Thoth Open Metadata is specifically tailored to tackle the problems of
getting open access publications into the book supply chain. The platform
provides publishers with a tool to gather all of the metadata needed to
disseminate books, such as information on titles, authors, publication dates,
and the like, as well as metadata specific to digital and open access books,
such as persistent identifiers and file addresses. The data model is granular enough
that publishers can add metadata on chapters within books, or include
information on multiple reader-facing outlets where a book can be found. Thoth Open Metadata enables the wide dissemination of these records by transforming them into a
variety of both industry-standard and distributor-specific metadata formats,
and exposing all records openly under a CC-0 license via open APIs.
Governance
Thoth Open Metadata is established as a Community Interest Company Limited by Guarantee
under a large membership model. Members have overall control over the
activities of the company, and approve the appointment of the Board of
Directors. Day to day administration is undertaken by the Directors and the
managerial team. The current directors are Joe Deville (OBC), Rupert Gatti
(Open Book Publishers), and Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei (punctum books).
Future Plans
- Enabling automated distribution of publication files and metadata to dissemination and archiving platforms;
- Checking publication metadata for compatibility with requirements of all supported metadata output formats, giving users clear tips on what to improve;
- Developing a tool for digital books that checks a given format's compatibility with accessibility standards;
- Developing a tool to import references from publications into metadata records;
- Developing new tools to support publishers meeting accessibility standards in their publications;
- Reporting on OA publisher accessibility requirements, workflows, and obstacles;
- Creating a shared “best practices” digital catalogue to enable adoption of the Open Dissemination System
