Committee Charters |
Committee ChartersHere are the most recent committee charter documents. If you are interested in joining any of these committee efforts, email info@bisg.org for more information.
Metadata Committee
Current State
Objectives
Stakeholder Impact/Benefits
Deliverables
Blockers
Rights Committee (Kris Kliemann, Chair)
Current State In a survey conducted by the rights committee to inform its white paper, Publishing Rights: An Untapped Opportunity, the committee found that:
Objectives The rights committee identifies the most important rights-related problems facing the publishing industry, identifies areas of consensus where standards would be valuable, and leads online and in-person events to inform the broader rights committee.
Stakeholder Impact/Benefits Accurately communicating rights information between parties can grow revenue, reduce transaction costs, and avoid costly errors. Making rights information more accessible for both internal and external audiences also improves publishers’ ability to financially benefit from their intellectual property.
Deliverables In 2019 the Rights Committee will:
Blockers Different parts of the rights community see problems in different ways, and they pursue solutions with different methods and, at times, conflicting objectives. As a result, the value of a uniform taxonomy may be difficult to prove, blocking willingness to invest in a standard.
Supply Chain Charter (2019 Draft)
Current State The book publishing supply chain is in flux. The supply chains for physical and digital formats were built separately, with overlap in some areas (the role of intermediaries) and distinct differences in others (who creates the final files for different formats; how they are delivered to consumers). Digital formats now account for a significant share of total volume by segment, and the work done to manage them would benefit from tighter integration with the creation of physical formats.
At the same time, audiences are increasingly interest in related, non-book products, and publishers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers lack the standards to handle information and inventory in a timely, cost-effective manner. The internet has helped support the rise of legitimate third-party sellers, whose new and used-book products compete with publisher inventory, as well as gray-market and counterfeit sellers. These changes are not well-understood, and supply-chain participants require both data and strategy to address them effectively.
Objectives
Stakeholder Impact/Benefits
Deliverables
Blockers Because the supply chain committee works to solve problems that affect multiple segments of the publishing industry, its membership must reflect all of those segments. Representation in key areas (manufacturing, distribution, third-party sales) is limited and needs to be bolstered before the committee can address these problems. Total committee participation also needs to increase to deliver results described here. As well, resources to conduct mapping and other efforts may not be available in the timelines shown here. Subject Codes Committee (Connie Harbison, chair)Current State Internationally, use of Thema, which is currently available in more than 15 languages, continues to grow. Since 2012, the subject codes committee has mapped all BISAC updates to the current version of Thema. The introduction of Thema 1.3, expected in April 2018, will require an updated BISAC to Thema map.
Objectives
Stakeholder Impact/Benefits
Deliverables
Blockers
Workflow Committee
Current State Both within segments and across the supply chains, workflows in place to deliver information, physical products, and digital products, are not well understood. Best practice is not defined, and cross-segment workflows may not deliver on their requirements in a timely, efficient, or transparent manner. Industry feedback indicates that current priorities include: defining thetools that can be used to improve workflows; and metadata workflows.
Objectives • Define what BISG means by workflow, within and across segments
• For one or more publishing workflows, document best practice and identify the tools and resources required to improve approaches already in place
• With the metadata committee, strengthen documentation of the metadata supply chain,identifying weaknesses in the current approach
Stakeholder Impact/Benefits Both within and across industry segments, existing workflows have been developed as responses to prevailing conditions, with little access to best practice or alternative resources. The workflow committee’s efforts can help close an information gap, fostering best practice and growing awareness of available tools and how they might be used. In turn, this will lower costs and likely improve time to market.
Deliverables In 2019 the Workflow Committee will:
• Create a workflow “white paper” that defines the term and its application within and across publishing segments.
• Follow the white paper with report on best practices, including the tools and resources of greatest use
• Publish a map of the metadata supply chain, documenting strengths and weaknesses
Blockers Workflows are sometimes described as the circulatory system of content businesses, and changing them is likened to a heart transplant, undertaken only when necessary. The willingness of book industry supply chain participants to try new tools and approaches is untested, and uptake may be limited. |
12/18/2019
Metadata Committee Meeting
12/19/2019
Subject Codes Committee Meeting