Home
Blog
Overview of all products
SalesData
LibraryData
CataList
Loan Stars
BiblioShare
Webform
EDI
Products for publishers
Products for retailers
Products for libraries
Information for authors
BNC Research
Canadian literary awards
SalesData & LibraryData Research Portal
Events
Tech Forum
Webinars & Training
Code of Conduct
Standards
EDI standards
Product identifiers
Classification schemes
ONIX standards
About
Contact us
Media
Bestseller lists
Newsletters
Podcast
Jobs
SalesData
LibraryData
CataList
BiblioShare
Webform
EDI

BookNet Canada

Home
Blog
Overview of all products
SalesData
LibraryData
CataList
Loan Stars
BiblioShare
Webform
EDI
Products for publishers
Products for retailers
Products for libraries
Information for authors
BNC Research
Canadian literary awards
SalesData & LibraryData Research Portal
Events
Tech Forum
Webinars & Training
Code of Conduct
Standards
EDI standards
Product identifiers
Classification schemes
ONIX standards
About
Contact us
Media
Bestseller lists
Newsletters
Podcast
Jobs
SalesData
LibraryData
CataList
BiblioShare
Webform
EDI
Lauren Stewart
November 25, 2024
Thema, Standards & Metadata

Step up your subjects with the newly released Thema 1.6

Lauren Stewart
November 25, 2024
Thema, Standards & Metadata

At BookNet, we're big fans of Thema, recommending that Canadian data senders and receivers support both BISAC Subject Headings and Thema Subject Categories to fulsomely represent book products for sale in Canada. While we still love BISAC, the dominant subject classification system in the North American book market, we appreciate Thema’s unique system of subject and qualifier codes which, when used correctly, can communicate more granular and specific information about a book’s content. This granularity allows data senders and data recipients to share and display information about a book that represents a more diverse and inclusive range of content ripe for discovery in a marketplace that demands it.

Announcing version 1.6

EDItEUR proudly announced the release of Thema version 1.6 in November 2024. There are around 131 new subject categories and 411 new qualifiers. As with all previous Thema updates, this is an additions-only update: all versions of Thema remain fully backward-compatible with their predecessors, and no existing category has changed its meaning — though there are some minor updates to the exact wording to improve clarity and aid in translation.

Key additions include:

  • Qualifiers for 'the literature of a particular place' (these form groupings of books that are part of the ‘culture’ of a place, unrelated to the setting of a story, the nationality of the author, and the country of publication)

  • New qualifiers to highlight books about or in support of individual UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS)

  • Expansion of the range of popular fiction genres categories, particularly within romance 

  • Greater geographical coverage of Ukraine, Australia, and Canada

To celebrate the release of Thema version 1.6, BookNet’s Tech Forum team hosted a webinar with Chris Saynor of EDItEUR and Isabelle Gaudet-Labine of BTLF to share “Updates to Thema and their applications to the Canadian market.” You can watch the recording below:

Moreover, EDItEUR’s online browser has been updated to version 1.6 and this is now available at the usual address.

Standards behind the scenes

Members of the International Thema Steering Committee approved the release of Thema version 1.6 at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2024. A straightforward motion at a meeting cannot testify to the hours of effort put forth by Chris Saynor at EDItEUR to collect and interpret feedback from EDItEUR members and Thema implementers across the world. BookNet is grateful for the thoughtful and thorough approach Chris has applied to shepherding version 1.6 through the gate, including hours coordinating feedback from Canadian partners in BTLF and BookNet to address Canadian market needs. The EDItEUR staff team, Graham Bell and Chris Saynor, have stayed on top of an ever-evolving regulatory environment and have sustained an aggressive series of releases since the last Thema release in 2022.

Subscribe

Don’t miss any new blog posts. Sign up for our weekly eNews to receive updates.

You can unsubscribe at any time. We respect your privacy.

Thank you!
Recent posts
Canadian book borrowers in 2024
Canadian book borrowers in 2024

Insights into the behaviour of Canadian book borrowers.

