Distribution Goes Digital
Reinforcing the importance of standards in metadata, Michael Healy, executive director of BISG, urged the industry at BISG’s Making Information Pay conference to apply Online Information Exchange (ONIX) international data standards in transmitting title information.
Waiting in the wings to build on data integrity/standards and availability are radio frequency identification (RFID) applications for the book industry. Industry consultant Jim Lichtenberg, president of Lightspeed LLC, led a BISG-sponsored panel at BookExpo in which applications of this technology were demonstrated. A chip embedded in the cover of a book, providing nothing more than a coded ISBN or some other identifier, can enable instant determination of inventories and register sales, and locate misplaced items—to cite a few applications along the supply chain.
- Companies:
- Amazon.com
- Books24x7 Inc.
- codeMantra
- Consortium
- Ebrary Inc.
- HarperCollins
- Independent Publishers Group
- Ingram Digital
- Klopotek
- Libre Digital
- Lightning Source Inc.
- Lightspeed LLC
- Macmillan Publishing Solutions
- Mobipocket
- NetLibrary
- NewsStand Inc.
- Overdrive Inc.
- PMA
- Publishing Dimensions
- Random House Inc.
- The Book Industry Study Group
- Universal
- Yahoo
Eugene G. Schwartz is editor at large for ForeWord Reviews, an industry observer and an occasional columnist for Book Business magazine. In an earlier career, he was in the printing business and held production management positions at Random House, Prentice-Hall/Goodyear and CRM Books/Psychology Today. A former PMA (IBPA) board member, he has headed his own publishing consultancy, Consortium House. He is also Co-Founder of Worthy Shorts Inc., a development stage online private press and publication service for professionals as well as an online back office publication service for publishers and associations. He is on the Publishing Business Conference and Expo Advisory Board.