The Panorama Project is leading a major consumer research initiative designed to measure media engagement and buying behaviors across key formats and platforms, including reading, streaming, and gaming: Immersive Media & Reading 2020. The first wave of data collection has been completed and offers some interesting insights into consumer behaviors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Panorama Project in the Spotlight at #ALAVirtual20
On Thursday, June 25, 2020, Panorama Project lead Guy LeCharles Gonzalez will be presenting a Spotlight Session at this summer’s ALA Virtual Conference on How to Measure the Value of Library Marketing on Book Discovery & Sales.
How Public Library Events Drive Discovery & Sales | Virtual BookExpo 2020
Panorama Project at PubWest 2020 in Portland, Oregon
Panorama Project Meeting at ALA Annual Draws Another Large Crowd
We drew another large crowd at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Washington, DC on June 23 for our one-hour session “Update from The Panorama Project: Addressing the Challenges for Library Digital Book Lending.”
Steve Potash, founder and CEO of Rakuten OverDrive, welcomed the 65-plus attendees and provided some background on the ideas and concerns that led to the creation of the Panorama Project over a year ago.
Sari Feldman (Executive Director, Cuyahoga County Library and former ALA President) delivered an update on critical issues regarding digital library lending, including recent changes in terms for digital use from two publishers. Sari called for all librarians to join the effort to gather and share data to show that “libraries build readership.”
Alexis Petric-Black (Senior Manager, Publisher Relations, Rakuten OverDrive) introduced Panorama Picks—our recently launched program that uses library demand data to reveal opportunities for booksellers, publishers, authors and libraries.
Sharon Bruni (Associate Director of Public Services, Mt. Lebanon Public Library) then presented the initial findings from the Project’s recent survey of Readers’ Advisory activities (see the session slides for details). The survey findings demonstrate the variety, volume and impact of library Readers’ Advisory activities on book/author discovery, brand development and sales.
Becky Spratford (librarian and founder of RA for All) closed the session with tips on how libraries can address the online and social media promotion opportunities surfaced in the initial survey results. Click here to read Becky’s blog post summarizing her talk. The post also includes lots of helpful links.
Click here to view and download the session slides.
Join Us at ALA Annual for an Update on Current Challenges for Library Digital Lending and a First Look at the Findings from our Readers Advisory Survey
The Panorama Project is hosting a session at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, June 23, from 1:00 - 2:00 PM (Room 152A at the Washington Conference Center).
Sari Feldman (Executive Director, Cuyahoga County Library and former ALA President) will provide an update on issues regarding digital library lending.
Sharon Bruni (Associate Director of Public Services, Mt. Lebanon Public Library) will present the initial findings from the Project’s recent survey of Readers’ Advisory activities.
Becky Spratford (librarian and founder of RA for All) will present tips on how libraries can address the online and social media promotion opportunities surfaced in the initial survey results.
Alexis Petric-Black (Senior Manager, Publisher Relations, Rakuten OverDrive) will present Panorama Picks, our recently launched program that uses library demand data to reveal opportunities for booksellers, publishers, authors and libraries.
It’s a packed session that will engage, inform and delight. We hope to see you there!
Our Book Expo 2019 Session on Readers’ Advisory and Panorama Picks Drew a Crowd
Over 175 people joined us at Book Expo 2019 in New York for our session, Learn How Public Libraries Impact Title/Author Discovery and Book Sales: Data-Driven Insights from the Panorama Project. It was an engaged audience of booksellers, vendors, publishers and librarians and we received positive reviews afterward.
Bill Kelly (Adult Programming Manager, Cuyahoga County Public Library) provided an update on the breadth of U.S. public libraries and how CCPL drives sales at its author events. In 2018 over 11,000 books were sold at 93 events—by the library and its independent bookselling partner, Mac’s Backs.
