November 2017 BIC BREAKFAST

Digital Vertigo: Common eBook Metadata Issues and How to Address Them

Wednesday 15th November 2017, 9-10:30am

Sponsored by:   

Figures released by The Publishers Association in April 2017* showed that “2016 was a record breaking year” for the book industry with the overall sale of books and journals reaching a total of £4.8bn; of which the total sales for digital products amounted to £1.7bn. However, eBook sales continue to fall and there are a number of theories as to why, including the return of agency pricing in 2015** which raised the price of eBooks, especially in comparison to self-published titles; an increase in the use of tablets and smartphones which has resulted in a decline of dedicated eBook readers / devices; and increased usage of technology in daily life which has led to a sort of ‘fatigue’ whereby individuals are restricting the time they spend in front of screens.

From the lofty heights of eBook sales in 2011 to present day, what can publishers do to ensure sales of their eBooks are as resilient as possible? This BIC Breakfast session provided an overview of the most common metadata issues which affect eBook files, explaining how organisations can address them to increase the discoverability of their products. We heard from Graham Bell, Executive Director of EDItEUR who provided an introduction to this topic and Ruth Jones, Director of Business Development at Ingram Content Group, who provided a first-hand account on the difficulties that eBook metadata issues cause in the book industry supply chain.  

Publishers, self-publishers, data aggregators, retailers and eBook distributors benefitted from attending this BIC Breakfast.

*Read the PA’s article, UK Publishing has record year up 7% to £4.8bn, here
** Read the Publishers Weekly article, The Bad News About E-books, here

Hosted by: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC

Our speakers included: Graham Bell, Executive Director, EDItEUR and Ruth Jones, Director Business Development, Ingram Content Group.

BIC Breakfast Slides – Digital Vertigo, November 2017

September 2017 BIC BREAKFAST 

EDI & Enriched Metadata: Driving the Efficiency of Libraries into the 21st Century and Beyond

Wednesday 27th September 2017, 9-10:30am

Sponsored by:   

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the exchange of business information / documents between trading partners using a standard electronic format. It provides organisations with an automated way to disseminate or receive information electronically, rather than carrying out myriad manual processes or providing physical documentation. For this reason, EDI users experience a wealth of benefits which vary from a reduction in both costs and errors / misunderstandings to enhanced processing speeds and improved relationships with trading partners. 

It is estimated that somewhere between 75-85%* of public library authorities use EDI to some extent currently. As Museums, Libraries & Archives (MLA) rightly stated in its Better Stock, Better Libraries report in 2006: “Better use of technology to support efficiency and effectiveness has been previously identified as a key driver of potential efficiency.” Clearly the benefits of EDI are largely understood but what are its next steps and how can EDI continue to meet libraries requirements going forwards? This BIC Breakfast session answered these questions and more.

During this session, we heard from Catherine Cooke (a public librarian at Westminster Libraries) who provided an introduction to EDI and imparted information about the range of benefits her organisation has experienced due to its use of EDI. Doug McMillan of ProQuest addressed enrichment services, explaining how integrations can further interaction with your existing catalogue and increase the circulation of your library collection. Finally, we heard from John Garrould of the Bertram Group regarding the next steps for EDI; his presentation included a sneak peek at BIC’s ongoing Library Web Services project.

Librarians, both public and academic, library suppliers, library systems vendors and data aggregators benefitted from attending this BIC Breakfast. 

*Statistic based on both the MLA Better Stock, Better Libraries report (2006) and BIC’s estimation of progress made since this report.

Hosted by: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC

Our speakers included: Catherine Cooke, Application Support Officer, Westminster Libraries; Doug McMillan, VP Strategic Partnerships and Licensing – Data Products, ProQuest; and John Garrould, Head of Information Technology, Bertram Group.

