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Book Industry Study Group 2022 Annual Meeting

DEI

April 29, 2022

by Deb Taylor, Director, Business Development & Marketing

Conversations

A newcomer’s view from the BISG Annual Meeting

OOOH, I was going to see people without a Zoom frame! Did I remember how to do this? It’s been a minute.

It was Friday, April 22. 7:10AM and I was headed to The Harvard Club for the BISG Annual Meeting of Members, focused on how to Build Books Better.  The world has changed quite a bit over the last 2 years, including the publishing industry, right? I was eager to hear what the BISG members had to say about all that and more.

“Is it ever going to end?”

I listened as attendees commiserated about how the publishing industry seemed to be in an endless state of transformation and change. As the BISG members know, and will likely be the first to tell you, the publishing industry is never static. It is always changing. Sometimes due to things outside of its control, or slower in areas than some would like, but as a whole, this industry is one that evolves to meet the changing demands of time.

One thing that does not change, though, is the focus of BISG members to develop better ways to do things, to help the industry move forward to face those new demands, whatever they may be.

Technology

I want to focus on the word “develop” for a minute. Develop is associated with change, improvement, and growth, such as developing green buildings, or in technology, developing new platforms, sustainable methodologies or automated processes. Innovation and developing often go together, but are typically not the first words that someone outside of publishing will use to describe the publishing industry. Well, the BISG committee chairs definitely had something to say about that misperception. Rachel Comerford (Macmillan Learning), BISG Workflow Committee Chair, shared that it’s time to start thinking about publishing as a technology industry. 

I couldn’t agree more.

While digital workflows may seem like they’ve solved many of the biggest technology needs, there are still areas where many siloed, manual practices are still in play. I have to admit, I was surprised to hear about the challenges that Kris Kliemann (Kliemann & Company), the BISG Rights Committee Chair, discussed around researching and managing rights and permissions. There seems to be room for a bit of innovation there, and she definitely wants to see that the processes (so many people! so many steps!) for securing (and paying for) rights and permissions become more of a self-serve, web-based, intuitive experience.

There was a general consensus that publishers should be adopting a born accessible approach to their titles, too. This approach not only expands readership, but also lowers costs and reduces waste. It is, as most nodding heads appeared to agree, the right thing to do.

DEI

Which brings me to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). This is something that I am very passionate about and engaged in both personally and professionally. I am grateful and proud of the corporate commitment Westchester has made to DEI, and the work we do helping publishers produce content that is culturally responsive. As a white, middle-age professional woman who resides in the NYC suburbs (and also serves as a Board of Education trustee),  I am starting to realize and address my biases, recognize my position of privilege and influence, and am learning how I can help elevate those who are marginalized.  Key words here are “starting”, “recognizing” and “learning” as this is not easy, or comfortable. I was, literally, on the edge of my seat for the entire conversation led by Peter Berkery (Executive Director, Asoociation of University Presses), Shelley Husband (SVP, Government Affairs and Special Projects, Association of American Publishers) and Allison Hill (CEO, American Booksellers Association), as I was eager to hear how this historically and predominantly white industry was going to learn about DEI and facilitate change within the space. 

The good news is that there is a lot of great work starting to take place, including bylaw changes requiring a diversified Board of Directors, publishers seeking out more BIPOC authors, DEI leadership positions being added, along with fellowship programs that enable BIPOC students to learn about the publishing profession and ideally land permanent positions in scholarly publishing houses. 

What added to the authenticity of this conversation, was the recognition of the multiple failures and stumbles that have taken place. Peter Berkery talked about the low retention with the first round of fellows, and how the work with this program cannot end with placement. Supports and mentoring need to be established in order for these new fellows, who are landing in a company where they do not see colleagues or managers who look like them, to feel safe, confident and empowered to contribute and advance their careers. This includes training and resources for existing employees to learn about and manage their own biases and microaggressions too. Allison Hill made the point that mistakes will continue to happen, and that it is imperative to not only learn from them, but to keep on the journey. It is imperative for all of us, to be transparent, accept failure, build bridges, and most importantly, insist and persist, for a better publishing industry.

A Lifetime or Two 

I expected that a publishing meeting would include a good story or two, and I wasn’t disappointed. By the looks of the attendees – they weren’t disappointed either. Tom Clarkson started off the award ceremony taking us with him as he shared his lifelong journey in the publishing space and how his career intersected with Joe Gonnella, who received the Sally Dedecker Award for Lifetime Service. Joe continued to hold our attention with his own experiences and lifetime of amazing accomplishments. Two additional awards were also presented, the Industry Champion Award to Pat Payton of ProQuest and the Industry Innovator Award to Wattpad. It was certainly a wonderful way to end a meaningful and valuable meeting of the BISG members.

Onward!

One last word about BISG. All the committee chairs shared their continuing commitment to provide invaluable resources through webinars, best practice guides, brown bag (virtual) lunch roundtables, and more over this next year, to help break down siloes of knowledge and expand the capabilities for all publishers to build books better. The invites to participate in their virtual sessions were warm, authentic and encouraging, giving full permission to just “lurk”. I’m going to take them up on that.


