Celebrating BISG's Committee Members

BISG is dedicated to solving problems that impact two or more parts of book publishing, a vision that comes to life in the work of our five standing committees. Each month, members of the metadata, rights, subject codes, supply chain, and workflow committees gather to discuss, analyze, and troubleshoot issues that affect the efficiency, effectiveness, and viability of the book business.

Committee work isn't glamorous, and it remains the most important tool we have to explore problems that often look different to various parts of the supply chain. Through dialogue and debate, we work to find common understandings, ones that inform our programming and shape our recommendations for standards and best practices.

For the last several years, we've made committee recognition an annual part of our calendar. On January 22, we're hosting another celebration at which we'll talk about the substantial work of the past year and recognize some of that work with a set of awards that focus on our committee members in 2020. Although the agenda begins at 9:30, the meeting will open at 9 a.m., so that members from all of our committees have a chance to catch up with one another in a way that is not always possible in our structured calls.

At 9:30, we'll start with updates from each of our five committees. Although our monthly meetings have been largely virtual since the start of 2017, the past year challenged us to make progress at a time when the rules were upended for most of our members. We're proud of the progress made throughout the year, and the updates will give us a chance to celebrate everything from countdown calendars and supply-chain maps to a white paper on investing in rights management and the 2020 update of our BISAC subject codes.

We'll follow that by recognizing some examples of the work we do each year with our committee awards, which include:

• The Industry Connector Award, which recognizes a volunteer who embodies BISG’s commitment to serving as an information hub for the publishing industry.
• The Standards Bearer Award, which recognizes a volunteer whose advocacy for industry standards most closely aligns with BISG’s goal of promoting standards and best practices in publishing
• The Explorer Award, which recognizes a volunteer, committee, or project that has helped to shape the conversation about the current state and future of book publishing.
• The Community Builder Award, which recognizes a volunteer who has worked to create a productive and diverse community in committees, working groups, or the BISG membership as a whole.

Recipients will be announced at the celebration. We greatly miss the opportunity to present the awards in person, but we'll make it a fun virtual substitute, at least this year!

The event is open to any member of BISG, whether part of a committee or not. It's a great opportunity to learn what has been happening within our committees and working groups, and it's always good to celebrate during a pandemic. Register now; I look forward to seeing you on January 22.