AAP/ALCTS Joint Ctte E-BOOKS Program at ALA

[Ann Okerson <aokerson@pantheon.yale.edu>]

(Please excuse cross-postings about this session, which will offer a
stimulating set of perspectives about electronic books from leaders 
in the publishing, authoring, and observer communities.)

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The E-book:  Crouching Dragon or Hidden Tiger?
Sponsored by the AAP/ALCTS Joint Committee and FOLUSA

Sunday, June 17, 2001
2:00 - 4:30 p.m. (ALA program says 2-4 but program runs to 4:30!!)
Continental Ballroom 5
San Francisco Hilton

Program Description:  No publisher or librarian is without a view of
E-books' fantastic opportunities -- or threats --  for the ways we earn
our livelihoods, serve customers, and interact together.  Sponsored by a
committee of librarians and publishers, this session presents five
nationally distinguished speakers from the author, industry, and library
communities to tantalize us with visions of the new environment and the
powerful creations that inhabit it.

Convener:

Ann Okerson, Yale University Library
ann.okerson@yale.edu

Speakers:

Kenneth Brooks, Publishing Dimensions, LLC
kbrooks@pubdimensions.com
"It's Not Your Father's Book...Anymore"

Mr. Brooks is President of Publishing Dimensions, a startup digital
content services company with the mission of providing innovative
solutions to assist publishers in generating revenue through evolving
digital content and rights channels.  He was formerly Vice President of
Digital Content at Barnes & Noble, Inc. and President of EP Ventures, Inc.
At Barnes & Noble, he founded a Philippines-based text conversion company;
a public domain publishing imprint; and a distribution-center based
print-on-demand operation.  He has held several senior management
positions in publishing, including Vice President of Operations,
Production, and Strategic Planning at Bantam Doubleday Dell, and Vice
President of Customer Operations at Simon & Schuster.  Prior to his entry
into publishing, Mr. Brooks was a Senior Manager in Andersen Consulting's
Logistics Strategy Practice.

James J. O'Donnell, University of Pennsylvania
jod@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
"In praise of Georges Perec"

Professor James J. O'Donnell is a widely published scholar of the history
and culture of the late antique Mediterranean world.  He is also a
recognized innovator in the use of networked information technology for
research and teaching.  He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania
since 1981 and has served there since 1996 as Vice Provost for Information
Systems and Computing.  His most recent book, Avatars of the Word:  From
Papyrus to Cyberspace (Harvard U. Press 1998), explores current
developments in education and publishing in a broad historical context.

Nora Rawlinson, Publishers Weekly
nora@pw.cahners.com
"E-Books: Changing the Business of Trade Publishing"

Nora Rawlinson is the Editor-in-Chief of Publishers Weekly, a position she
has held since 1992.  During her tenure she has refocused the magazine to
increase coverage of the book market, the business of publishing, and
technology (including a twice-monthly electronic publishing section).  She
also helped to launch the first Web site and e-mail newsletter for the
publishing business, PW Daily for Booksellers.  Under her direction, the
magazine has launched two additional electronic newsletters.  She is the
Editorial Director of Criticas (launched in Spring 2001 with sister
publications, Library Journal and School Library Journal) which covers
Spanish-language publishing.  She was formerly editor of Library Journal,
and before that reference librarian for the Baltimore County Public
Library System.  She has appeared on many radio and television shows
including "Charlie Rose," and "CBS This Morning."  She is a regular
commentator on the publishing business on CNNfn's "Biz Buzz," speaks often
on publishing issues, and was selected by Vanity Fair magazine as one of
the 200 most influential women in America, featured in the November, 1998
issue.

Richard Tam, CEO, iUniverse Inc.
richard.tam@iuniverse.com 
"Digital Infrastructure for a New Publishing Industry"

Richard Tam is Founder and CEO of iUniverse, the leading digital content
infrastructure provider for authors, publishers, corporations and
institutions.  iUniverse has a wide range of partnerships including Barnes
& Noble, Hungry Minds Inc., Microsoft Press, PricewaterhouseCoopers and
Publishers Group West.  iUniverse employs over 330 people worldwide and
has operations in Silicon Valley, Nebraska, New York, Washington and
Shanghai, China.  Richard is a holder of five US patents and has over 20
years of experience in the semiconductor, computer, and data storage
industries. He has also served as faculty member of the MBA program at
University of Phoenix Online.

Kate Wittenberg, Columbia University
kw49@columbia.edu
"Beyond the E-Book:  New Models for Scholarly Communication"

Kate Wittenberg is Director of the Electronic Publishing Initiative at
Columbia (EPIC) and Managing Director, Columbia Digital Knowledge
Ventures.  Kate serves as project director for the electronic publications
Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO), Columbia Earthscape, and the
Gutenberg-e online history project, and is also developing online
curriculum projects in the social sciences, humanities, sciences, and
medicine.  Her work focuses in particular on the creation of sustainable
business plans for digital scholarship and education, digital rights
management, collaborative organizational models, and the evaluation of use
and costs of scholarly and educational digital resources.  She is
developing new publishing, organizational and business models for the
development of scholarly resources in the digital environment and creating
relationships among scholars, technologists, publishers, and librarians
that move beyond the organizational and disciplinary categories within the
traditional university infrastructure.  


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