NISO and BISG to Hold 5th Annual Changing Standards Landscape Forum at the 2011 ALA Annual Conference

Free half-day program on June 24, 2011 will focus on the e-book marketplace and common issues between libraries and publishers

Building on four years of successful co-programming, the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) will again co-host The Changing Standards Landscape during the 2011 American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans on Friday, June 24, 2011, from 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. This year's forum will focus on E-books: Intersections Where Libraries and Publishers Can Learn from Each Other. Electronic books have exploded in the past 18 months, and publishing and library communities alike are struggling to deal with the constantly shifting ground. This program will explore how both the publishing and library communities are facing the new digital marketplace, with a special focus on the standards that underlie the e-book supply chain.

"Over the past year, there has been a furious pace in the e-book marketplace of new product launches, new technology, new business models, and new reading devices," said Todd Carpenter, NISO's Managing Director. "We hope to draw out some of the best approaches that libraries and publishers can use to solve common problems."

Speakers for this year's session include: Todd Carpenter (NISO Managing Director), Angela Bole (Deputy Executive Director, BISG), Phil Madans (Director, Publishing Standards and Practices, Hachette Book Group), Peter Brantley (Director of the Bookserver Project, Internet Archive), Monique Sendze (Associate Director of Information Technology, Douglas County Libraries, Colorado), and Michael Cairns (Managing Partner, Information Media Partners).

"The Changing Standards Landscape has become a tremendously successful event since its inception four years ago," states Angela Bole, Deputy Executive Director, BISG. "Developing a deeper understanding between the publishing, distribution, and library supply chains is increasingly critical and each year we've focused on significant challenges our communities face alongside standards and best practice solutions. This year's program will highlight again how rapidly our industry is changing and how BISG and NISO are proactively addressing these issues."

The Changing Standards Landscape is organized jointly by NISO and BISG. Both organizations support, promote, and maintain standards and best practices in the information community. NISO focuses on publishers, libraries and the systems suppliers in information distribution. BISG focuses on the book supply chain of publishers, manufacturers, wholesale and retail suppliers.

A detailed agenda is available on the NISO website along with a link to an online registration form. Although this forum is free, prospective attendees are asked to register for logistics and planning purposes. (Go to: http://www.niso.org/news/events/2011/ala2011/nisobisgforum/)

This forum is sponsored by CrossRef.

About the Book Industry Study Group, Inc.
The Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) is the U.S. book industry's leading trade association for policy, standards, and research. The mission of BISG is to create a more informed, empowered and efficient book industry supply chain for both physical and digital products. Membership consists of publishers, manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, librarians, and others engaged in the business of print and electronic media. For over 30 years, BISG has provided a forum for all industry professionals to come together and efficiently address issues and concerns to advance the book community. Learn more about BISG at www.bisg.org.

About NISO
The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) fosters the development and maintenance of standards that facilitate the creation, persistent management, and effective interchange of information so that it can be trusted for use in research and learning. To fulfill this mission, NISO engages libraries, publishers, information aggregators and other organizations that support learning, research, and scholarship through the creation, organization, management, and curation of knowledge. NISO works with intersecting communities of interest and across the entire life cycle of an information standard. NISO is a not-for-profit association accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Learn more about NISO at www.niso.org.

Contact(s)