Dear IDPF Members,

 

Over the last two years, we have begun to see significant advances in the evolution of digital publishing including e-formats, metadata refinement and adoption, DRM expansion, and other related services across publishing sectors. The industry has moved from the questioning and second guessing of the last decade to reluctantly adopting and ultimately embracing the move forward into the digital age. While most have a way to go, timid moves have started giving way to bolder ones in areas like enacting XML-first production methods, to more serious efforts to convert greater numbers of titles to eBook formats.

The IDPF continues to have a very important role of providing a platform for publishers, retailers and technology providers to come together on standards and business practices to support the in this new environment.  With increasing numbers of announcements of support of EPUB, it is becoming important to encourage new tools and business practices to take advantage of the standard.  It is also becoming increasingly obvious that a more integrated approach to DRM is required to support continued consumer adoption. And that there are still populations that aren’t being adequately served by the commercial eBook industry including visually impaired consumers and students at most levels. During my last term as an IDPF board member I’ve been actively pushing for consideration of these and other issues by the working groups and membership.

 

As head of global production and manufacturing services at Cengage Learning (formerly Thomson Learning), I continue to believe that I am ideally positioned to serve on the IDPF board to further the goals of the organization. Since I rejoined the board two years ago, I have led a dynamic group at Cengage in the following new initiatives that parallel the evolving technology mentioned above:

·         Creation of the Gale Virtual Reference Library with over 5,000 OEB-formatted titles across a number of publishers.

·         Participation in the AAP Critical Issues Task Force leading to ready access by disabled students to accessible versions of our titles

·         Implementation of discipline-specific taxonomies and metadata to index all of our learning and reference content.

·         Preparation of thousands of titles for distribution in EPUB and other formats

 

For the IDPF to prosper, it must become relevant to all sectors of publishing and represent the needs of a wide variety of constituencies. Through board membership I would personally bring a number of those perspectives to bear and continue to work to broaden the role of the IDPF to other areas of publishing. At the same time I would not lose sight of the needs of the trade book industry that has done so much to bring the IDPF to where it is today.

 

I would greatly appreciate being considered for board membership and would be honored by your vote.

 

Sincerely,

Ken Brooks

SVP, Global Production and Manufacturing Services

Cengage Learning

 

Return to Candidates List