BIC Breakfast Slides – EDI & Enhanced Metadata in Libraries, September 2017

July 2017 BIC BREAKFAST 

RFID Privacy in Libraries: Revealing What Librarians (both Public & Academic), Library Suppliers and Library Systems Vendors Need to Know

Wednesday 26th July 2017, 9-10:30am

Sponsored by:  

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) in libraries involves the tagging of library books with RFID tags and the use of self-services kiosks and other technologies to enable library customers to self-issue and self-return library books. The EU has issued two mandates for member states to encourage them to adopt measures to limit the risk to privacy from the use of RFID tagged items. The risk has been identified as: 

  • identification of the citizen’s identity, lifestyle or affiliations e.g. their sexual orientation or membership of a trades union 
  • the ability to track the citizen’s movements e.g. across a city

Libraries are identified as high risk within this analysis because unlike retail RFID tags which are switched off during purchase, RFID tags on library books are always available to be read so that, on their return to the library, the tags can be read as part of a self-return process. 

Many library professionals involved with the RFID privacy issue, point out that compared to other sources of privacy risk, such as CCTV, wearing a smartwatch or carrying a mobile phone, the risk to the citizen’s privacy posed by library RFID tags is very small indeed, but it does not negate the duty of libraries to explain the risk and warn their users. Most library users will be unaware that there is any risk to their privacy and they need to be warned so that they can make an informed decision, for example whether or not to use the library, and to take any necessary precautions.

This BIC Breakfast session revealed what RFID privacy really means to the library community both in the UK and globally. It provided an update on the topic and the work of the BIC RFID Privacy Task & Finish Working Group including a sneak peek at the BIC RFID Privacy Code of Practice documents for libraries, library suppliers and Library Management System vendors (find out more about these documents and obtain your copy, here). We heard from both a public and an academic librarian about the procedures that libraries should put in place to ensure they are in-line with the EU mandates (in case they become legislation in future) and the differences involved for each library type. Finally, we heard from Bibliotheca regarding the reach of RFID in libraries on a global scale and how other regions are dealing with it to ensure the privacy of their patrons. 

Hosted by: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC

Our speakers included: Simon Edwards, Consultant to Book Industry Communication Ltd; Karen Carden, Resources and Systems Manager, University of the Arts, London; Catherine Cooke, Application Support Officer, Westminster Libraries; Paul Dalton, UK General Manager, Bibliotheca.

BIC Breakfast Slides – RFID Privacy in Libraries, July 2017

Click here to watch this event on YouTube.

June 2017 BIC BREAKFAST 

Metadata for Journals Discovery: What Publishers Need to Know

Tuesday 27th June 2017, 9-10:30am

With ever-increasing crossovers in content and product management, publishers are under pressure to communicate better to their customers and intermediaries about both their books and journals programmes. Journals and books (both physical and digital) can only be effectively sold and used if they are easily discoverable.

Despite the fact that journal and book metadata often tends to remain separate both within the publishing house and in library workflows, the goal is the same – make content discoverable and usable for library patrons. The same is true for an emerging class of journals or monograph offerings – so-called ‘open access titles’ that may not appear in the link resolver and other vendor systems designed for conventional, paid-for subscription products.

At this BIC Breakfast, publishers learnt about the key standards needed for journal metadata delivery and how they affect the discovery of products within libraries; the standards under discussion included KBART (for populating knowledge bases), ONIX-PC (the product catalogue format for journals) and ODI (the Open Discovery Initiative). Since some of these standards also apply to books, delegates were provided with information about new opportunities for discovery that they could report back to their organisation on.

Hosted by: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC

Our speakers included: Tim Devenport, Lead Consultant, Serials & Subscriptions Standards, EDItEUR; Henning Schoenenberger, Director Product Data & Metadata, SpringerNature; and Magaly Bascones, KB+ Service Manager, JISC.

BIC Breakfast Slides – Metadata for Journals Discovery, June 2017

Click here to watch this event on YouTube.

May 2017 BIC BREAKFAST 

Accessibility in Publishing: Creating an Inclusive Future for All

Tuesday 23rd May 2017, 9-10:30am

Over 2 million people in the UK live with sight loss, of which approximately 360,000 are registered with their local authority as blind or partially-sighted. In addition, over 10% of people worldwide have a print disability. It is predicted that by 2020 the number of people with sight loss in the UK will rise to over 2,250,000 and by 2050, the current number will have almost doubled to nearly four million. Clearly, the book industry has a key role to play in ensuring that the products it produces are accessible to all and available for consumption in a variety of inclusive formats. 

