.

The SPS (Serials Products and Subscriptions) format is used for
communicating information about serial subscription products, optionally
with prices and specific subscription information.  The SPS format is still
in its pilot phase, and is of use in a number of situations, including the
transmission of price catalogs from publishers to agents; the transmission
of price quotes from publishers or agents to libraries; and the
transmission of a library's subscription list among publishers, agents and
libraries.

A third format, SRN (Serials Release Notification), is used for
communicating information about the physical publication or electronic
availability of one or more serial releases.  Content suppliers, content
consumers and intermediaries will all find it advantageous to send and/or
receive Serial Release Notifications.  Such notifications will serve to
advertise the availability of new content, will help in minimizing
unnecessary claims, and will make possible the automatic maintenance of
precise holdings in online catalogs and link resolvers.

The development of ONIX for Serials has been a joint project of EDItEUR and
NISO, the US National Information Standards Organization.  Further
information about ONIX for Serials, including the XML schemas, may be found
on the EDItEUR website (www.editeur.org/onixserials.html).

================================
Katharina Klemperer, MLS
Library and Information Systems Consulting
37 Minuteman Rd.
Acton, MA 01720 USA
office: 978-266-1776
mobile: 978-590-6021
kathy.klemperer@verizon.net