Document now available on the BISG website

New York, NY (January 7, 2008) -- The Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) today announced the publication of a new discussion document recommending how digital publications should be identified. The complete document is available online.

Entitled The Identification of Digital Book Content, the document was commissioned jointly by BISG and Book Industry Communication in the UK and was written by Michael Holdsworth, an industry consultant who was formerly Managing Director (UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa) of Cambridge University Press.

The intention of The Identification of Digital Book Content is to stimulate debate in the book industry about how digital book content should be identified and to encourage further work on the development and implementation of identification standards for such content. As more books are made available in digital form, whether for consumption online or offline, new business models and new services are being developed which pose problems of identification for trading in the supply chain and for the maintenance of systems and records by publishers. With consumers needing to know which digital versions of titles are available, and whether these are compatible with their needs or with their software or hardware devices, there is a pressing need for clarity on the use of standards for the identification and description of digital content as the new market evolves.

When announcing the new publication BISG's Executive Director, Michael Healy, said, "The idea for a discussion document arose from a meeting held at BookExpo 2007 in which many publishers, retailers and providers of digital distribution services emphasized the need for clear industry standards in this important area. We hope Michael Holdsworth's clear analysis and recommendations will provoke discussion that will lead to the development of such standards".

Laura Dawson, an independent book industry consultant who chairs the BISAC Identifiers Committee commented, "The international book industry has organized much of its supply chain around one very successful identifier: the ISBN. This important new document from BISG and BIC will stimulate debate about the standards we need to ensure digital publications are discovered easily and traded efficiently. I look forward to feedback on its findings and to using that feedback in the Identifiers Committee to develop best practice guidelines later this year."

Download the complete document.

Media Contact:
Michael Healy
Executive Director
Book Industry Study Group, Inc.
646-336-7141
michael@bisg.org
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About 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. Membership consists of publishers, manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, librarians, and others engaged in the business of print and electronic media. For 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.

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