In 2016, BIC hosted a presentation by the DAISY Consortium about accessible publishing and the Marrakech treaty as part of the New Trends in Publishing Seminar. This BIC Breakfast will provided an update on this crucial topic, investigating both the challenges of and advancements in accessible publishing in recent years. It addressed what organisations should be doing to ensure that they are meeting the requirements of this important but relatively untapped demographic and the fundamental reasons for doing so. 

We heard the latest from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) about the difference that accessible products can make to blind and partially-sighted peoples’ lives; Dorling Kindersley provided an update on the production of physical, accessible products (including a peek at their recent children’s braille series); and EDItEUR explained what accessibility really means in relation to producing digital products, including a look at the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and how ONIX can help to express information about your products’ accessibility features.

Hosted by: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC

Our speakers included: Robin Spinks, Senior Strategy Manager, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB); Charlotte Oliver, Senior Producer, Dorling Kindersley; and Chris Saynor, Standards Editor, EDItEUR

BIC Breakfast Slides – Accessibility in Publishing, May 2017

March 2017 BIC BREAKFAST 

Territorial Sales Rights in Metadata: Rest Of the World (ROW) is Not Enough

Tuesday 28th March 2017, 9-10:30am

Most often when publishers speak about ‘rights’ they are referring to publishing rights, i.e. the rights that a publisher acquires (directly or indirectly) from an author in order to sell a work. It is unlikely instead that they are referring to territorial sales / distribution rights, i.e. where the publisher chooses to / exercises the right to make a product available (to distributors, wholesalers and retailers). Although territorial sales rights derive from publishing rights, it is the former which is of fundamental importance with regards to metadata. A correctly expressed territorial sales rights data element will help ensure that your books are distributed / sold in the appropriate regions for the rights acquired.

The expression of territorial sales rights in metadata and the dissemination of this information are fundamental to the book industry supply chain however this process frequently causes issues for all stakeholders. The responsibility for supplying complete territorial sales rights, and expressing this information fully, in a consistent format, lies with publishers. ONIX for Books (particularly ONIX 3.0) helps publishers to fulfil this requirement, describing territorial sales rights in a detailed and structured way.

Delegates attended this BIC Breakfast on Tuesday 28th March 2017 to learn how incorrect metadata for territorial sales rights can adversely affect their organisations and the entirety of the book supply chain, including publishers, distributors and retailers. They heard from a publisher, a retailer and an eBook distributor about the challenges of providing / ingesting / using this data, what best practice in this area constitutes and what can happen when incorrect information is delivered into the chain.

Hosted by: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC

Our speakers included: John Bell, Lead Analyst, Publishing Technology, HarperCollins Publishers; Lindsey Mooney, Content Lead, Kobo UK; and Katherine Berners, Client Integration Specialist, Ingram Content Group.

BIC Breakfast Slides – Territorial Sales Rights in Metadata, March 2017

Click here to watch this event on YouTube.

February 2017 BIC BREAKFAST 

Knowing your Rights: The Challenges of Book Rights in a Changing & Increasingly Digital Landscape

Wednesday 22nd February 2017, 9-10:30am

Sponsored by:  

In recent years, the selling of rights has changed dramatically. The growing number of available book formats and delivery options plus the expansion of global market opportunities have all facilitated an increase in the value of rights income. The sale of physical books and journals has shifted to the sale of content in multiple formats with a finer division of regional rights becoming the de-facto standard.

This BIC Breakfast – which took place on Wednesday 22nd February 2017 – provided an update on the challenges of selling rights in the book industry supply chain as it currently stands. With a stellar line-up of speakers, this event discussed how the selling of rights has changed in recent years, which organisation types are experiencing this change (i.e. trade and/or STM), and how technology and appropriate tools can help to leverage the opportunities created by digital publishing. 

