NISOKBART (Knowledge Bases and Related Tools) is a NISO Recommended Practice that standardizes how holdings metadata is communicated between content providers and knowledge base suppliers. By defining a consistent format for title-level holdings data, KBART addresses one of the persistent pain points in library link resolution: the accuracy and completeness of the knowledge bases that power OpenURL linking.
Background
KBART emerged from a 2006 research report that identified significant problems affecting the efficiency of OpenURL link resolution. The study found that a major source of linking failures was not the OpenURL standard itself but rather the quality of data in the knowledge bases that link resolvers relied upon. The KBART working group was established as a joint initiative of NISO (National Information Standards Organization) and UKSG (formerly the United Kingdom Serials Group) to address these recommendations.
The first KBART Recommended Practice was published in 2010 (NISO RP-9-2010), focusing on serial publications. KBART Phase II (NISO RP-9-2014) expanded the scope to cover ebooks, conference proceedings, and other resource types. The most recent revision, NISO RP-9-2024, represents the current version of the standard.
Purpose and Scope
KBART defines:
- A standardized file format -- a tab-delimited (TSV) file with defined column headers for communicating holdings data
- Data fields -- title-level information including publication title, identifiers (ISSN, eISSN, ISBN), coverage dates, embargo periods, and access URLs
- Best practices -- recommendations for how content providers should prepare and deliver their holdings data, and how knowledge base suppliers should process it
- Transfer protocols -- guidance on automated delivery mechanisms
The standard addresses the entire chain from content provider to knowledge base to link resolver, aiming to reduce linking failures caused by incomplete, outdated, or inconsistently formatted holdings information.
Key Data Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| publication_title | Title of the serial or monograph |
| print_identifier | Print ISSN or ISBN |
| online_identifier | Online ISSN or eISBN |
| date_first_issue_online | Start date of online coverage |
| date_last_issue_online | End date of online coverage (empty if ongoing) |
| title_url | URL of the title on the provider platform |
| embargo_info | Embargo or moving wall information |
| coverage_depth | Extent of coverage (fulltext, abstracts, etc.) |
| publisher_name | Name of the publisher |
| title_id | Provider-specific title identifier |
Serializations and Technical Formats
KBART data is exchanged as tab-separated values (TSV) files with a defined header row. This deliberately simple format ensures broad compatibility across systems. Files are typically delivered via FTP, HTTP, or direct upload, and knowledge base suppliers ingest them through automated pipelines.
Governance and Maintenance
KBART is jointly maintained by NISO and UKSG through a standing committee. The committee includes representatives from content providers, knowledge base suppliers, link resolver vendors, and libraries. Revisions follow the NISO standards development process, with public comment periods and formal balloting. The KBART Registry maintained by NISO tracks which content providers are actively supplying KBART-formatted data.
Notable Implementations
- Major knowledge base suppliers (Ex Libris, EBSCO, ProQuest, OCLC) consume KBART-formatted files
- Content providers including large publishers, aggregators, and open access platforms supply KBART data
- Library link resolvers (SFX, 360 Link, Full Text Finder, Alma UResolver) depend on KBART-quality holdings data
- The GOKb (Global Open Knowledgebase) project uses KBART as its core data exchange format
Related Standards
- OpenURL (ANSI/NISO Z39.88) -- the linking framework whose effectiveness KBART aims to improve
- IOTA (Improving OpenURLs Through Analytics) -- a related NISO project analyzing OpenURL quality