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:

Peter McCracken
Director of Research
Serials Solutions
501 N. 34th Street, Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
+1 607 262 0941
peter@serialssolutions.com

Charlie Rapple
Group Marketing Manager
Publishing Technology plc
Unipart House, Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2GQ, UK
+44 1865 397860
charlie.rapple@publishingtechnology.com

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.

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.