The following delegates benefitted from attending this event: publishers, those involved in rights (including directors, Rights Managers and Rights Executive), Sales Managers, Literary Agents and Rights Agents. 

Hosted by: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC

Our speakers included: Lynette Owen, Copyright & Rights Consultant; Diane Spivey, Group Contracts Director, Hachette UK; and Michael Healy, Executive Director of International Relations, Copyright Clearance Center.

BIC Breakfast Slides – Knowing your Rights, February 2017

January 2017 BIC BREAKFAST 

The BIC Product Data Excellence Award (PDEA) Accreditation Scheme & the Importance of Metadata for Discovery & Sales in a Digital Age

Thursday 26th January 2016, 9-10:30am 

In 2012, Nielsen Book’s White Paper: The Link Between Metadata & Sales demonstrated the benefits of providing complete, appropriate and timely metadata on book sales. The long-awaited revision of this notable report: The Importance of Metadata for Discoverability and Sales will be published in early 2017 and BIC is one of the key sponsors of this report. The BIC Product Data Excellence Award (PDEA) Accreditation Scheme underpins the provision and dissemination of complete, timely and appropriate metadata in the book supply chain.

This BIC Breakfast demonstrated how discoverability and sales are both positively impacted by complete, appropriate and timely metadata, and provided a brief introduction to BIC’s PDEA Accreditation Scheme. We heard from Clive Herbert, Head of Publisher Services at Nielsen Book Discovery, about the key benefits of supplying metadata and its relation to the improved discoverability of your books. Karina Luke, Executive Director of BIC, explained how the BIC PDEA Accreditation Scheme can help publishers improve their data quality for the benefit of their trade customers and consumers, and what gaining an award  on this Scheme demonstrates to your trading partners. Mark Scott, Sales Director of Jessica Kingsley Publishers (JKP), talked about the PDEA Accreditation Scheme’s application process and what it feels like to gain an award. 

All publishers, large and small, were encouraged to attend this event to learn more about the benefits of good, timely and comprehensive metadata and how that aids discoverability in this digital age. 

Hosted by: Karina Luke, Executive Director, BIC

Our speakers at this event included: Clive Herbert, Head of Publisher Services, Nielsen Book Discovery; Karina Luke, Executive Director, BIC; and Mark Scott, Sales Director, Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

BIC Breakfast Slides – The BIC PDEA Accreditation Scheme & the Importance of Metadata for Discovery & Sales in a Digital Age, January 2017

November 2016 BIC BREAKFAST 

BIC Realtime: Standards for Instant Business Message Exchange

Thursday 24th November 2016, 9-10:30am

Released in April 2016, BIC Realtime is a suite of 19 business APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) created for retailers, suppliers and data providers in order to enable immediate data exchange and facilitate instant two-way communications relating to product metadata, ordering, fulfilment, finance and returns.

This new set of XML standards has been developed to enhance existing EDI capabilities or for use as a modern alternative for new implementations within the book trade through the use of additional messages alongside traditional electronic data exchange. Using XML web communications, businesses will now be able to communicate with trading partners quicker and more effectively, getting real time replies to requests rather than having to depend on processing of data transactions in batches.

The standard business APIs now available via BIC Realtime are quick to develop, install and test. Additionally, businesses can deploy BIC Realtime solutions much more cost-effectively than traditional EDI, and trading partners will be able to support and communicate via BIC Realtime APIs swiftly and without weeks of testing.

Delegates attended this BIC Breakfast on 24th November 2016 to find out why organisations should adopt BIC Realtime APIs now and to hear directly from book industry professionals that have been involved in BIC Realtime since its inception; two of our speakers work for organisations that have already implemented BIC Realtime APIs into their systems and were therefore able to give a first-hand account of the benefits and the difference automation has made to their teams.

Hosted by: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC

Our speakers at this event included: John Garrould, ‎Head of Information Technology, Bertram Group and Chair of the BIC Realtime Task & Finish Working Group; Francis Cave, Consultant, Francis Cave Digital Publishing; and Simon Pallant, Digital & I.T. Services Manager, Gardners Books Ltd.

