Font Size:

Standards

Thema current version 1.6

Thema – the subject category scheme for a global book trade

Thema version 1.6 - released October 31st 2024

Thema version 1.6 was released October 31st 2024. This version contains 131 new core subject categories and 411 new qualifiers (including new national extensions), plus numerous improvements to the wording of headings and notes, but it retains full backward compatibility with version 1.5 and earlier versions – no existing data needs to be modified or updated. See PDF  Thema v1.6 listing all the new codes.

Thema v1.6 all the new codes

  • Listing of all new subject codes and qualifiers for version 1.6 (October 2024) (PDF)
    •

Thema - a video introduction

  • Watch a briefing introducing Thema, as a pre-recorded webinar (20 mins, with closed captions or transcript (PDF or text) and slides (PDF)
  •

Using Thema 1.6 documentation

  • Using Thema 1: Executive briefing (PDF) revised 01/11/2024
  • Using Thema 2: Basic user instructions for Thema (PDF) revised 01/11/2024
  • Using Thema 3: Diversity, equity and inclusion content with Thema and ONIX (PDF) revised 17/03/2023
  • Using Thema 3a: DEI examples of use (annex to Using Thema 3 (PDF) revised 17/03/2023
  • Using Thema 4: An introduction to Thema for Booksellers (PDF) revised 02/01/2025
  • Using Thema 5: The importance of using <MainSubject> (PDF) revised 15/11/2024
  • Using Thema 6: Mixing codes from different sections (PDF) revised 15/11/2024
  • Using Thema 7: How many Thema codes per title (PDF) revised 15/11/2024
  • Using Thema 8: Highlighting local content and contributors with Thema and ONIX (PDF) revised 01/11/2024
  • Using Thema 9: Highlighting content relating to Indigeneity and Indigenous Nations and peoples with Thema (PDF) and Introductory document to using Thema or ONIX to highlight Indigenous content or contributors (PDF) NEW
  • Using Thema 9a: Examples of using Thema and ONIX to highlight Indigenous content and contributors (PDF) NEW
    •
  • Using Thema 9: is also available in Canadian French
  • Using Thema 10: guidelines for new subject or qualifier proposals (PDF) NEW

Thema v1.6 browser version and translations

  • Interactive Thema category browser – includes the latest Arabic, Czech, Danish, English, German, Spanish, Finnish, French, Canadian French, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Dutch, Flemish, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Slovak, Swedish, Turkish and Ukrainian listings, plus partial Russian translations (note that for all these languages, where a term has not yet been translated, the English term is shown instead). The interactive browser should choose your preferred language from those available automatically, according to preferences set in your web browser, but you can also select any of the available languages manually.
  • If you are an organisation in the book industry and you want to translate Thema into your langauge, please get in touch with us via the contact us page.
  • Quick reference sheet for the category browser
    •

Thema v1.6 code lists and translations (New from October 31st 2024)

  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in English (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON)
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Arabic (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON)
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Brazilian Portuguese (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON)
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Canadian French (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 21/01/2026
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Czech (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 30/09/2026
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Danish (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 06/01/2025
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Dutch (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 12/05/2025
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Finnish (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 09/05/2025
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Flemish (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 08/01/2025, minor updates 28/07/2025
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in French (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 02/12/2025
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in German (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 14/05/2025, qualifiers updated 15/12/2025
    •
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Hungarian (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON)
    •
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Italian (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 29/05/2025
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Japanese (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 18/08/2025, minor updates 25/09/2025
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Korean (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON)
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Lithuanian (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON)
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Norwegian - Bokmål (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 09/05/2025, minor updates 12/01/2026
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Norwegian - Nynorsk (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON)
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Polish (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 01/10/2026
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Portuguese (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Corrections to existing translation updated 11/04/2025
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Slovak (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) 
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Slovenian (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) New translation added 18/05/2026
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Spanish (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 07/01/2025
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Swedish (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) Translation updated 07/05/2025, minor updates 10/06/2026
    •
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Turkish  (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON)
    •
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Ukrainian - (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON)
    •
  • Version 1.6 categories and codes in Welsh  (Excel, HTML, XML and JSON) New translation added 20/01/2026
    •

Thema mappings (Thema v1.6 or earlier)

Thema as SKOS

SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System) is a data format used to express various types of controlled vocabuaries – glossaries, subject category schemes, taxonomies and so on. Thema is available as a SKOS concept scheme using RDF/XML syntax.

The entry point to the scheme is at https://ns.editeur.org/thema.rdf (the .rdf is not necessary if the Accept: application/rdf+xml header is provided wihin the request). Each concept within the scheme can be referenced as https://ns.editeur.org/thema/{notation}.rdf (the notation is the familiar 'Thema code', so for example https://ns.editeur.org/thema/GLF.rdf), and these URIs can be used in Linked Data contexts. It may be more convnient to download the entire concept scheme as a single large file from https://ns.editeur.org/themacomplete.rdf. Note there is no language attribute within these SKOS URIs as the returned data is inherently multilingual.

Note that the SKOS is always the latest version (v1.6). Older versions are not avaiable as SKOS.

Thema – other resources and information - previous versions and other languages

  • The entire database with the full range of headings and notes in all available languages – is available on request to EDItEUR members (SQLite3 binary file)
  • Thema worked examples - illustrated use cases for (PDF)
  • How metadata can help children's publishers avoid harmful gender stereotyping – paper by Usborne Publishing (PDF)
  • BIC Bites – Introduction to Thema (PDF)
  • BIC Bites – An introduction to Thema for Booksellers (PDF)
  • BISG - Thema for the U.S. Market: What Publishers & Others Should Know (YouTube video)
  • The Thema sessions – BIC Brunches
  • – 1 - Using Thema for Adult fiction (YouTube video)
  • – 2 - Using Thema to
 highlight DEI content (YouTube video)
  • – 3 - Using Thema for children’s, teenage and educational material (YouTube video)
  • – 4 - Using Thema for popular non-fiction titles (health, travel, cookery, etc) (YouTube video)
  • – 5 - Using Thema for academic non-fiction titles (medicine, law, science, etc) (YouTube video)
  • – 6 - Using Thema for comic books, manga, graphic novels (YouTube video)
  • - How better metadata drives discovery - the power of Thema qualifiers (YouTube video)

  • Brazilian Portuguese

  • Thema versão 1.5 – Instruções Básicas) (PDF)
  • Uso do Thema 5: a importância do <MainSubject>. (PDF)
  • Uso do Thema 6: misturando códigos de assunto de diferentes seções. (PDF)
  • Uso do Thema 7: quantos códigos de assunto e classificadores do Thema são recomendados por título? (PDF)
  • Uso do Thema 8: destacando conteúdo local e colaboradores com Thema e ONIX (PDF)

  • Slovenian

  • Uporaba sheme Thema 1: Poročilo za vodstvo - PDF New 18/05/26
  • Uporaba sheme Thema 2:  Osnovna navodila za uporabo za različico 1.6 - PDF New 18/05/26

 

 

 

 

top of page

Browse

ONIX

E-Commerce

Identifiers

Contact Details

  • EDItEUR Limited
  • United House
  • North Road
  • London
  • N7 9DP
  • UK

  • Registered office as above


  • email: info@editeur.org
  • tel: +44 (0)20 7503 6418
  • fax: +44 (0)20 7503 6418

Terms & Conditions  |  Privacy Policy  |  Cookie Policy