In January 2012, the Book Industry Study Group engaged Magellan Media Consulting to map the flow of metadata across the publishing supply chain. Research consisted of thirty interviews supplemented by an industry survey of both the U.S. and Canadian markets. The companies interviewed included larger, medium-sized, and smaller publishers, as well as retailers, wholesalers, industry service providers, manufacturers, and digital-only firms.

The resulting publication illustrates critical metadata handoffs, documents how metadata is altered or discarded, and identifies the points at which changes and revisions occur (and, in some cases, don't occur). More importantly, the report presents a series of process and "future-proofing" recommendations designed to help improve the quality and flow of metadata.

A 5-page PDF Executive Summary is available free of charge to BISG members and for purchase. To learn more and to see our various purchasing options, visit our publications section.