Just kidding! We are so excited for these changes.
Early in December, BISG announced that young adult and teen materials would be getting their own separate classification distinct from the juvenile BISAC codes we all know and love. You can check out the new code list here, which introduces two, new, top-level trees added for YOUNG ADULT FICTION (YAF) and YOUNG ADULT NON-FICTION (YAN), which up until 2014 had been testing the boundaries of the limited juvenile classification. Between YAF and YAN, there are 446 new codes in all!
Not only is this a huge moment for YA, but a huge opportunity for publishers, libraries, retailers, and wholesalers to target readers like never before and ensure it's easier than ever for intended readers to discover and love new books. But what does this mean for the systems that track and utilize your data? Never fear, BookNet has a plan!
BookNet products are ready to receive the new BISAC codes as soon as publishers are ready to start using them. In January, the new YAF and YAN codes will be available in:
- CataList - searchable using quick search and advanced search criteria, filterable in search results, and displayed on any book assigned the new codes in publisher ONIX feeds.
- BiblioShare - once data providers begin supplying the new codes to BiblioShare, they will be fed out to our products, partner sites, and feeds, and also available through BiblioShare services like BiblioSimple.
- SalesData 2016 - the new BISAC codes will be rolled out into the new version going into beta testing in January. More power will be in your hands to search subjects using a specificity that was not available in previous versions. You'll be able to run reports utilizing the new code list as long as the codes are being provided by data providers, publishers, and distributors to our bibliographic data partner, Bowker Books in Print.
- Research - the new BISAC codes will be excluded from our release of The Canadian Book Market 2015 (coming soon!) as there will be little to no data yet, but we plan in future editions to break out these new codes into new sections of the report.
Of course, all of this depends on publishers starting to use the new codes. The sooner they are in regular use, the more data we will be able to make available. As of January, we hope to have more information from retailers on when they will begin accepting and utilizing the new codes, along with a webinar or podcast. Stay posted!
