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Techbooks) Dear IDPF Members,
Please consider me for a position on the IDPF board as I think I can bring
both a global viewpoint and an understanding of how structure relates to content
to the table. I was born in India, and have an undergraduate degree in computer
science and a masters in operational research, both from the University of
Delhi, India.
After working a brief time with an engineering company, I began to work at
Techbooks' India, then a company focusing on typesetting and data conversion for
the Scientific, Technical and Medical (STM) publishing industry. As Techbooks
grew, my responsibilities also changed, and I headed the R&D efforts, became
Director of Technology, and presently am responsible for Content IT solutions,
working out of our headquarters office in Falls Church, VA. My current efforts
involve integrated and consultative approach with our customers to provide
solution within their content value chain that also include creation of solution
for digital or ebooks.
In all of this, focus has been on developing tools and working with or
improving standards to make content use, re-use, display, and revision better.
Our clients run the gamut from elementary education through hard and soft
sciences, literature, and corporate communications or training, so we and I have
had to learn and work with many different DTDs, CMS or LMS systems, technologies
and tagging systems.
I know what works and what doesn't, and more than that, how publishers and
authors or subject matter experts feel about the systems they use, from math
tagging systems to education and rights-management software and schemas. In this
capacity, I think I have much to offer IDPF as it continues to develop the open
ebook standard.
Personally, I'm an avid reader, and frankly have found much to be desired in
the hardware and devices used to display ebooks. For those of us who have normal
vision and mobility, this isn't much of a problem. But for others, the ebook may
be the only way to experience the joy of literature or the ability to research
material for work. The IDPF's work on Open Ebook combined with it's unique
position to evaluate new technologies for display or reading of information
makes the board opportunity a reward for any who is honored to be selected.
I ask you to give me that honor.
Samir Kakar
Director of Technology
Techbooks
3110 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, VA 22042
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