BookNet Canada Technology Forum 2007:

• Understand the landscape: What is the current state of technology, and who are the players?
• Identify the opportunities: What are the trends in consumer demand? What should book companies be doing now to get ready?
• Manage your risk: What are the challenges, pitfalls, and controversies inherent in digitization?
• Start the conversation: In an era of change, what kind of industry do we want to foster, and how do we get there?

Who Should Attend the Conference?

If you work in publishing, book retail, media, internet services, or a publishing-related government or not-for-profit agency, this is a prime opportunity to join peers from across the country for education, discussion, and networking.

Key topics

• Are eBooks a revolution in the making, or a solution in search of a problem?
• How will market forces and demographic changes affect the rise of digital content?
• Print-on-demand - When does it work, and who does it work for? How could it work in Canada?
• What changes can we expect to traditional business models and revenue streams?
• How will these changes affect copyright, authorship, and cultural policy?
• What can we learn from other cultural industries that are in the midst of digital transformation?

In addition to our full plenary sessions, break-out sessions will allow for a more in-depth look at two crucial areas of digitization and books: eBooks and print-on-demand.

Pre-Conference Program

Tuesday, March 20

1:00-1:10 pm	Welcome by Michael Tamblyn, CEO, BookNet Canada
1:10-3:00 pm	SalesData Training with Jackie Fry, BookNet Canada Designed to help you get the most from your sales and inventory data. This session will also highlight SalesData's new features, including saving, sharing and e-mailing reports, and peer-to-peer consolidated views.
3:00-3:15 pm	Break
3:15-4:00 pm	Prospector Training with Noah Genner, BookNet Canada This is an introductory session to BookNet Canada's data-mining tools for independent bookstores - both for retailers who are interested in getting the most from BNC SalesData, and for publisher sales reps who want to increase sales through collaborative analysis.
4:00-4:45 pm	ONIX Inspector and ONIX Converter Training This session provides an overview of our low-cost, low-tech approach to creating and sending ONIX. Do you have Excel and a browser? Then you're about to become Silver-certified with the help of our ONIX tools. They're quick, easy and, best of all, free.

BNC Technology Forum 2007: Conference Program

Wednesday, March 21

PLENARY SESSIONS

9:00-9:45 am	Keynote Address Tom Wujec, Fellow and Principal Consultant, Autodesk; co-author, Return on Imagination: Realizing the Power of Ideas; author, Five Star Mind and Pumping Ions Why should the publishing industry invest in innovation? What is really driving the growing need to innovate? And how can publishers, retailers, and industry partners innovate more effectively and efficiently? Tom Wujec answers these questions in an exciting, informative presentation about the real-world art and science of creating new ideas and bringing them to reality.
9:45-11:00 am	Market Forces: Driving Digital Demand Digitization has been a "five years from now" trend for ten years or more. Has the other shoe finally dropped? Are there larger forces at work that are creating a new kind of demand for digital content? In this session you'll hear from two industry experts about the key economic and consumer-based sociological factors that are combining to impact publishing's future. Panelists Steve Mossop, Ipsos Reid Thaddeus McIlroy, Arcadia House Moderator Michael Tamblyn, BookNet Canada
11:00-11:15 am	Break
11:15am-12:00 pm	Reading Ahead: eBook Devices and the Paperless Page eBooks are a rapidly changing technology, with Sony, iRex, and Adobe leading the way. Are today's eBook readers as user-friendly and easy on the eyes as their manufacturers claim them to be? Which format makes the most sense for the reading public - and will those readers take the bait? In this "show and tell" panel, three leading technology vendors describe their visions of paperless reading and why they believe consumers are ready. Panelists Jeffrey Paleczny, iRex Daniel Albohn, Sony Bill McCoy, Adobe Moderator Michael Tamblyn, BookNet Canada
12:00-1:00 pm	Lunch & Product Show

BREAK-OUT SESSIONS: TRACK I (PRINT-ON-DEMAND)

1:00-1:45 pm	The Print-on-Demand Revolutionaries We present iconoclastic thinkers who see print on demand as a force of creative disruption that will invigorate the industry. This foundation shaking could mean the end of publishing as we know it and a new model where the rules for retailing are re-imagined. Is it familiar hype – or a new hope? Panelists Scott Mitchell, Lulu.com Jason Epstein, On Demand Books Moderator Alana Wilcox, Coach House Books
1:45-2:30 pm	Canada on Demand Michael Tamblyn, CEO of BookNet Canada, presents the results of a study designed to assess the opportunity for print-on-demand services in Canada. How many titles in the Canadian market are POD candidates? What are the opportunities and challenges for Canadian publishers attempting to realize the benefits of POD? Who are the vendors? What do they offer?
2:30-3:15 pm	Print-on-Demand Vendor Panel There are plenty of solution providers out there: dedicated POD firms, traditional printers with new digital capabilities, and a bewildering array of sales, marketing, and distribution options. This panel presents some of the most prominent names in demand-based production, letting you compare and contrast different approaches, options, and business models. Panelists David Taylor, Lightning Source John Lacagnina, ColorCentric Manfred H. Breede, Ryerson University Moderator Michael Tamblyn, BookNet Canada
3:15-3:30 pm	Break

