GDSN for Books Getting Closer Not many in the book industry are familiar yet with GDSN—the Global Data Synchronization Network—but it has been a reality for some time for other types of retail consumer goods and is very widely used in general retailing. So what is GDSN?  Think of it as a secure network in which accurate product information is continuously synchronized between suppliers and retailers.   The network is managed by GS1 (http://www.gs1.org/), the international standards body best known for barcodes, and consists of a series of connected and secure data pools into which suppliers feed product information that is continuously accessible to retailers. A business case to support the extension of GDSN to books has just been approved by GS1, which means GDSN for books has just gotten closer to becoming a reality. A presentation on the business case can be FOUND HERE. So what's next? Volunteers from across the industry are being recruited for the GDSN Books Extension Work Group (WG), which will coordinate the efforts to migrate the book publishing world into GDSN. For more information on the group and instructions to join, CLICK HERE. . The book industry has been focused on the value of high-quality book information for many years, work that has been led and championed by BISG, so it’s not a surprise that BISG is working closely with GS1 in this latest effort.  The work is being co-coordinated through BISG’s Publisher/Independent Wholesalers Interest Group (PIWIG), chaired by Phil Madans of Hachette Book Group. In addition to Phil, book industry representatives on the GS1 working group include Andrew Lacroix of Bowker, Noah Genner of BookNet Canada and Michael Healy from BISG. If you are interested in joining PIWIG, please contact Sara Raffel at the BISG office (sara@bisg.org). This promises to be an important initiative for the industry—we hope you’ll participate!