1. NIMAC for Publishers & Vendors: Batch Delivery Procedures
February 2018

2. Delivering Files

3. How do I deliver my NIMAS files to NIMAC?
Files up to 300 MB each can be directly uploaded to the NIMAC system.
Files over 300 MB each must be delivered as batch deliveries by FTP.
There is no minimum file size for FTP delivery.
Files over 1 GB must be burned to DVD and shipped directly to OverDrive.

4. Delivering files by FTP
Batch deliveries are delivered directly to our system vendor, OverDrive, Inc.
The host location of the FTP is:
transfer.overdrive.com
If you do not yet have an FTP login and password, you can request them by ing:

5. Requesting FTP Access
Please be sure to reference your NIMAC login ID in the request for FTP credentials.
If you are a conversion vendor, you will need separate FTP login credentials for each publisher account that you work with.

6. Delivering files on DVD
Files that are 1 GB or larger should be burned to DVD and mailed to:
OverDrive, Inc.
Attn: NIMAC Batch Upload
1 OverDrive Way
Cleveland, OH 44125
USA

7. Using the Validation Wizard

8. Validation Wizard
ALL files submitted to the NIMAC, whether through manual upload or batch, should be run through the NIMAC Validation Wizard before submission.
We also request that you check your zip files before FTP submission by verifying that they open.
This helps ensure that the file compression was successful and the zip file is not corrupt.

9. Validation Wizard
The Validation Wizard is available for download by all publishers and vendors from the Resources tab of the publisher portal.
This is a small stand-alone program.
There is only a Windows version of the validator at this time.
You can export the validation results as an HTML file if you wish.

10. Using the Validation Wizard
The validation wizard checks that:
The XML is well formed and validates to the NIMAS DTD (and MathML DTD, if applicable)
All images referenced in the XML and OPF are present in the images folder
The wizard does not:
Verify that metadata are correct/complete
Evaluate the content or tagging decisions
Detect extraneous files in the zip archive

18. Validation Errors
Any errors that show up on the report must be corrected before submitting the file set.
Note: Certain errors may stop the validator.
After making corrections, run the file through the wizard again to ensure that there are no additional issues.

19. Corrupt Files
After zipping your NIMAS file sets, please go back and check to ensure that the files were not corrupted during the zipping process.
Just click on the zip file. If it opens, the file is probably okay and not corrupt.
Please check all files before you deliver them by FTP or on DVD.

20. The Metadata Excel Sheet

21. Batch Metadata Excel Sheet
All batch deliveries for *new* files must be accompanied by the batch load metadata spreadsheet.
This sheet, and the NIMAC Metadata Guidelines, can be found on the NIMAC web site:
Please do not alter the template formatting or create your own template.

22. Batch Metadata Excel Sheet
The Excel sheet should ONLY be submitted if the ISBNs being delivered are not already in the system.
Please do not include the sheet if you are sending replacement files for ISBNs that are already in the system.
If you don’t know if the files have already been previously submitted, please log into your NIMAC account and check.

23. Metadata Excel Sheet
Only one sheet should be provided for the entire delivery—with one line used per file in the delivery.
Please do not zip the Excel sheet inside any NIMAS file in the delivery.
The naming convention for the Excel sheet is the date the delivery is being supplied (for example: xls).

24. Metadata Excel Sheet
The sheet is used by OverDrive to create the system records for all files in the delivery.
It cannot be used to replace information in existing records. (NIMAC staff routinely make needed corrections to records.)
The metadata sheet contents should exactly match what you have submitted in the OPFs.

25. Metadata Excel Sheet
The only field not included in the Excel sheet is the default Rights statement.
This information is automatically supplied for every record by the system.
The Supplementary (Optional) Rights Statement column should ONLY be used if the publisher wishes to include an additional statement to appear after the default Rights statement.

30. Resubmissions
Files with ISBNs that are not already in the system are NEW files.
If the ISBN is already in the system, the file is a RESUBMISSION.
No Excel sheet should be submitted with resubmissions.
If some of your files are NEW and others are RESUBMISSIONS, please separate these into two separate deliveries.

31. Certified Resubmissions
If the file is already in the Certified inventory, the file must be moved out of Certified by the NIMAC before a resubmission can be processed.
Please contact the NIMAC at to let us know if you need to have a file moved out of Certified so that it can be replaced by an updated or corrected file set.

32. Batch Load Notifications

33. Batch Load Notification
Batch deliveries are processed and uploaded at OverDrive, not at the NIMAC.
In order for OverDrive to process your delivery, they must be notified.
ALL batch deliveries, by FTP or on DVD, must be accompanied by an notification to OverDrive at :

34. Batch Load Notification
In the “Subject” line of the , please include the type of delivery, publisher name, and the number of NIMAS files in the delivery. For example:
Subject: FTP / Educational Publisher / 21 files
Subject: DVD / Educational Publisher / 1 file

35. Batch Load Notification
FTP notifications must include:
Your NIMAC login ID*
Your FTP login ID*
Name of the folder the FTP files are in
A list of all files included in the delivery
Notice of whether the files are NEW submissions or RESUBMISSIONS
*If you are a vendor working with multiple publishers, be sure to reference the correct credentials.

