Book Industry Communication

Book Industry Communication (BIC) is a United Kingdom-based industry body for the book trade. It develops and promotes standards and best practice for the exchange of bibliographic, product, and commercial data across the publishing supply chain, including publishers, booksellers, distributors, wholesalers, libraries, and systems vendors. BIC is best known for its work on ONIX for Books (the international metadata standard for book product information), EDItEUR-related messaging standards, and related initiatives such as BIC Bibliographic Standards, BIC Product Data, and supply-chain accreditation and training. Its work supports accurate, timely, and interoperable metadata and transactional data, which underpins discoverability, e-commerce, and efficient trading in the book sector. BIC operates as a membership and standards organisation rather than a commercial publisher or retailer, and it collaborates with international bodies and national book trade associations. The organisation is based in London and serves the UK market while contributing to international standards used across the global book industry.

Book Industry Communication (BIC) was established in the early 1990s as a UK book trade initiative to improve the electronic communication of bibliographic and commercial data between publishers, booksellers, distributors, and libraries. It grew out of earlier book-trade EDI and standards efforts and became a focal point for developing and maintaining standards used across the UK supply chain. Over time BIC's remit expanded to cover product metadata, ONIX for Books, and related messaging and identification standards, and it has worked alongside international standards bodies such as EDItEUR. BIC operates as a membership organisation, funded by its members and project work, and provides training, accreditation, and guidance to help the trade adopt and implement standards. Its standards and recommendations are widely referenced in UK publishing and bookselling workflows, and BIC continues to be involved in initiatives around metadata quality, digital supply chains, and interoperability.

• 1991

  BIC is established as a UK book trade standards body.

Standards and membership organisation for the UK book trade, focused on metadata and supply-chain interoperability.

• ONIX for Books

  International metadata standard for book product information, developed and promoted with EDItEUR and used across the book supply chain.

• BIC Bibliographic Standards

  Standards and guidance for bibliographic data exchange in the UK book trade.

• BIC Product Data

  Standards for product data and supply-chain messaging.

1. 1Book Industry Communication on Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Book Industry Communication official websitebic.org.uk