BREAK-OUT SESSIONS: TRACK II (eBookS)

1:00-1:45 pm	Publishers Off the Page: eBook Strategies What decisions are involved in developing and implementing digitization? How do you decide which books should be released as eBooks, and in which format to release them? What sales trends are publishers seeing in terms of eBooks - i.e, are some genres selling better than others? In this session, three publishers from across the spectrum - trade, educational, and mass market - share their digital publishing strategies and their visions for the future. Panelists Malle Valik, Harlequin Gwen Jones, John Wiley & Sons Craig Miller, LibreDigital on behalf of HarperCollins Moderator Diane Davy, Castledale Inc.
1:45 to 2:30 pm	Digitization Standards Deciding how to store digital assets means making big bets on an uncertain future. Technology experts - not to mention the companies and organizations that employ them - face a tangle of decisions: proprietary vs. open-source, DRM vs. open access, file formats, archiving, conversion. The debate is a crucial one for publishers when it comes to digitizing their content. This session attempts to set out what publishers need to keep in mind, how it can be done, and how much (or how little) it can cost. Panelists Mike Smith, Harlequin Mike Shatzkin, Idea Logical Tyler Ruse, codeMantra Moderator Tim Middleton, BookNet Canada
2:30 to 3:15 pm	The Search Debate With the help of companies like Google and Microsoft, libraries and universities across North America - indeed, around the world - have jumped on the digital search and archiving bandwagon. At the same time, some publishers are using search engine services to promote titles and reach new customers in new ways. What lessons can providers and users share with publishers when it comes to deciding whether to digitally index their content? This panel addresses the important issues of whether to make your content searchable, how to choose between an out-sourced solution and developing the infrastructure in-house, and what the decision-making process looks like. Panelists Carole Moore, University of Toronto Library Chet Grycz, Internet Archive Moderator Loren Fantin, Knowledge Ontario
3:15-3:30 pm	Break

PLENARY SESSIONS

3:30-4:15 pm	Lessons Learned: Digitization and "Other Media" For a variety of reasons, books are the last major media format to make the transition to digital, lagging behind music, magazines, and television. The good news is that this gives publishers the opportunity to learn from the experience of others. What lessons should other industries share about their digitization efforts? What should publishers do - and not do - to ensure that their digital initiatives result in a win-win-win situation for themselves, for retailers, and for consumers? Panelists Jennifer Evans, Sequentia Danielle Parr, Entertainment Software Association Canada Craig Miller, LibreDigital (division of Newsstand) Moderator Rosemarie Shannon, Kids Can Press
4:15-5:15 pm	The Fight over Copyright In what promises to be an interesting and lively debate, our legal and technology experts will discuss one of the most important and least agreed-upon issues in the digital realm: the balance between privacy and piracy, between digital rights management and easy access to digital content, between an author's right to protect intellectual property and a consumer's chafe against restriction, between protection and convenience. When it comes to copyright, is it the letter of the law that should remain paramount, or the free exchange of ideas? Which standard holds true in today's environment - and which should hold true in tomorrow's? Panelists Ren Bucholz, EFF Abraham Drassinower, Torys Barry Sookman, McCarthy Tetrault Olivier Charbonneau, Concordia University Libraries Moderator Roanie Levy, Access Copyright
5:15-6:15 pm	Wine & Cheese Reception

Program Bios

Daniel Albohn is Manager of New Business Development for the Sony Reader and led the company's initial assessment of the opportunity for "e-books" and "e-reading," prospects for a dedicated reading device and the associated content strategy for the first generation of electronic ink displays.

Manfred H. Breede started his career in the printing industry as an apprentice in Hamburg, Germany. He worked as a journeyman press operator for ten years in several European countries and in Canada before embarking on a career in education 39 years ago. Since that time he has taught technology subjects at the secondary school and University levels including at Ryerson University.

Ren Bucholz is based in Toronto, Ontario, where he works on international policy issues for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Before EFF, Ren managed a noncommercial radio station and worked for one of the first Internet broadcasters. He has also helped start a political action committee that works on many of EFF's issues.

Olivier Charbonneau is a Business Librarian at Concordia University, specializing in accountancy, management information systems and management science. As a tenure track faculty member, he is interested in the entertainment industry, primarily digital copyright concerns as well as comic books, graphic novels and French bande dessinée.

Diane Davy is the President of Castledale Inc., a consulting firm specializing in business and marketing strategies for the cultural industries, with the emphasis on book and magazine publishing. She is on the faculty at Humber College Creative Book Publishing Course and is the former President of Key Porter Books Ltd.

Abraham Drassinower is Counsel to Torys, providing advice on copyright and trademark matters, litigation support with a focus on patent litigation, and licensing and privacy matters. He is a tenured professor of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, where he teaches intellectual property law.

Jason Epstein has led one of the most creative careers in book publishing of the past half century. He has worked in book publishing for more than 40 years, founding Anchor Books, the New York Review of Books, the Library of America, and the Readers Catalog. His current venture is On Demand Books, home of the Espresso Machine printer.