37. “New” versus “Resubmission”
OverDrive has separate automated processing queues for New files and Resubmissions.
Please do not include both in the same delivery as this will lead to processing delays.
Submit the files as two separate deliveries: one delivery for New files and the other for the Resubmissions.

39. Batch Load Notification
DVD deliveries should also include a packing slip inside the package that includes your NIMAC login ID and a list of the files in the delivery.
Optionally, you may also include the dispatch date and anticipated arrival date in the notification.

41. Automated Tracking Ticket
When you have submitted the notification to you will receive an automated tracking ticket.
Please respond to any correspondence from OverDrive using this same ticket.
If a file fails validation or is corrupt and you send it again by FTP, you may use this same ticket to notify OverDrive.

42. Automated Tracking Ticket
However, once the files are uploaded to the NIMAC, the ticket is closed.
The ticket cannot be used again to notify OverDrive of any subsequent file delivery.
If your files are uploaded, reviewed by NIMAC and must be resubmitted with corrections, you must create a new tracking ticket by sending a new to

43. How often should I FTP files?
Files are batch processed by OverDrive and uploaded nightly.
We recommend consolidating files into one batch of resubmissions per day, per publisher, and one batch of new files, per day, per publisher.
Submitting multiple small batches on the same day is not beneficial and could lead to processing delays.

44. File Review & Helpful Reminders

45. File Review & Certification
Once files are uploaded to the system, NIMAC staff review and certify the files.
This review checks that metadata are correct and complete, and includes some additional XML quality checks.
When files are certified, the publisher receives an automated with the digital certificate number for the file set.

46. File Review & Certification
NIMAC staff are able to make many OPF and portal metadata corrections without requiring that files be resubmitted.
However, if a file has a problem that NIMAC can’t fix for you, we will send detailed feedback so the file can be corrected and resubmitted as quickly as possible.

47. Reminders
Here are a few reminders of issues that can be cause for the resubmission of a file with corrections.
Please keep these in mind as you prepare your NIMAS files to help ensure that they can be reviewed and certified as quickly as possible.

48. Reminders: PDFs Be sure your PDF is complete. The PDF must include:
Complete title of book
ISBN
Copyright statement
Publisher imprint
If key bibliographic information is found only on the cover, this must also be included in the PDF for the file set.

49. Reminders: PDFs
Examples of key information include the full book title, author, publisher imprint, state edition or ISBN.
The PDF in the NIMAS file set is used only for file verification purposes.
It is *not* used in the production of accessible formats for students.
Please ensure that your PDF files are not unnecessarily large.

50. Reminders: XML Metadata
Please do not include a metadata header in the NIMAS XML file.
The NIMAS specification calls for the <head> tag to be empty.
Including non-NIMAS metadata in an XML header often delays certification as the metadata must be removed and the file resubmitted by the vendor.

51. Reminders: Cover information in XML file
Many print educational materials include key information about the book only on the cover(s).
When key bibliographic information, such as the full title, ISBN, publisher name, series, or state edition only appears on the book cover, the cover MUST be transcribed in the XML for the NIMAS file.

52. Reminder: Identifiers
The Identifier for the file set should be the 13-digit ISBN that appears on the print book.
Please do not use an ISBN that does not appear on the book as the Identifier.
The Identifier should also be used as the name of the zip file.

53. Reminder: Missing Assets
After transferring files by FTP, be sure to check the folder to see that all files are there.
A common cause of processing delay is that files referenced in the notification are not found on the FTP site.

54. Reminder: Extraneous Mac files
Sometimes if a Mac computer is used in creating or compressing the file set, duplicate or extraneous files end up included in the zip archive.
These additional files can cause the OverDrive batch upload process to fail and can also cause confusion to end users.
Please ensure that no additional Mac-generated files are added to the zip file.

55. Reminder: New Imprints
In order to prevent the upload of inventory to the wrong publisher account, files are checked before being added to the batch queue to ensure that the publisher imprint included in the metadata sheet is an imprint associated with that publisher account.
Please notify NIMAC if you need to have a new imprint associated with your account.

56. OverDrive Support
For questions or technical problems related to a batch delivery, contact the OverDrive Batch Team at:
For help with any other system issues, contact OverDrive Technical Support at:

57. Producing NIMAS
For technical questions about the NIMAS specification or preparing NIMAS files, contact the National Center for AEM:

58. Any Other Questions?
For any questions about how to use NIMAC, the status of files in the NIMAC system, or feedback provided by our staff, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for assistance: