Book Industry Study Group

What Book Industry Study Group does

The Book Industry Study Group (BISG), founded in 1976 and incorporated as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association in New York, is the principal U.S.-based coordination body for book publishing supply-chain standards, research, and education. Its core products are industry standards and reference infrastructure rather than commercial software: the BISAC Subject Codes (the de facto classification taxonomy maintained since 1995 and updated annually), Bookland EAN barcoding guidelines (978/979 prefix specifications, price extension add-ons), EDItX XML schemas for electronic data interchange, and the Find a Rightsholder database covering 3,500+ imprints in the U.S. and U.K. These assets are developed through five standing committees (Metadata, Rights, Subject Codes, Supply Chain, Workflow) and five working groups (Accessibility, AI, Audiobook Best Practices, Book Publishing Next, Sustainability) staffed by 100+ volunteer publishing professionals.

BISG's membership spans the full publishing value chain — trade/educational/scholarly publishers, retailers (e.g., Books-A-Million), wholesalers and distributors (Baker & Taylor, Ingram Content Group), manufacturers (Versa Press), libraries (New York Public Library), and industry service partners (Firebrand Technologies). Revenue is generated through annual membership dues (set by the Board and not publicly disclosed), event and sponsorship packages (including the 2026 BISG@50 anniversary), paid research reports and BISAC list downloads, job-board postings, and ancillary member benefits (e.g., group health insurance via LIG Solutions). Distribution is anchored on the bisg.org website with self-serve enrollment.

The organization is governed by a 16-member Board of Directors representing six supply-chain segments, with day-to-day operations executed by a three-person staff in New York. Brian O'Leary retired as Executive Director on June 30, 2026, after a decade of service; Allison Belan (formerly Director of Strategic Innovation and Services at Duke University Press) succeeded him as the ninth Executive Director. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, and BISG operates without subsidiaries, outside investors, or M&A activity.

Name

Book Industry Study Group

Legal name

Book Industry Study Group, Inc.

Website

https://bisg.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Book Industry Study Group (BISG) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association founded in 1976 that develops and maintains book-industry standards (BISAC subject codes, Bookland EAN barcoding, EDItX XML, rightsholder database), conducts industry research, and convenes the U.S. publishing supply chain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Publishing Industry Standards and Trade Association Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Product, Safety & Quality Compliance (incl. Regulatory Affairs) (BPAHAFAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regulatory Compliance Advisory (BPAHAFAB), Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

Keywords

• Book publishing standards
• Subject classification codes
• Barcoding guidelines
• Trade association
• Publishing research

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues and enrollment fees determined by the Board of Directors, with different amounts for different member classes. Membership is effective upon determination of eligibility and payment of fees.
2. Events and Sponsorship: Revenue from event sponsorship packages (webinars, programs, annual events, publications), with 2026 sponsorship opportunities including BISG@50 anniversary celebration and content sponsorship. Members receive a 10% discount.
3. Research Reports and Products: Sale of digital research reports and industry guidelines. Research summaries are free to members or at nominal cost to non-members; full reports require purchase. BISAC download available free to members, fee for non-members.
4. Job Board: Career center and job board hosted on the BISG website, generating revenue through job postings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

BISG is a membership-based nonprofit trade association that develops and maintains industry-wide standards, conducts research, and provides education and events for the book publishing supply chain. Its core deliverables include the BISAC Subject Codes classification system, Bookland EAN barcoding guidelines, the Find a Rightsholder database, EDItX XML document standards, policy statements, industry research reports, and multi-stakeholder committee coordination across metadata, rights, subject codes, supply chain, and workflow domains.

Product overview

The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) is a membership-based trade association that serves as a central coordination body for the book publishing industry rather than offering a commercial software product. BISG's portfolio consists primarily of standards, classification systems, and research products: BISAC Subject Codes (the industry standard classification system for book product metadata), Barcoding Guidelines (technical specifications for Bookland EAN and ISBN barcodes), Policy Statements (board-endorsed positions on EPUB 3, digital identification, and supply chain standards), the Find a Rightsholder database tool, and Research/Reports covering digital content, higher education, rights, and supply chain topics. BISG also facilitates industry collaboration through five standing committees (Metadata, Rights, Subject Codes, Supply Chain, Workflow) and five working groups (Accessibility, Artificial Intelligence, Audiobook Best Practices, Book Publishing Next, Sustainability). These components work together to drive efficiency, standards adoption, and best practices across the publishing supply chain.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BISAC Subject Codes Standard subject classification system used across the book publishing supply chain for categorizing books in catalogs, websites, and library/retail systems. Maintained and annually updated by BISG, available as a free download for members and for a fee to non-members.
• Barcoding Guidelines for the U.S. Book Industry Comprehensive technical guidelines for barcode implementation covering ISBN-13, Bookland EAN (978/979 prefix), UPC standards, and price encoding specifications for the U.S. book industry.
• Find a Rightsholder Database A searchable online database tool providing rights and permissions contacts for U.S. and U.K. publishers, covering over 3,500 imprints including inactive and defunct ones. Updated as of Spring 2025.
• Policy Statements Board-endorsed policy statements addressing industry standards including EPUB 3 endorsement, digital content identification best practices, dual identifier elimination, ISBN-13 migration, RFID standards, and product identification guidelines.
• Research and Industry Reports Industry research reports covering digital products/ebooks, higher education content, rights management, and supply chain topics, distributed through the Knowledge Center and product downloads.
• Events, Webinars, and Annual Meeting Online and in-person events including webinars, committee meetings, working group sessions, the annual meeting, and the BISG@50 anniversary celebration. Members receive a 10% discount on sponsorship packages.
• Job Board / Career Center Career center hosted on the BISG website generating revenue through paid job postings from book industry employers.
• Membership Annual membership program with dues determined by the Board of Directors, varying by member class. Includes member benefits such as access to research, free research summaries, BISAC code downloads, and 10% discount on sponsorship packages.

