Metadata Best Practices
To ensure broad discoverability, visibility and sell-through, your metadata should be as complete as possible.
Examples of useful data to include are:
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ISBNs: All ISBNs associated with the title, including all print ISBNs, digital ISBNs, custom/distributor-specific ISBNs, and channel-specific ISBNs like Inclusive access identifiers.
- Where newer edition ISBNs are available, link them to the previous edition asset. This helps to push users to the newest edition when previous editions have been retired.
- Asset Information: Include complete metadata for the title, subtitle, author (first and last names), edition, and copyright years.
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Marketing description/BISAC codes: Add a Marketing description and BISAC codes to improve discoverability in eCommerce environments. Think of BISAC Codes as a way to tell retailers where a book fits best, and to help customers more easily locate titles of interest.
- For additional information on BISAC Codes, the BISG website offers helpful resources and FAQs.
- Territorial sales rights: Include territorial sales rights for inclusion in regional-specific catalogs.
Ensure a Positive User Experience
To make *MLA and APA Citations clear for end users, consider aligning your content with the following recommendations:
Note: All citations use the publication year, not the copyright date.
- Edition information should be limited to the edition field, and not included in the title.
- To decrease visual clutter, titles should exclude extraneous verbiage such as “eBook” or “Digital edition”.
- "Author First" and "Author Last" fields are the first and last name of the Primary Author only.
- When submitting multiple entries in the Author field, use a semi-colon to separate each author.
- The Publication Date field should be formatted YYYYMMDD.
- All build failures should be resolved to push your title into a distributable status.
- Additional help and information on asset builds can be found on this VitalSource Success page, under the Build Status section.
- Ensure your content file includes a Table of Contents, page labels, and a cover file. For more information, submission guides for ePub and PDF files can be accessed for free on the VitalSource Store.