Big Year for BISG

by Jim Milliot, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 10/14/2005

The preview of its used book study was just one event of the Book Industry Study Group’s 2005 annual meeting, held late last month. The meeting drew more than 200 industry members, more than triple the number that attended the annual meeting in 2003. The higher attendance reflects an increased vibrancy within the industrywide organization, which had a net gain of 14 new members in the year, pushing the number of active members up to 163.

The organization's finances also showed improvement in the fiscal year that ended June 30, with total receipts up to $683,463, and net income up 22%, to $146,163. In fiscal 2002, BISG had a loss of $97,800 on revenue of $310,000. Increases in membership dues and sales from publications and programs were both up solidly in the year.

Jeff Abraham, who took over as executive director of BISG three years ago, attributed the revitalization of the organization to the decision to focus on services that can benefit all parties in publishing, from publishers to librarians. With the issue of industry standards rising to the fore in the industry, BISG is in the position to "act as an honest broker between publishers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers and manufacturers."

Among the initiatives spearheaded by BISG in the last year was the creation of a task force dedicated to helping the industry deal with the move to the 13-digit ISBN, and Abraham sees GDSN (Global Data Synchronization Network) as an important issue for fiscal 2006. GDSN can help retailers, publishers and distributors develop a more efficient supply chain. And to make sure it keeps up with the ongoing needs of its membership, BISG has formed a committee to plot its direction for the next three years.