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KBART Compliance

KBART requirements have grown progressively more specific as the KBART format has evolved. For Phase III (2026), the Standing Committee aimed to create a more thorough, rigorous, and transparent process for assessing KBART, which is now characterized as “compliance,” with two levels of compliance available. 

  • Gold-level compliance will be granted to providers able to meet all field requirements of Phase III. 
  • Silver-level compliance was created to recognize that some providers may find it difficult to conform their data to all field requirements. 

Compliance requirements are listed in Section 5 of the Phase III Recommended Practice. The goal is to encourage as many provider organizations as possible to seek compliance.

When KBART has been certified as compliant, stakeholders can be assured that metadata is trusted and activated within a global KB at the appropriate level of granularity, without the burdensome task of title-by-title checking. This ensures that mediated institutional access for end users is accurate, comprehensive, and timely.

Sample Compliance Requirements (from Section 5.1)

Table of criteria for levels (gold or silver) of KBART Compliance

 

The KBART adoption process

Compliance Process (from Section 5.2)

Interested content providers should take the following steps to become KBART compliant:

  1. Read the full KBART Recommended Practice
  2. Develop your KBART title-list and manifest files according to the RP.
  3. Determine what files you need to create and maintain as described in 3.5.
  4. Format your data for each collection/file using details in Section 3.
  5. Create a manifest file using details in Section 4.
  6. Ensure that you have a process in place for regular data exchange as outlined in 3.2.
  7. Use the KBART Additional Resources page to assist in the development of your KBART file (glossary, FAQ, field and file examples, KBART validator tool, etc.): https://www.niso.org/standards-committees/kbart/kbart-additional-resources
  8. Please send any questions about how to format or present data to kbart@niso.org.
  9. Register your organization on the KBART registry website (https://sites.google.com/niso.org/kbart-registry), providing a link to download your KBART III–formatted title-list and manifest files.
  10. When your files are ready for the KBART Standing Committee to review for compliance, email kbart@niso.org with details of where the files can be accessed
  11. The KBART Standing Committee provides feedback on the data and, if necessary, requests revisions to comply with the recommendations.
  12. After the review is complete, approved content providers are rated as KBART compliant at either the gold or silver level. The Standing Committee also provides a logo for your site, issues a press release, and updates your entry in the registry. In the KBART registry, the KBART logo and level of compliance are displayed next to compliant content providers’ names, recognizing their contribution in providing quality KBART files to the community.

For more information, contact us at kbart@niso.org

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