BIC Breakfast Slides – BIC Realtime: Standards for Instant Business Message Exchange

Click here to watch this event on YouTube.

October 2016 BIC BREAKFAST 

UK Legal Deposit & Digital Publishing: Progress to Date & 
Next Steps

Wednesday 26th October 2016, 9-10:30am

2013 saw the introduction of regulations to enable the UK legal deposit libraries to collect, archive & preserve non-print publishing. Since then many UK publishers have seen the benefit in transitioning to a digital legal deposit model. This latest BIC Breakfast, hosted by the British Library will update attendees on the progress made to date. We will hear from Huw Alexander, Digital Sales Manager at Sage on his experience of transitioning to a purely e-book legal deposit model and from Linda Arnold-Stratford, Legal Deposit Libraries Liaison Officer, who will provide a Library perspective,  highlighting some of the issues faced and looking forward to the Government review of the regulations in 2017/18. Andrew Davis, Legal Deposit Publisher Relations manager at the BL will also be in attendance to answer any practical questions publishers may have.  

The host was: Alaina-Marie Bassett, BIC

Speakers at this event included: Linda Arnold-Stratford, Legal Deposit Libraries Liason Manager, The British Library; Huw Alexander, Digital Sales Manager, SAGE Publishing; Andrew Davis, Legal Deposit Publisher Relations Manager.

BIC Breakfast Slides – UK Legal Deposit & Digital Publishing: Progress to date and next steps

Click here to watch this event on YouTube.

September 2016 BIC BREAKFAST 

Migrating to Thema – Making the Most of the Global Marketplace

Tuesday 27th September 2016, 9-10:30am

Sponsored by:  

In a market that is inundated with metadata and so focussed on achieving discoverability, what can publishers do to help their books reach their desired, key audience in the global marketplace? Part of the answer is Thema – the book industry’s international subject categorisation scheme.

Released in November 2013, Thema is a multilingual, international scheme designed to meet the needs of publishers, retailers and trade intermediaries in all sectors of the global book publishing business. It is managed by an international group of stakeholders and is free to use.Thema aims to enhance the merchandising, discoverability and potential sales of books by simplifying the communication of accurate and detailed subject information across international markets and reducing the need to maintain – and map between – numerous national subject schemes.

As the book industry strives to become ever more sophisticated in terms of discoverability, Thema is surely the next logical step towards enhancing your organisation’s performance on the global stage. Delgates attended this BIC Breakfast session on Tuesday 27th September 2016 to find out more about why their organisation should migrate to Thema now, the key advantages for publishers to do so, what should be considered during the migration process, and which organisations have migrated already. 

The host was: Alaina-Marie Bassett, BIC

Speakers at this event included: Howard Willows, Senior Manager of Data Development, Nielsen (and the Chair of the UK Thema National Group); and Azar Hussain, Head of Data, Faber & Faber.

BIC Breakfast Slides – Migrating to Thema: Making the Most of the Global Marketplace

Click here to watch this event on YouTube.

August 2016 BIC BREAKFAST

How Publishers Can Maximise the Potential of Library eBook Platforms 

Thursday 18th August 2016, 9-10:30am

Are you a publisher who is looking to broaden your sales, marketing, and distribution options? Do you want to generate greater revenue against your backlist or get a better grasp on the metadata needs of libraries where patronage can lead to purchases? Then it is critical to broaden your knowledge of library eBook platforms and their growing presence in the supply chain. 

Library eBook platforms are a relatively a new and growing aspect of the book industry supply chain and publishers that simply sign-on and upload eBook metadata to a library platform will not necessarily achieve success for their new partners or themselves automatically – this comes with knowledge, use, and experience of the platform and by gaining an understanding of what metadata the platforms require. Different schemes and sales models exist for frontlist and backlist titles. In addition, it is important to note that library eBook platforms are used by library systems that have different metadata needs than the retail supply chain, especially for MARC records.    

