2020 BMI Spring Management Conference is Now Virtual!

BMI has had to shift gears amidst the current climate, and is taking our Spring Management Conference online. This Conference will feature 5 webinars and consist of some of the great speakers you would have seen in Atlanta, as well as some others. 

The Cost is $99, which gets you access to all 5 webinars. These webinars will not be posted after and will only be available to those who register. If you register for the conference, but can't make a webinar? No problem, you will still get access to the recording.

In addition, BMI is opening up registration to the whole industry, not just BMI members. 

May 5th, 2pm ET

Saving the Camel’s Back: Books in the Age of COVID-19: Dr. Naomi Baron, American University

The picture in early 2020 was clear. Sales of print were largely stable in the trade world, with eBooks continuing to drop and audio soaring. In education, publishers were steadily moving to supplant hard copy with digital. What about readers? Many students were complaining that print is boring, in comparison with reading onscreen. Yet these same cohorts were reporting they learned better from print.

Then came COVID-19. Schools closed their doors, classes went online, and assignments dramatically shifted to digital. The future of face-to-face learning in the year ahead remains tenuous, as do course book orders. This webinar sizes up reading before the pandemic and during the March 2020 transformation, and considers possibilities going forward.

Some takeaways from the webinar:

• Print has advantages for learning.
  • Students report better concentration and learning with print than digital.
  • Comprehension data support learning advantages of print in many contexts.
• Digital technologies are influencing readers’ approaches to both digital and print.
  • Many students now say reading print is boring.
  • Wide use of digital technologies encourages shallow digital reading.
  • The shallow approach to digital reading is spilling over to print.
• Cost and convenience had been the major drivers from print to digital in the educational market.
• With COVID-19, necessity is the overwhelming driver to digital in education.
• Book producers will need to strategize with publishers and educators to
• produce less costly print products
• advocate for the advantages of print for in-depth learning and critical thinking

May 7th 2pm ET

Workforce Development: Laura Becker-Caton, Talent Acquisition Consultant

May 12th, 2pm ET

State of the Book Industry Report Overview - Ronnie Davis and David Wilaj, Center for Print Economics and Management, PIA

May 14th, 2pm ET

Printing Technology in the Next Decade - The Rise of Inkjet: Nathan Safran, NAPCO Research

May 19th, 2pm ET

BMI Update and the BMI Rising Star Award: Matt Baehr, BMI Executive Director

Here from BMI Executive Director about what's new with BMI and how BMI is evolving to better serve the Book Industry. Also learn who won this year's BMI Rising Star award.