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Digital publishing models to support scalable book supply chains for education beyond the human

Tue, March 24, 10:00 to 11:30am EDT (10:00 to 11:30am EDT), Hyatt Regency Miami, Floor: 3rd, Foster II

Proposal

In our ever-changing world, books offer the hope and lessons we need to live sustainably and prepare for the challenges to come. Books and the power of reading are education’s key to providing information and stories to build empathy among our learners and paint a picture of the effects we have on the world around us, so that we can responsibly face the future (Good, Simmons & Smith, 1998). With the world facing the largest population it has ever seen (UN, 2019), building this pipeline of information requires innovative delivery mechanisms that provide easy access to quality content at scale, and educational resources that are relatable to readers of all ages and walks of life.

This presentation will outline the work that one organization is doing to build a sustainable digital publishing ecosystem through support for local authors and publishers. Digital reading has the power to reach billions and help the global community accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through access to curated collections of books providing information in support of the SDGs. This presentation will outline one organization’s digital licensing model and their work to build social cohesion through research and training of publishers. They will present findings from a survey on metadata standards conducted with East African publishers to build capacity around cohesive content models that better support discoverability of content for education stakeholders.

The organization partners with over 400 global publishers, including 162 based in Africa, to acquire, enrich, and curate dynamic and responsive content while leveraging technology to meet the needs of its readers. Strong publishing ecosystems are critical to the success of innovative education programs. With this in mind, it is critical to build the capacity of local publishers and authors, providing training opportunities around developments and standards in the digital publishing industry and paying them for locally produced quality content in order to support a vibrant digital book supply chain.

Through targeted and early collaborations with publishers, the organization has paid over $2 million to publishers in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Jordan, supporting local book markets. The tiered licensing model, provides incremental revenue to local publishing partners in each geography, while continuing to reduce costs for readers through competitive pricing for tablet-based books and free content made available through mobile phone applications. As a result of capacity-building interventions and knowledge sharing, a number of these publishers have started to successfully produce and sell digital copies of their books commercially.

Via trainings and publications, publishers, authors and content creators are advised annually on digital publishing matters outlined through regular publisher surveys, Human-Centered Design processes, and landscape reviews. Topics include: digital publishing processes and best practices, digital marketing strategies, formatting for ebooks, creation and optimization of ebooks for basic reading platforms, digital implications of quality in children’s books, and metadata standards and schema. These capacity building efforts have helped develop book collections locally that speak to our changing world, and provide much needed information on how to responsibly face the sustainability challenges ahead.

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