**WITH APOLOGIES FOR CROSS-POSTING**

UKSG and NISO to tackle inefficiencies in OpenURL supply chain

Oxford, UK and Baltimore, MD -January 13, 2008 - UK Serials Group (UKSG)
and the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) are pleased
to announce the launch of the Knowledge Base And Related Tools (KBART)
working group. The group comprises representatives from publishers,
libraries, link resolver and ERM vendors, subscription agents and other
parties involved in the creation of, provision of data to, and
implementation of knowledge bases. These key components of the OpenURL
supply chain play a critical role in the delivery of the appropriate
copy to end-users of content in a networked environment.

The establishment of the group follows last year's publication of the
UKSG-sponsored research report, Link Resolvers and the Serials Supply
Chain. The report identified inefficiencies in the supply and
manipulation of journal article data that impact the efficacy and
potential of OpenURL linking. The KBART working group will progress the
report's recommendations; its mandate has been extended beyond the
serials supply chain to consider best practice for supply of data
pertaining to e-resources in general.

"Knowledge bases are the key to successful OpenURL linking and as such
are already an essential facilitator within a sophisticated, valuable
technology," comments NISO co-chair Peter McCracken, Director of
Research at Serials Solutions. "But they have the potential to achieve
so much more if we can smooth out the problems with inaccurate, obsolete
data. We plan to create simple guidelines to help data providers
understand how they can optimize their contribution to the information
supply chain."

"Many content providers are simply unaware of the benefits to them of
supplying knowledge bases with accurate data in a timely manner, so a
key objective for us is education," adds UKSG co-chair Charlie Rapple,
Group Marketing Manager at Publishing Technology. "We'll be taking a
back-to-basics approach that helps stakeholders to learn about - and to
embrace - the various technologies that depend on their data. All
parties in the information supply chain can benefit from the
improvements we hope to make."

For more information about KBART, visit www.uksg.org/kbart/ or contact:

About the National Information Standards Organization (NISO)

NISO fosters the development and maintenance of standards that
facilitate the creation, persistent management, and effective
interchange of information so that it can be trusted for use in research
and learning. To fulfill this mission, NISO engages libraries,
publishers, information aggregators, and other organizations that
support learning, research, and scholarship through the creation,
organization, management, and curation of knowledge. NISO works with
intersecting communities of interest and across the entire lifecycle of
an information standard. NISO is a not-for-profit association accredited
by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). More information
about NISO is available on its website: www.niso.org.

About UKSG
The UK Serials Group (UKSG) exists to encourage the exchange of ideas on
printed and electronic publishing and the process of scholarly
communication. In a dynamic environment, the UKSG works to promote
discussion and the free flow of information on serials matters and
associated technology; to develop links between all parties in the
serials information chain; and to encourage professional awareness,
stimulate research and provide a programme of training and education. It
is the only organisation spanning the wide range of interests and
activities across the electronic publishing industry. More information
about UKSG is available on its website: www.uksg.org.

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