Codelist Issue 55 for ONIX 3.0 has been released.* Complete listings of the ONIX codelists in PDF and HTML formats can be downloaded from the EDItEUR website:

Issue 55 stand-alone codelist documentation as readable PDF or HTML file (open and read it in your web browser)
Issue 55 TXT, CSV, XML, JSON files for loading into your data management applications
Issue 55 XSD, RNG, DTD schema modules for use with existing XML schema files (but note that it is better to download the latest 3.0.8 schemas since they incorporate a couple of small improvements as well as the new Block 8)
The ‘strict’ XSD 1.1 with Issue 55 (the strict XSD must be updated each time there is a new issue of the codelists, as It includes some codelists within the XSD itself)
The online browser for the ONIX code lists at ns.editeur.org/onix has been updated to issue 55

Need help finding and using the documentation? Read this.

It should go without saying that everyone should review the document summarizing the changes and update their systems, but we've highlighted some changes of particular note for you below.

List 28 Audience type

Overall, some rewording, clarification, and addition of more granular categories for educational material based on the UNESCO International Standard Classification of Education levels. Note here that the existing code 04 continues to cover all school educational material, but new codes 11–14 are more granular:

Code: 11
Label: Pre-primary education
Note: Equivalent to ISCED Level 0 (note these are specific subsets of the Primary and secondary education audience, code 04)

Code: 12
Label: Primary education
Note: Equivalent to ISCED Level 1

Code: 13
Label: Lower secondary education
Note: Equivalent to ISCED Level 2 (general and vocational)

Code: 14
Label: Upper secondary education
Note: Equivalent to ISCED Level 3 (general and vocational)

The update also removes the term ‘young adult’ from the heading for code 03, now: teenage, because it appears to be widely misinterpreted, although it is retained in the notes. The meaning of the code is unchanged. The term’s use in ONIX and in BISAC is fully consistent and has always related explicitly to a teenage audience — roughly between 12 and 18 years old. However, in some other contexts, ‘young adult’ appears to imply a significantly older audience, so the term has been removed to reduce the risk of misinterpretation.

List 73 Website Role

Creation of new codes to share information about product and company environmental responsibility statements:

Code: 49
Label: Product website for environmental responsibility statement
Note: The URL of a web page describing the environmental and sustainability policy, or carbon neutrality status, of the specific product.

Code: 50
Label: Publisher’s website for environmental responsibility statement
Note: The URL of a web page describing the environmental and sustainability policies, carbon neutrality status, etc., of the organization.

List 79 Product form feature type

Creation of new codes to share information about “green” product components:

Code: 38
Label: ‘Green’ inks
Note: Vegetable-based or other environmentally-conscious inks and varnishes. <ProductFormFeatureDescription> may carry free text with a more detailed statement.

Code: 39
Label: ‘Green’ adhesives
Note: Product binding uses environmentally-conscious adhesives and other binding materials. <ProductFormFeatureDescription> may carry free text with a more detailed statement.

List 139 ONIX retail sales outlet code

Creation of new code LEG for Canadian start-up Legible.

List 175 Product form detail

Creation of new code B420, delicate cover/jacket finish, to indicate when the “cover or jacket finish may merit special handling or packaging during distribution and fulfilment, for example, because of gloss varnish which may hold fingerprints, or matt laminate or embossing liable to scuffing

*A note to ONIX 2.1 users

ONIX 2.1 users should note that codelist updates no longer apply to ONIX 2.1 and users should continue to use Issue 36. ONIX 3.0 code lists and schema modules no longer contain codes or lists unique to ONIX 2.1. You can still obtain the correct ONIX 2.1 schema and codelists from the Archived Previous Releases page.

BookNet Canada still recommends that you use and periodically update your copy of EDItEUR's best practices guide. It’s an essential ONIX 3.0 guide, but much of the information in it applies equally to ONIX 2.1.