Ed McCoyd

The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) and EDItEUR—the international body that maintains ONIX product information standards—working in collaboration with representatives from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the U.K. Publishers Association (PA), have made provisions to the "ONIX for Books" standards to allow for a standard means of communicating agency model sales terms for e-books.

Adult trade publishers with a “change is good” attitude are finding success in today’s market. From promoting literacy to experimenting with new marketing initiatives, such as social networking sites and author videos, and new distribution formats, such as e-books and digital downloads, industry leaders are now acting upon, not resisting, the significant turn the publishing world has been taking. Data indicates that while monthly sales fluctuate, overall, sales are still up, and many publishers are proactively striving to keep them that way. Last month, The Association of American Publishers (AAP) reported that adult hardbound book sales totaled $2.8 billion in 2007, a 7.8-percent increase

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has announced it has joined the Automated Content Access Protocol (ACAP). According to the AAP, ACAP is developing and piloting a standard system which allows publishers to express digital content access and usage policies in a language that can be programmed to be recognized by search engines. This is a joint project with the International Publishers Association, European Publishers Council and the World Association of Newspapers. The project’s goal is to serve as a building block for e-commerce in the online publishing world by helping publishers make their licensing terms and e-commerce information universally readable. “ACAP’s specification

After 30 years, the ISBN might be getting a facelift. The updated International Standard Book Number being proposed by a standards organization will increase the number of titles computer systems can track. It could also require publishers to spend millions on software upgrades. The reason: The proposal expands the ISBN to 13 digits, breaking computer programs designed to use the original 10-digit standard. The update is being developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The group has overseen the standard since 1972. The ISBN is used by publishers, distributors, and retailers to identify books in 160 countries. The new standard could