Education Table Talk

Big Publishers: Can the Spanish Armada transform into the British Fleet? Can big publishers change enough to address how today’s students learn, educator’s teach, and shifting business models associated with both? In the US textbook market we have three very large players. Big publishers have process, coordination, and business accountability issues which are far less of a hindrance to smaller organizations. The result is that larger organizations can’t change quickly. While all publishers are concerned with make quarterly numbers and hitting academic deadlines a large corporate infrastructure while necessary for a large organization limits the ability of that organization to adapt to market demands. How does the move from print to digital look different for large publishers versus smaller organizations? Schools continue to adopt instructional resources and either ask that the electronic version be included with the print, ask for a class set of print and a digital version for students, or only want the digital version… sometimes only a few chapters! We will discuss how publishers, small and large, can make it through this morass and emerge successfully in a digital first world. We’ll touch on tools and technical standards that can ease this transition. Take a seat at as guests take a bite out of questions like: What role are big publishers playing in the future?What opportunities does this leave for smaller organizations?Is it sustainable to provide both print and digital assets?Is it the job of the publisher to lead innovation or to reflect innovation and change? Guests: 1.Jaume Barceló, Director, Vicens Vives 2.Dick Casabonne, CEO, Cassabonne Associates  3.Dan Caton, President, Wittel/Morris Strategic Consulting