Learn more about BISG’s programs, committees and other ways to become involved.


 

Filed Under: blog, Conferences, News Tagged With: accessibility, accessible publications, BISG, conferences, DEI, publishing, publishing workflows

July 29, 2021

compiled by Nicole Tomassi, Marketing & Conference Manager

2021 has been extremely productive for all of us here at Westchester, as the number of publishers we work with and the variety of project requirements we support for them continues to grow. Below are several of the highlights from the past few months:

Another successful publishing industry webinar with Publishers Weekly

Westchester and PW Publishing Now 21 panelistsApril began strongly, with our most highly attended webinar to date, hosted in partnership with Publishers Weekly. Jim Milliot, PW’s Editorial Director was the moderator for a wide-ranging discussion with four publishing industry thought leaders. The more than 500 attendees heard firsthand about how the panelists’ companies and their employees adapted to the multiple challenges 2020 created, including the supply chain issues we are all contending with in the industry, as well as what we might expect as we navigate through this year. We’ll be announcing details about our next event with PW soon, so stay tuned!

Westchester Education Services Webinars

Westchester Education Services State of K-12 Education 2021 webinarIn May and June, Westchester Education Services hosted two informative webinars that were each moderated by Kevin J. Gray, President and Chief Content Officer. “The State of K-12 Education in 2021”, focused on the impacts of the last year-plus on education at the school district level and what would be required to support successful outcomes for students as they prepare for the upcoming school year.

Westchester Education Services Emerging Trends in K-12 Education webinarThe “Emerging Trends in K-12 Education” webinar showcased three areas of learning that have experienced significant interest over the last year as there is increased understanding about how social-emotional learning, culturally responsive education, and career and technical education are all important facets of meeting students where they are in their education journey and supporting their learning goals.

Westchester Education Services CTE worksheet sampleWestchester Education Services expands into CTE

Speaking of Career and Technical Education, this past spring Westchester Education Services appointed Debbie Allen as Content Director for Career and Technical Education. Debbie leads a team of subject matter experts who draw upon their extensive experience in teaching CTE to create effective supplemental materials to serve students and teachers in several career pathways. To the right is one of the career exploration worksheets we developed to introduce students to the different types of jobs that are available in various career clusters.

Stationers Shortlist 2021It truly is an honor to be nominated

This May, we received the thrilling news that Westchester Education Services was shortlisted by The Stationers’ Company in the service development category for our Culturally Responsive Education Rubric Review process. We felt like winners to receive recognition from our industry peers in the UK’s livery company that has represented the needs and interests of publishing and media professionals for more than six centuries. Learn more about all the shortlisted entries and watch the awards ceremony.

Westchester Words podcast logoWestchester Words’ first season springs forth

The Westchester Words podcast debuted in March and really hit its stride this spring, when yours truly had the pleasure of speaking with more than a dozen professionals in education, ed tech, and publishing about a variety of subjects that are impacting these industries. You can find all of the episodes on your favorite streaming platform or at our websites, where we have posted additional content that some of our guests have been kind enough to share.

The final episodes of the first season are being released in the coming weeks. We’re planning our second season of episodes, so if there’s a topic you want to hear more about, get in touch.

print to digital imageEnsuring Content Compliance on Digital Platforms

If your preferred reading mode is digital, you probably know that Amazon sunset the ability to load or update mobi files for new or previously published content on their platform last month. In early May, Scott Keeney, Westchester’s Senior Composition and Digital Production Manager, wrote this informative blog post explaining how this also impacted reflowable ePubs and outlined how Westchester is well-prepared to support publishers with ePub3 files that meet the updated platform requirements.

Summer Reading 2021

Summer reading imageWhile some kids get chills up their spine when told they will have to read several books during the summer break and turn in book reports on the first day of school, I wasn’t one of them and I suspect many of you weren’t, either. Now that we’re all adults and can skip doing book reports, each May I ask my colleagues to tell me what books they plan to read during the quieter days of summer and they always impress me with their title selections. See what they picked for this summer’s reading pile, and let us know what’s on your list.

Looking Ahead imageLooking Ahead

We are thinking about the time when we’ll be able to safely gather in an in-person setting. Until then, stay connected with us by following our LinkedIn pages, subscribing to our YouTube channel, and looking for our email messages in your inbox, filled with information about the services and knowledge-packed webinars we offer to help you understand and respond to the developments that are shaping the publishing industry.

Westchester proudly supports more than 300 publishers in all sectors of the publishing industry with their editorial, production, design, and content development requirements. Read and download our case studies about the efficient and cost-effective solutions we have provided your peer publishers, and talk with us about our customizable workflows that output printer and POD-ready content files in the formats you need for your customers.

Wishing you an enjoyable, relaxing second half of the summer.

Filed Under: blog, Services Tagged With: Career and technical education, Content Compliance, CRE, CTE, DEI, Epub3, podcast, SEL, Stationers' Company, webinar, Westchester Words

July 17, 2020

by Nicole Tomassi, Marketing & Conference Manager

The staff at Westchester’s locations around the world are continuing to work remotely for their health and safety as well as that of their families. During this time, they have also been providing additional guidance for our customers as phases at other points in the publication project lifecycle are being impacted as a result of world events.

