Tuesday's annual meeting of the Book Industry Study Group marked a
series of milestones: the organization's 30th annual meeting; 40 new
members, more in one year than in many years and bringing the total to
about 190 organizations; and the near anniversary of executive
director Michael Healey.
The organization continues to be the "only place in which all sections
of the book industry and the different pieces of the supply chain come
together to talk about the future of the book," BISG president
Dominique Raccah of Sourcebooks said in opening remarks. And because
the book is in "a period of transformation" and technology is one of
the most "important drivers of change," BISG's role is ever more
crucial.
"Every day we are making decisions based on our beliefs" about data,
she continued. But data depends on "the specificity of the question
asked" so that "the biggest thing may be asking the right questions."
Among the many questions Raccah has are how big is the book industry?
How many publishers are there? How many readers are there? Are they
growing or not? What are the most successful e-books--and in what
categories?
Looking back on his first year as executive director of BISG, Michael
Healey reiterated that his challenge has been "to build on very strong
foundations left by Jeff Abraham and the board, to innovate and maybe
to take BISG in some new directions."
The organization is in "very good shape today," he said. Contrary to
expectations, the organization's budget showed a surplus--of
$85,000--and the group ended the year with an asset base that rose
above $500,000 for the first time, to about $600,000. Membership
continues to grow.
This year's budget is growing 11%, reflecting in part an investment in
a redesigned website and server change. After being locked out of its
Manhattan offices for six weeks this year when a steam pipe exploded
on the street, BISG is also investing in processes and systems that
protect its and members' data.
Some of the major programs or emphases of the group this year have an
electronic theme. BISG is engaging in digital issues, Healey said, to
help make the supply chain "as efficient and effective as possible."
These efforts include participation in upgrading ONIX to version
3.0--which will have more information about digital publications--and
the ONIX certification program, which measures the accuracy of the
metadata (information about books from
author, title, publisher and price to format, subject, etc.) sent by
publishers and others to their trading partners.
Richard Stark of Barnes & Noble updated the group on the
certification program, which he emphasized is key in this day and age.
"Bad metadata leads to lost sales," he said. "Accurate, timely product
data does increase sales." Through the voluntary program that formally
launches in January, BISG aims to "raise the awareness of the
importance of timely, accurate data, which some parts of the industry
still need to hear." BISG will work with publishers to help them
comply. He has aimed, he said, to learn "how to be
certified without becoming certifiable"--a goal for all involved.
BISG is also in the midst of a benchmarking survey of environmental
issues in the book world. Members are very "aware of the impact our
paper-intense industry has," Healey noted. A report based on the survey
will appear in February.
ISBN-13, which replaced ISBN-10 on January 1, is still an issue,
because the 979 prefix for ISBNs will be introduced in the first
quarter of next year. (It joins the familiar 978 prefix.) "The
implications of that are very serious for those who have not made the
full conversion or have made only a makeshift one," Healey said. "As of
April 1, there will be no hiding from this."
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Dominique Raccah and Florrie Kichler, president of PMA, offered
tributes to Jan Nathan, founder and longtime head of PMA as well as
treasurer of BISG, who died June 17.
Raccah called Nathan "a gentle but firm force of nature shaping the
character of our industry. . . . She listened with intent, cared about
you and your endeavors." She was also persuasive when she believed in
something and "didn't know the meaning of the word no," Raccah
said. "None of us got to say that word to her."
Through PMA, Kichler said, Nathan "enabled thousands of publishers to
make their visions real, and in the process she transformed the
industry." PMA has created an award in her honor that will "recognize
lifetime achievement and contributions to publishing." The group also
has established a memorial fund in Nathan's name to aid education and
literacy and other interests she had.
In a related note, David Walker of the ABA has joined the BISG board as treasurer, Nathan's old post.--John Mutter