Alexis Petric-Black (Senior Publisher Relations Manager, Rakuten OverDrive) introduced Panorama Picks, our new program that reveals unmet demand for books and sales opportunities for booksellers. The program provides a series of regional lists of titles compiled from the wait lists for ebooks at local libraries. The initial lists are available now. Updated lists will be published on a quarterly basis. Click here to learn more and sign-up to be notified when new lists are published.
Book Expo panel members Cliff Guren, Bill Kelly, Alexis Petric-Black and Skip Dye
Skip Dye (VP of Library Marketing and Digital Sales and VP of Sales Operations, Penguin Random House) closed the session with insights on how PRH works with libraries to launch new authors and titles. With the longhand belief that library patrons are key influencers, PRH actively markets to library readers, in the library, in the library’s online platforms, and on a variety of social media sites. Skip is also a big believer in the power of print promotion in libraries: he noted that he’s often surprised how long the posters they distribute to libraries stay on the walls!
Click here to view and download the session slides.
Panorama Project Open Meeting Draws a Crowd at ALA Midwinter
Our open meeting at ALA Midwinter in Seattle drew quite a crowd—75 people joined us for an update on the project and a preview of our 2019 research plans. The session began with Steve Potash (Founder & CEO, Rakuten OverDrive) speaking about the ongoing need for objective data that can help educate the publishing community on the valuable work libraries do to connect readers with books and authors. Cliff Guren (Panorama Project lead) then recapped the project’s accomplishments over the past 10 months and gave an update (posted here) on the 2018 sales of Flat Broke with Two Goats, the title highlighted in the project‘s recently published Community Reading Event Impact Report.
Cliff then introduced a new initiative called Panorama Picks. This project uses aggregated, anonymized library ebook demand data to surface titles beyond the current bestseller list in high demand at public libraries. The project will compile lists of in demand adult and young-adult fiction and non-fiction titles on a quarterly basis. The lists will be shared with booksellers at no cost to help raise the visibility of the titles and promote sales. More information on Panorama Picks will be posted closer to the target launch date in late March.
The focus then turned to Readers’ Advisory. Magan Szwarek (Director of Reference Services at the Schaumburg, Illinois Township District Library and Readers‘ Advisory Impact Committee co-chair) introduced the committee’s first work product. The Directory of Readers’ Advisory Activities catalogs the many services, programs, and marketing campaigns that public libraries and librarians, use to connect readers with books and authors. This first of its kind publication is the work of a committee of over 40 librarians and industry professional convened in fall 2018 by the Panorama Project. The full directory and a quick guide to Readers’ Advisory are available for download. You can also browse an online version of the full directory. The committee invites readers to share their feedback and submit additional activities, examples and useful links.
We were delighted to see that our open meeting was one of the sessions highlighted in Publishers Weekly’s show summary.
View/download our media alert on the publication of the directory (PDF)
Panorama Project to Hold Open Meeting at ALA Midwinter
The Panorama Project is holding an open meeting at ALA Midwinter—the project’s first gathering at an ALA event!
Date: Saturday, January 26, 2019
Time: 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Location: Washington State Convention Center (705 Pike St., Seattle, WA 98101), Conference Room 3B
The agenda for the meeting will include:
An introduction to the project by Cliff Guren, Project Lead, including a review of the project’s progress to date and an update on its research plans for 2019.
Magan Szwarek, Reference Services Director for Schaumberg Township District Library, and co-chair for the Readers’ Advisory Impact Committee, introducing the committee’s newly compiled Directory of Readers’ Advisory Activities.
A review of the data and findings in the project’s recently published community reading event report which examined the impact of nationwide library reading campaign on the discovery, social media mentions, and sales of first time author Jennifer McGaha’s Flat Broke with Two Goats.
All interested publishing community stakeholders—librarians, publishers, booksellers, authors, industry service providers, industry organizations, and others—are invited to join us for this unique opportunity to learn about and discuss the project’s research on the many ways that libraries connect readers with books and authors.
Refreshments will be served.
Please RSVP if you plan on attending the meeting.
If you can’t attend the meeting, but would like to arrange a time at ALA Midwinter to learn about the project please email us.