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Dear Members of the IDPF,
I am seeking election to a first term serving on the IDPF Board of
Directors. I served as Executive Director of the IDPF from March 2002 until
September 2007 and oversaw the creation and release of the three
specifications that comprise the EPUB standard. I now work for Adobe Systems
in its Digital Publishing division.
The EPUB standard is the most valuable asset that the members of the IDPF
together own and support. I believe that the entire effort by the
organization, from the Board of Directors to the Executive Director to the
IDPF membership, should be directed at promoting and advancing EPUB.
Since the final specifications were approved in September 2007, EPUB has
achieved significant success with software companies adopting EPUB across
multiple products, publishers creating eBooks solely in EPUB for channel
distribution and retailers and device manufacturers scrapping proprietary
file formats in favor of the EPUB standard.
The reason we have seen this
success is very simple:
Creating one file format in EPUB significantly reduces production
costs
The eBook distribution chain is better protected by standardizing
on a file format not controlled by one company
EPUB allows for interoperability across devices and software
Despite the success and inherent industry momentum behind EPUB, I am afraid
that since the specification was approved by the membership, we have seen
little action from the organization in some very important areas:
Evolution and Maintenance of the EPUB Standard
Specifications don’t exist in a vacuum, and as technical progress proceeds
in general, specifications need to keep up. There are bugs needed to be
fixed and clarifications to the specs need to be made as well as strategic
thought as to how the next full version of the specification will push our
industry forward. Serving on the Board, I will ensure that active technical
working groups begin again both on the EPUB specifications themselves and in
other important areas our members are demanding, like distribution
specifications.
Conformance
To increase the power of the EPUB standard and prevent dilution of its
meaning, we need to provide a neutral means of verifying the proper
operation of devices and software using the EPUB standard. We can do this
through the development and support of EPUB conformance test suites. We can
also develop a certification process for sanctioned use of EPUB trademarks
and logos.
Marketing and Communications
To maintain and increase the momentum that EPUB has gained over the last few
years, we need to do more outreach to the media in order to ensure EPUB’s
lasting success.
We need an EPUB logo. The IDPF needs to re-create its website and update it
often. The IDPF needs to re-vamp its email lists and make them active again.
The IDPF needs to create a resource area for the media to quickly acquire
information, images, logos, and contacts so that they can easily and
conveniently obtain accurate information about EPUB for their coverage.
Leadership and Operations
To maintain a strong and functional organization, we need to adhere to our
founding principles and ensure that the operations of the IDPF proactively
practice and adhere to the Bylaws and Policies and Procedures of the
organization. Over the past two years, Board elections have not been called
promptly when vacancies and terms expire; the operational way the
organization is run needs to change to adhere strictly to the documents that
govern the organization. The principal duty of the Board of Directors and
the Executive Director is to operate the organization according to the
Bylaws and Policies and Procedures of the organization.
Progression of the EPUB Standard to an Internationally Recognized
Standard
To consolidate its position as the standard for reflowable digital
books, EPUB needs to move towards becoming a recognized international
standard.
We should strongly examine the possible use of the ISO standards
organization as the fastest and most beneficial path to achieving widely
accepted internationalization of the specifications. Participation in such
an organization should be viewed as a valuable opportunity, not a threat.
Because of my history running the IDPF and the importance of the EPUB specs,
I take the success of the IDPF very seriously. I hope that as a member of
the Board of Directors, and, if chosen, as its president, I can help to
advance EPUB to be the unassailable reflowable file format standard of
choice by all publishers and users of digital publishing technology. And, I
am committed to listening to my fellow members to advance the needs and
interests of the IDPF membership as a whole.
Best regards,
Nick Bogaty
Adobe Systems, Inc.
Expanded Bio:
Nick Bogaty is senior business development manager at Adobe Systems, Inc.,
and is responsible for business development for Adobe’s digital publishing
group. He oversees Adobe’s eBook platform including client software, DRM
services, authoring software and eBook enablement on mobile devices. Prior
to Adobe, Nick was Executive Director of the IDPF form 2002 to 2007 and
oversaw the creation and approval of the three specifications which comprise
the EPUB file format for digital reflowable books. Prior serving as the IDPF
Executive Director, Nick founded and was President of rightsworld.com, a
marketplace for the trading of publishing subsidiary rights. He is based in
New York City.
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