Project lead Guy LeCharles Gonzalez represented the Panorama Project as a featured speaker at PubWest 2020 last month, and was interviewed by Library Journal and Book Riot about our recently announced new initiatives for 2020.
2019 Annual Report Released; 2020 Initiatives Previewed
New Panorama Picks Offer Actionable Data for Local Booksellers and Authors
The latest Panorama Picks have been announced by the Panorama Project, spotlighting notable recent fiction, nonfiction, and young adult ebooks with the highest hold ratios in United States public libraries. The nine regional lists feature 25 titles in each category—190 unique titles in total, including 76 which only appear on one region’s list—reflecting the diverse interests and unmet demand of avid readers across the country not always reflected in national bestsellers lists or big budget marketing initiatives. The Q4 lists measure public library activity from October – December 2019, featuring books published from January – June 2019.
Data Points: Panorama Project Op-ed in Publishers Weekly
Public Library Events & Book Sales—A Panorama Project Survey
To get a better understanding of the different ways public libraries produce and host author visits—as well as literary festivals, book clubs, and other experiential events that directly connect readers to books and authors—the Panorama Project has launched a new survey: Library Events & Book Sales Survey | 2019. This survey asks U.S. public librarians for their insights into the various book-related events they produce for their communities, how they market them, which partners they work with, and how they measure and report on the impact of these events.
Panorama Project at PubWest 2020 in Portland, Oregon
New Panorama Picks Announced, Surfacing Under-the-Radar Backlist Titles in Nine U.S. Regions
Macmillan Announces Library Ebook Embargo, New Lending Terms
In a letter sent to “Macmillan Authors, Macmillan Illustrators, and Agents“ on Thursday, July 25th, Macmillan CEO John Sargent announced new lending terms and pricing for library ebooks, claiming library lending was “cannibalizing sales“ and impacting royalties as revenue from library sales are “a small fraction of the revenue we share with you on a retail read. While the embargo is disappointing news for libraries, authors, and, most importantly, readers—it reinforces the need for a cross-industry initiative to identify ways publishers and libraries can continue to support their intrinsically related missions while delivering mutually beneficial outcomes. We encourage more publishers, independent booksellers, authors, agents, and allied associations and vendors to collaborate with us and help measure the real impact libraries have on developing readers, driving book discovery, and generating book sales in their local communities, and beyond.
Meet Our New Project Lead: Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
We are happy to announce the new Project Lead for Panorama Project. Guy LeCharles Gonzalez is an entrepreneurial media and marketing professional with 25 years’ experience in consumer and B2B publishing, and a history of building strong relationships with communities, colleagues and clients. Based in New York, his first real job was a Page at Mt. Vernon Public Library which nurtured his love of reading and introduced him to the full spectrum of the publishing industry.
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.