Jennifer Evans is a Toronto-based entrepreneur, writer, and technophile and the president of Sequentia Communications, recently ranked as Canada's 27th fastest growing emerging company by the PROFIT Hot 50. Jen's expertise includes communications and marketing strategy development, online community building strategy and execution.

Loren Fantin is the Project Manager for OurOntario.ca, a collaborative initiative to create seamless and integrated access to our cultural heritage content across Ontario.

Chet Grycz has worked in the area of scholarly publishing and scholarly communication for almost 30 years. Currently, Grycz is a consultant on issues related to electronic information and distributed network technology. He is the author of three books and is the 1997 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Scholarly Publishers.

Gwen Jones is a part of the team at John Wiley & Sons.

John Lacagnina is the founder and President of ColorCentric Corp. Mr. Lacagnina was most recently the President of Corporate Document Solutions (CDS). Before CDS, Mr. Lacagnina co-founded Electronic Demand Publishing, Inc. Mr. Lacagnina has presented at many international conferences on document management and demand printing technologies.

Roanie Levy is an intellectual property lawyer and one of Canada's leading experts on collective copyright management. Roanie is the Director of Legal Affairs and Government Relations for Access Copyright, The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, and has worked for the Departments of Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada on a range of copyright and patents issues.

Bill McCoy is the General Manager of ePublishing Business at Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Thaddeus McIlroy is an electronic publishing analyst and author, and president of Arcadia House, based in San Francisco and Toronto. A well-established expert in the technology and marketing issues surrounding electronic publishing, color imaging and the Internet, he has authored a dozen books and over 180 articles on these subjects.

Craig Miller has more than 17 years of experience in strategic product development and marketing in the hi-tech sector. His responsibilities at LibreDigital include management of the LibreDigital Division and NewsStand corporate business development.

Scott Mitchell is a member of the team at Lulu.com.

Carole Moore has been one of the major figures in Canadian library sciences ever since she became chief librarian at the University of Toronto in 1986. Prior to that, Moore, starting in 1968, worked in a variety of U of T library positions. Moore is one of North America's leading experts in the use of digital methods to preserve and disseminate our intellectual heritage.

Steve Mossop is President of Market Research Canada West for Ipsos-Reid (formerly the Angus Reid Group) and Ipsos Reid's most senior spokesperson on Internet and high-tech issues. Mossop is responsible for The Canadian Inter@ctive Reid Report, a quarterly subscriber-based report which monitors Canadian Internet behaviours and attitudes.

Jeffrey Palecnzy is President and Founder of Sextant Technology Inc. a business development and manufactures representative firm. Sextant Technology represents iRex Technology in the US and Canada and is responsible for business development of the electronic reading marketplace.

Danielle Parr is the Executive Director of the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC), the association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies that publish and distribute video and computer games. In 2002, she was featured in Maclean's magazine as one of Canada's top 25 "Leaders of Tomorrow."

Robb Richardson is the President of Ristech Company Inc. Located in Burlington Ontario; Ristech is a major Canadian distributor of automated digitization systems. Ristech implements production digital conversion systems where automation is a requirement. Ristech was recently selected by Kirtas Technologies to distribute their line of automated book scanners.

Tyler Ruse has been working in the digital content field for ten years. He has built numerous technology-driven production workflows for the digital publishing space, focusing on the convergence of print and digital content production. Mr. Ruse has been with codeMantra, LLC since June 2004.

Rosemarie Shannon is a pioneer in children's interactive media. Following many years in a lucrative business-to-business relationship with Kids Can Press, Rosemarie was brought into the company where she led the company's transition from a traditional book production process to a digital production process and developed effective digital asset management standards.

Mike Shatzkin is the Founder & CEO of The Idea Logical Company. He has four decades of experience as a published writer and working in all aspects of the publishing industry -- writing, editing, agenting, selling, marketing, and managing production. He is well known for providing insight into the knottiest questions of the industry, old and new.

Mike Smith is the Prepress Specialist/Typesetting Services at Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd.

Barry Sookman is a partner with McCarthy Tétrault. He is the Co-Chair of its Technology Law Group. He is also the former head of its Internet and Electronic Commerce Group. Prior to that he was head of its Intellectual Property Group for 6 years. He is one of Canada's foremost authorities in the area of information technology and intellectual property law.

David Taylor joined Lightning Source UK in June 2003 as Business Development Director is currently Senior Vice-President, Global Sales, Lightning Source Inc and Managing Director, Lightning Source UK Ltd. He has over 20 years of experience in the UK and international book trades in a wide variety of roles.

Malle Vallik is the Editorial Director of Harlequin's New Business Development department.

Alana Wilcox is the senior editor at Coach House Books, an independent literary publisher of innovative fiction and poetry in Toronto, and she is currently serving as chair of the Literary Press Group.

Tom Wujec is a Fellow and Principal Consultant at Autodesk, the Oscar winning industry leader in 3D computer animation technology. He has brought several award-winning products to market and is co-author of Return on Imagination: Realizing the Power of Ideas, published by the Financial Times, and author of Five Star Mind and Pumping Ions, which have been translated into over a dozen languages.