Read More →
Standards goals for 2025: A recap and a conversation about what may be next
Standards goals for 2025: A recap and a conversation about what may be next

Book supply chain standards are changing rapidly, let us help identify which recent updates are relevant to you.

Read More →
May 2025 Loan Stars Junior Canadian top picks
May 2025 Loan Stars Junior Canadian top picks

Find out what titles made it to the May 2025 Loan Stars Junior Canadian list.

Read More →
Canadian book buyers in 2024
Canadian book buyers in 2024

Insights into the behaviour of Canadian book buyers.

Read More →
Common metadata issues and how to fix them: Forgetting to include related products in your metadata
Common metadata issues and how to fix them: Forgetting to include related products in your metadata

Tips on including related products in your metadata.

Read More →
Podcast: Canadian bookmark project
Podcast: Canadian bookmark project

This month we’re talking with Chandler Jolliffe, owner of Cedar Canoe Books in Huntsville.

Read More →
 The Canadian Book Consumer Study 2024 is now available
The Canadian Book Consumer Study 2024 is now available

Get a free copy of the study in PDF or EPUB format today!

Read More →
Subject spotlight: Body, Mind & Spirit
Subject spotlight: Body, Mind & Spirit

Sales and library circulation data of Body, Mind & Spirit titles during the the first quarter of 2025.

Read More →
ONIX Codelist 69 released
ONIX Codelist 69 released

Insights into the latest updates and additions made to ONIX codelists.

Read More →
5 questions with Caitlin Press
5 questions with Caitlin Press

5 questions with Sarah Vasu from Caitlin Press.

Read More →
Using Thema to identify diverse content in product metadata: worked example #15
Using Thema to identify diverse content in product metadata: worked example #15

Featuring River in an Ocean: Essays on Translation edited by Nuzhat Abbas.

Read More →
Subject spotlight: LGBTQ+
Subject spotlight: LGBTQ+

Sales and library circulation data of LGBTQ+ titles during the fourth quarter of 2024.

Read More →

Tagged: book metadata best practices

Newer PostPodcast: Gearing up for the holiday season: Tips for independent booksellers
Older PostEasier with BookNet: Keeping up with changes to forthcoming titles
Blog RSS

The Canadian Book Market 2024 is the comprehensive guide to the Canadian market with in-depth category data.

Get your copy now

Listen to our latest podcast episode


  • Research & Analysis 446
  • Ebooks 304
  • Tech Forum 266
  • Conferences & Events 261
  • Standards & Metadata 227
  • Bookselling 218
  • Publishing 194
  • ONIX 177
  • Marketing 152
  • Podcasts 117
  • ebookcraft 112
  • BookNet News 99
  • Loan Stars 71
  • Libraries 66
  • BiblioShare 59
  • SalesData 51
  • 5 Questions With 48
  • CataList 42
  • Thema 42
  • Awards 30
  • Diversity & Inclusion 20
  • Publishing & COVID-19 18
  • Sustainability 10
  • LibraryData 9
  • EU Regulations 8
  • ISNI 4

 

 

BookNet Canada is a non-profit organization that develops technology, standards, and education to serve the Canadian book industry. Founded in 2002 to address systemic challenges in the industry, BookNet Canada supports publishing companies, booksellers, wholesalers, distributors, sales agents, industry associations, literary agents, media, and libraries across the country.

 

Privacy Policy | Accessibility Policy | About Us

BOOKNET CANADA

Contact us | (416) 362-5057 or toll free 1 (877) 770-5261

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for this project.

Back to Top

BookNet Canada acknowledges that its operations are remote and our colleagues contribute their work from the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Anishnawbe, the Haudenosaunee, the Wyandot, the Mi’kmaq, the Ojibwa of Fort William First Nation, the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations (which includes the Ojibwa, the Odawa, and the Potawatomie), and the Métis, the original nations and peoples of the lands we now call Beeton, Brampton, Guelph, Halifax, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vaughan, and Windsor. We endorse the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (PDF) and support an ongoing shift from gatekeeping to spacemaking in the book industry.