Regardless of whether we complete our work in an office or our homes, what remains consistent is our unwavering commitment to provide our clients with excellent service on every project they send to us. Read on to learn how each of our business units worked in various ways to support the evolving needs of our clients and industry colleagues during Spring 2020:

English language learning webinar

As students around the world shifted to a home-based learning environment practically overnight, one group requiring extra support were English language learners. Students learning an additional language benefit from in-person instruction that helps them obtain important communication concepts. Westchester Education Services’ Walter Henderson, Jr., moderated a webinar with language teaching experts in April that focused on how to support the needs of these students, and shared quality online language-learning resources that students could use while continuing their studies remotely.

Conferences Transform into Virtual Events

Event organizers who had in-person conferences planned for the spring had to make quick decisions, shifting from physical meeting spaces for delivering keynotes and conference content to platforms like Zoom and Skype. Chief Revenue Officer, Tyler M. Carey, wrote a blog post detailing how conferences serving the academic and university press sectors, including ALPSP UP Redux and AUP adjusted their content and delivery methods to keep their members informed.

How Westchester Supports Publishers

Download Services Checklist

Over the last four months, you’ve likely had to adapt some of your publication processes as a result of your staff working from home. Westchester has experience with creating workflows for our clients based on their project requirements, and we’ve received many inquiries about handling tasks that are further upstream or downstream in the editorial and production process. Read this case study about how we designed a custom workflow for West Margin Press, and review our services checklist to see all the ways that Westchester can help you.

 

Westchester Education Services participate in two SIIA panels

The Software and Industry Information Association (SIIA) Education Technology Conference originally scheduled for two days in June, was another conference that revised its format to virtual sessions, which took place over the course of three weeks in May and early June. Westchester Education Services President and Chief Content Officer, Kevin J. Gray, was the moderator for the session, “Haven’t We Seen This Before? Lessons Learned”. The knowledgeable panel of education industry experts provided guidance to the audience about what is working with remote learning and where improvements are needed to support students and their families. Kevin was also a panelist for the session “Product Paths to Support Learning”, that explored how educational publishers and ed-tech providers are adjusting their products and services to meet learners where they are in remote learning environments. (SIIA login may be required to view sessions)

Use the Client Portal to streamline project management

Having an easy to use, secure project management platform that helps you see the status of every project and each asset associated with it can save you from the hassle of lots of emails, and phone calls to track important information down while you and your staff are working remotely. This video overview of the key features of our award-winning Client Portal shows how efficient project management can be. After you watch it, get in touch with us to learn how it can be customized to your requirements.

IPG Virtual Spring Conference

Like the US, the UK conference calendar was upended, most notably with the London Book Fair completely scrapped for 2020. The Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) Conference originally planned as a one day event at the beginning of May transitioned to a 2 day virtual conference hall at the beginning of June. Westchester Publishing Services UK was an exhibitor at this first of its kind event for the IPG. Prior to the conference, UK Managing Director, Tim Davies, shared a video to IPG members about how Westchester supports independent publishers in challenging times and potential longer-term impacts for the industry.

Westchester Education Services forms DEI Committee

The need for increased representation in the publishing industry is very topical due to current events, and something that Westchester has been incorporating into our recruitment efforts for staff and freelance resources for a longer time. In March, the Education Services team unveiled a DEI Mission Statement that includes action items for creating and nurturing a diverse talent base. In June, we announced the formation and membership of a DEI Committee, who are responsible for developing goals and guiding the strategies to ensure an inclusive and equitable working environment for everyone. Later this summer, we will be hosting a webinar about measurable steps that publishers and ed-tech providers can implement within their business. While we still have more ground to cover in our own organization to achieve full equity, we believe it is important to work together with our industry partners so we can all develop best practices that help everyone attain this goal.

An out of this world Nibbies

The British Book Awards, known by their nickname the Nibbies usually holds a formal gala event to recognize publishers and authors that have had a significant impact on the British publishing industry during the previous year. Westchester Education Services sponsored the Academic, Educational and Professional Publisher of the Year category which was awarded in late June, While we couldn’t be there in person to congratulate the winner, having an astronaut make the announcement is a pretty cosmic way to share the news. Watch the publisher shortlist and winner announcement in this video, courtesy of The Bookseller.

Stay connected with Westchester

Stay in the know about the different products and services Westchester offers, including topical webinars by following our LinkedIn pages for Westchester Publishing Services and Westchester Education Services. To make sure we’re delivering content that’s relevant, take this one-minute survey to let us know what topics you would like Westchester to provide presentations about.

Everyone at Westchester hopes that you, your family and your colleagues will continue to stay safe and in good health. Our entire team stands ready to help our customers, our partners and others within the industry with editorial, production, and project management tasks related to your publishing program. We invite you to give us a call, send an email, or visit our website to learn more.

Filed Under: blog, News, Services Tagged With: Client Portal, DEI, ELL, IPG, SIIA, webinar, Westchester Education Services, Westchester UK

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