Content Development

Content developer, market researcher, writer & editor

Skills & ServicesClients & Partners

SPECIALTIES

Content development; research & writing; collection development; reference publishing; ebooks and digital resources; market reports; book reviewing; library marketing; LIS literature

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Content Development, Library Relations, EBSCO Publishing (Spring 2010- ongoing)provide consulting through all stages of content developmentdevelop topical pages (for student and librarian research)organize and lead Advisory Boards for Salem Pressdirect various community-building initiatives, including Library Blog Awardscreate library and education-related online content (e.g., The Library Grants Center and the Library Blogs Directory)re-purpose existing research content online (e.g., Literature Topics Center)participate in e-book initiativesconsult on collection development and Readers’ Advisor practices in librariesdevelop marketing strategies for H.W. Wilson’s Core Collections series

Editor, “Advances in Library and Information Science” book seriesspearheaded editorial direction of the “Advances in Library and Information Science” book series, which launched in Spring 2010recruited authors, acquired titles, and provided editorial support to contributors

Director of Library Relations, IGI Global Publishing (February 2010-August 2011)mananaged IGI Global’s relationship with the library community in the United States and beyond

Senior Editor, Book Review, Library Journal (November 2006 March 2010)directed the magazine s coverage of reference products in print and onlinemanaged online reference content and supervised reference featuresassigned for review and critiqued books and databases in a variety of disciplinesresearched, wrote, and edited articles on library and book publishing issuesinterviewed authors and industry leaders; wrote book-related featuresnurtured relationships with librarians as well as the publishing communityoversaw all aspects of the production of LJ s annual Reference supplement

Associate Editor, Book Review, Library Journal (April 1998 October 2006)assigned books for review in the fields of reference, arts, and humanitiesedited book reviews and featureswrote industry-related news stories

Subsidiary Rights Associate. Penguin Books (January 1997 April 1998)evaluated pre-publication manuscripts for serial, translation, and book club rightswrote letters and proposals to prospective clientsprovided administrative support to the Director of Subsidiary Rights

OTHER ASSOCIATIONSContributing writer and book reviewer; Publishers WeeklyContributing writer & translator; World Press Review

PUBLISHED WORK Editor, “Advances in Library and Information Science” book series (IGI Global, 2011)Editor, Library Journal Guide to Electronic Resources (Neil-Schuman, May 2009)

EDUCATION Master of Arts; Humanities & Social Thought (Specialization: Comparative Literature); New York University, 2000Bachelor of Arts; Journalism & German Language and Literature, New York University, 1997

KEY SKILLSContent development (ebooks, databases, web sites, e-newsletters)Library outreach & marketingLibrary and information science publishing

Recent PostsEbook Platforms in Libraries: A new report in the works

Posted on November 2, 2012 by

I am in the midst of developing a on ebook platforms for ALA TechSource (a unit of the publishing department of the ), due out in the Spring of 2013. The focus: ebook platforms in libraries. As I am amassing information about various products from publishers and aggregators on the specifics of each platform, I’ve decided to open it up to a broader audience in the early stages of the writing process and obtain feedback from all who may benefit.

Publishers and aggregators: Please take a moment to read the proposed contents of the report (below) and let me know where your products fit and why. I plan to cover a variety of products.

Librarians: What are your main frustrations when selecting ebook platforms? Please take a moment to consider if the details I plan to include about each product will help you make informed purchasing decisions.

I’ll be accepting suggestions through the end of November. Thanks for speaking your mind. It matters.

MR

Ebook Platforms in Libraries will provide the following:A detailed overview of e-platforms available in librariesExplanations of how ebook platforms specifically (those that house e-versions of print books online) differ from other types of e-platforms (e.g., databases with born digital content)Overview of the key players in the business of aggregating and distributing ebooks to academic, public, and school librariesSuggestions to librarians on how to determine which ebook platforms best suit their institutions’ needsSide-by-side comparisons of similar ebook platforms (see criteria below)

Contents & Context

Librarians are inundated with the choices available to them when deciding which ebook platforms to purchase. Some serve as tools for lending books to patrons; others serve as research tools. Some are available directly from content producers (publishers); others come from distributors and aggregators. Some have general appeal and are suitable for various types of libraries; others have strong scholarly undertones and are only appropriate for graduate collections. Some are broad in coverage and include a range of categories and genres; others are subject-specific or publisher-specific and target niche markets.

Not only do librarians need to keep up with the number of electronic platforms available on the market, they also need to keep up with how each is evolving. As publishers continue to experiment with business models, consolidate content, and merge with competition (a common practice in the industry), librarians need help figuring out how to sort through the options and choose what to purchase based on the criteria set forth by the institutions they serve. Many things come into play, with pricing and access usually at the top of the list of priorities.

This report will provide a comprehensive overview of the various types of ebook platforms available to libraries, specifically the platforms that house electronic versions of books available in print (thus preserving the “book” format online). The report will not include collections of journal platforms, unless they also include ebooks (more on this below).

Each platform will be described in sufficient detail and comparative charts will be provided throughout, examining, among other things, the following:technical requirements (e.g., browsers, plug-ins required, hand-held devices supported)type of library (e.g., public and academic, academic only, K-12 only)targeted audience (e.g., general, high school, undergraduate, graduate)type of content (e.g., trade publications, monographs, reference books)categories, if applicable (e.g., general, popular fiction and nonfiction, humanities)size and scope (e.g., number of titles, number of publishers)searchability (e.g., book level, article level)

Types of platforms coveredGeneral ebook platforms (an overview of the key players in the field including OverDrive, ebrary, eBooks on EBSCOhost, and others and major, multi-publisher ebook platforms in public, academic, and school libraries)Publisher-specific platforms (ebook platforms hosted by the publishers who produce the original content, e.g., The ABC-CLIO eBook Collection; Oxford Reference)Subject-specific platforms (the focus here is on the platforms housing ebooks on the same or similar subjects; Note: specialized scholarly databases and indexes will not be covered here; that alone warrants a separate report).Multi-content platforms (an overview of platforms on the cutting edge of e-content development, including products that merge ebook content with other types of content, such as articles or scholarly monographs; e.g., JStor, Project MUSE, and Cambridge University Press’s University Publishing Online.)

Feedback

Thoughts? Suggestions? Please share them by emailing me at ******@**************.*** or posting a reply below.

Posted in,

Life cannot be mastered by technology (neither can research)

1

Why circulate reference ebooks?

Collection development: The weakest link in the chain

Categorization: Can we break through it?

What is reference? Part 2

1

What is reference?

Monographs go digital (and merge with journals)

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