New Board Convenes for Fiscal Year 2014

The new slate of Bookbuilders of Boston board members and officers met at Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) on July 11, 2014. Here is our new roster:

Officers

Right Side (L-R): Bob Bethune,
Scott Meyers, James Taylor
Left Side (L-R): Tom Delano,
 John Rodzvilla, Chris Hartman.

Jamie Carter, CCC, President
Chris Hartman, Pearson Learning, First Vice President
Tom Delano, Vista Higher Learning, Second Vice President
Scott Payne, Edwards Bros. Malloy, Treasurer
Laura Wind, Bedford St. Martin's, Clerk

Board Members and Committees

Bob Bethune, Maple Press, Education
Michele Brennan, Bridgeport National Bindery, Membership
Tom Campbell, King Printing, Finance
Melissa Cerebi, VitalSource, Communications
Kate Elwell, MIT Press, Education
Scott Meyers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), Finance
Abby Mumford, Harvard University Press, Communications
Josh Read, Pearson Education, Membership
John Rodzvilla, Emerson College, Education
Sean Stanford, Quad/Graphics, Membership
David Stirling, Heinemann, Communications
James Taylor, Williams Lea, Finance


We also have a new office manager as of August 1, 2014: Becky Specht. Details will follow.

On screen, participating by Skype, is Laura Wind.
In the plaid shirt is David Stirling.

Among the topics discussed were maintaining relevancy in a changing industry landscape, and serving a constituency beyond Boston city limits. If YOU have ideas that the board should discuss, please submit them here.

New Cambridge Venue for Bookbuilders Casual Networking

This past week's casual networking event was held at UpStairs on the Square in Cambridge.

We had a warm welcome and a good turnout. Excellent drink service. And what a cute logo!

There were about 25 people gathered, and -sniff- I think I was the oldest among them. For a fresh perspective, I'll quote from one of our new prospective members, who sent me this after the event:
 

I walked away from the event with a MUCH better sense of what the publishing world is looking for in terms of qualifications, skills, etc. and where I may fit in. I also picked up on some key terms and the language of the industry.

 

I made a couple of good contacts ... and look forward to connecting and continuing my exploration.

 

We also have an unrelated DEAL to share in this post. Last week I received an email advertisement of a course being held by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) in New York. The event caught my attention because of the title: Book Metadata & ONIX: Practical Guidance and Best Practice. Since working for a book wholesaler and attending subsquent conferences, I came to feel that the importance of metadata has been understated in the Boston publishing community. The topic may have a different impact on textbooks, which have their own means of discoverability, but on the whole, metadata is critical for sales.

 

I am pleased to say that BISG will extend its member discount to all Bookbuilders members for this course (members: $449; nonmembers: $799). Please request a coupon code from info@bisg.org for this offer, and be sure to mention your membership in Bookbuilders of Boston. The original March 4 date is sold out, but there are still seats available for March 5. The course takes place at Random House in New York. Check it out--your career will thank you.