Quantifiable outcome

• 559 publishing professionals and librarians participated in the 2025 AI in Publishing Survey, generating industry-wide data on AI adoption and concerns.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BookNet CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 September 2025BISG and BookNet Canada jointly conduct annual AI in the Book Industry surveys, releasing comprehensive reports on AI adoption, use cases, and concerns across the North American publishing ecosystem. In 2025-2026, they released survey reports based on 559 respondents and a white paper on AI. The partnership also includes the Green Book Alliance sustainability initiative.
• EDItEUR and STMcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 2025BISG, along with EDItEUR and STM (the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers), joined Italy's Fondazione LIA (Liberi Immagini dell'Autonomia) to advance accessibility in publishing. This extends BISG's accessibility working group initiatives into an international coalition focused on inclusive publishing standards.
• Book Industry Communication (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 September 2020Partnership through the Green Book Alliance — a three-market consortium (Canada, USA, UK) dedicated to sustainability in the book industry. BISG coordinates with Book Industry Communication (UK) and BookNet Canada on environmental sustainability initiatives including a Printer-Publisher Sustainability Checklist.
• American Library Association (ALA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2015BISG and ALA announced a research partnership in 2015, conducting joint surveys on library content and digital book usage. The partnership has included library-specific survey research and data sharing on digital content consumption in public libraries.
• American Booksellers AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBISG collaborated with the American Booksellers Association to create a series of mobile commerce guides for publishers and booksellers, covering mobile marketing, sales platforms, QR codes, and campaign best practices.
• LIG Solutions (Lighthouse Insurance Group)minorOthersBISG members have access to health insurance and prescription drug benefits through LIG Solutions, a partnership providing group healthcare coverage to association members.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EDItEUR: International body coordinating ONIX, EDItX, and thematic book supply chain standards. Joint partner with BISG in accessibility initiatives alongside STM and Fondazione LIA, and the upstream source of many standards BISG localizes for the US market.
• Association of American Publishers (AAP): US trade association representing most major commercial publishers, focusing on advocacy and copyright rather than technical standards. Overlapping membership and policy posture with BISG; the two are routinely distinguished by government and press in the same breath.
• American Booksellers Association (ABA): US retail-side trade association for independent bookstores. Partnered with BISG on mobile commerce guides for publishers and booksellers and shares overlapping board members from retail members like Books-A-Million.
• Book Industry Communication (BIC): UK-based non-profit serving the same role for the British book trade: supply chain standards, accessibility, and sustainability programmes. Co-partner with BISG in the Green Book Alliance, making it the closest functional twin in another geography.
• BookNet Canada: Canadian standards and research body for English-language book trade, jointly runs the annual AI in the Book Industry survey with BISG and co-hosts the Green Book Alliance. Operates a near-identical mandate as BISG for Canadian supply chain participants.
• STM (International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers): International trade body for STM publishers, jointly partnered with BISG and EDItEUR through the Fondazione LIA accessibility coalition. Comparable mission in academic/scholarly publishing to what BISG does for the trade book segment.
• Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA): US trade body serving independent and self-published authors and small presses with standards, education, and distribution resources. Addresses a portion of the same membership audience as BISG, particularly around metadata and distribution standards.

Others

• Copyright Clearance Center: US rights and licensing intermediary whose remit overlaps with BISG's Rights Committee and Find a Rightsholder database (3,500+ imprints). Adjacent ecosystem participant in publishing rights and permissions rather than a direct competitor.
• International ISBN Agency: London-based agency administering the global ISBN standard that BISG's barcoding guidelines rest on. Adjacent enabling body that supplies the identifier infrastructure underpinning BISG's barcode products.

Broad incumbents

• American Library Association (ALA): Dominant US library trade association and BISG's standing research partner since 2015 on digital content and library usage studies. Larger, more diversified scope but converges with BISG on accessibility and digital content licensing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/book-industry-study-group
• Xx.com/bookbusinessmag
• Facebookfacebook.com/111589732210491

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Book Industry Study Group