Delegates attended this BIC Breakfast to learn how library eBook platforms handle reporting (including usage of the platform for eBooks & the royalties involved), the types of sales models available to publishers, and their metadata needs.

The hosts were: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC and Jack Tipping, Publisher Relations Manager, Bowker.

Speakers at this event included: Mari Bergeron, Director of International Content Licensing, EBSCO Information Services; Robert Herring, eBook Content Development Manager, Dawson Books; and Aine Rice, Sales Director, ProQuest Books.

BIC Breakfast Slides – How Publishers Can Maximise the Potential of Library eBook Platforms

May 2016 BIC BREAKFAST 

Webscale Discovery: How Library-Users Find & Connect to Publishers’ Online Content

Developing an eBook platform and continuous improvement on the site uses valuable time and resources. How do users find out that their library has access to a publisher’s content? Webscale discovery solutions developed by library vendors such as EBSCO, OCLC, and ProQuest are now almost ubiquitous tools that not only search across libraries’ collections for articles, chapters, books, reports and other content, but also link directly to publishers’ and other content providers’ content – making library research a more seamless experience for users. More and more library users discover content within the webscale discovery search box and then transfer to the publisher’s platform to read and purchase content.

How does webscale discovery work? What is the experience like for library users? For librarians? How does this facilitate the mission of the library? How does it ultimately connect users to content, with no prior knowledge that the perfect item for their research even existed.

At May’s BIC Breakfast, our attendees obtained a greater understanding of the importance of webscale discovery products, the context in which they exist in the library market and their importance to users. Delegates saw exactly how these solutions work through a brief demo provided by Ex Libris.

The host was: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC

Speakers at this event included: Magaly Bascones, Jisc; Alan Oliver, ProQuest / Ex Libris; and Dominic Benson, Brunel University London

BIC Breakfast Slides – Webscale Discovery: How Library-Users Find & Connect to Publishers’ Online Content

FEBRUARY 2016 BIC BREAKFAST 

Mind the Gap: Best Practices & Common Errors in Bibliographic Metadata

In the ‘age of discoverability’, it is crucial for everyone in the book industry supply chain (regardless of their job role) to understand the importance of metadata and how metadata facilitates sales. Good metadata can make the difference between mediocre and good sales, and is the key to ensuring that your organisation’s books are discoverable, sellable and described as you want them to be on multiple platforms. 

February’s BIC Breakfast focused on best practices and common errors in bibliographic metadata within the book industry. Our speakers – including a data aggregator, a standards director and a retailer – illustrated some of the common errors they frequently find within the metadata they receive. Publishers attended this event to ensure that they are providing meaningful metadata to the best of their ability and are taking into account the end-user. 

Getting your books’ metadata right first-time is essential to ensure that your organisation’s books don’t get lost in the ‘gap’ – there is so much data out there, yours needs to be right to be successful. 

The host was: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC

Speakers at this event included: Graham Bell, Executive Director, BIC; Jack Tipping, Publisher Relations Manager, Bowker; Euan Hirst, Online Bookseller, Blackwell’s.

BIC Breakfast Slides – Mind the Gap: Best Practices & Common Errors in Bibliographic Metadata

JANUARY 2016 BIC BREAKFAST 

Thema: the International Book Subject Classification Scheme

Until recently, the subject classification of books for both UK and international consumption has presented many challenges – beyond the difficulty of the task itself. Retailers (both online and bricks & mortar), publishers and libraries have all had to deal with a plethora of nationally-focused subject classification schemes – such as BIC (UK), BISAC (US), WGS (Germany), CLIL (France), NUR (The Netherlands), to name but a few – few of which are easily interoperable.

Users found they had to set up numerous mappings to convert the various subject information they received into the version they could understand and use – all of which adds unnecessary cost and complexity, as well as degrading data quality and precision. It is obvious that international trade requires international standards, so that information can be communicated clearly and understood without conversion. Thema – the international book subject classification scheme – is the solution to this ongoing issue.

Released in October 2013, Thema is a flexible, accessible, international book classification scheme which reduces the need for scheme-to-scheme mapping, improves data quality and saves both time and money that is invested into the book subject classification process. It is a multilingual scheme with codes that are language-independent which means any value assigned is readily understood by the recipient; this greatly improves international merchandising, ensuring the discoverability of books and enhancing the likelihood of good sales in markets around the world.

January’s BIC Breakfast was aimed at book industry leaders and influencers. We invited a select audience to attend this event to gain background information on Thema, identify its uses and discuss its benefits. The audience members were approached to attend so that they could become a Thema Champion / Ambassador in the book industry and use their professional influence to promote and support the use of Thema in both their organisation and more widely in the book industry. Our 3 expert speakers, from key areas of the metadata supply chain (including a system provider and a data service provider / aggregator), provided their own perspectives on Thema illustrating the benefits of its usage to their organisation type. Between them, our speakers provided compelling evidence as to why your organisation should adopt Thema and promote its implementation and usage locally and globally.

We hope that the attendees felt as enthusiastic as we do after the BIC Breakfast and will now join us in championing the benefits of adopting and using Thema.

The host was: Alaina-Marie Bassett, Business Manager, BIC

Speakers at this event included: Howard Willows, Senior Manager – Data Development, Nielsen & the Chair of the Thema International Steering Group; Andrew Henty, Project Manager, Virtusales Publishing Solutions.

BIC Breakfast Slides – Thema – the International Book Subject Classification Scheme

A word about our sponsors…

Axiell provides end-to-end technology solutions to organisations that manage catalogues and collections. Working across the cultural sector with Libraries, Archives, Museums, Galleries, Academic Institutions and more, our innovative technology and services are used by 700+ customers in the UK, and 3,000+ worldwide.
www.axiell.co.uk 

Bowker is the world’s leading provider of bibliographic information management solutions designed to help publishers, booksellers, and libraries better serve their customers. The company is focused on developing various tools and products that make books easier for people to discover, evaluate, order, and experience. Bowker, the US ISBN agency, manages UK bibliographic data and delivers a comprehensive UK data source to book information researchers and buyers. 
www.bowker.co.uk 

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world’s greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library’s collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation and includes books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, photographs, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages.
www.bl.uk

Elsevier is a global information analytics company that helps institutions and professionals progress science, advance healthcare and improve performance for the benefit of humanity.
www.elsevier.com

The Klopotek Group develops innovative technologies and services inspiring publishing companies worldwide to embrace digital change. We contribute to the success of more than 350 publishers with more than 4,400 imprints, with over 14,000 users, in 140+ locations. 

Many of the world’s largest publishers are Klopotek customers, as they are confident they can rely on our powerful solution to manage their end-to-end business processes. 

We offer all types of publishers – whether STM, Legal & Tax, Trade, or Educational – flexible software support, tailored to their individual needs, to master current and future challenges.
www.klopotek.co.uk 

Nielsen Book is the leading information and research company in the book industry.  Its portfolio includes: business Intelligence, consumer research, discovery and commerce solutions. Nielsen Book provides unique identifiers; comprehensive, enriched bibliographic data; integrated services for book selection, electronic ordering and business messaging; it measures and analyses print and digital book sales and provides consumer research on purchasing behaviour and collects library borrowing data for UK public libraries.
www.nielsenbook.co.uk

Virtusales is a dynamic and rapidly expanding company who is working with some of the world’s leading publishers including Hachette, Penguin, Random House, Pearson Education, Pan Macmillan and Harvard University Press. Virtusales is dedicated to software development, implementation and consultancy, solely for the book publishing industry, primarily in the UK, USA, Australia and Europe.

Virtusales is growing and evolving to continue supporting its customers during this time of rapid change within the book publishing industry. Its leading edge, web-based technology, rapid development cycle of new functionality and close working relationships with its customers ensure that new challenges are handled quickly. Virtusales roadmap of new developments provides an advanced view of how software is being developed to support future needs.
www.virtusales.com


If you’re interesting in sponsoring a BIC Breakfast please contact: info@bic.org.uk