The Panorama Project, the cross-industry initiative devoted to data-informed insights on public libraries’ role in the publishing ecosystem, has made great strides to fulfill and communicate its mission in 2020. Achievements include the completion of an important research activity, publication of a useful toolkit, and the launch of a first-of-its-kind consumer research initiative which will share high-level findings during a webinar in November. In addition, the Project has also completed a transition of its Project Lead.
Through the leadership of Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Panorama’s highly engaged advisory council, and multiple other contributors, there have been productive conversations about and recognition of the role and impact of public libraries on discovery and sales of books. This week saw the publication of the Library Marketing Valuation Toolkit which helps librarians measure and communicate the monetary value of their marketing efforts to publishers in a context with which they are familiar. On November 5, we invite you to join a webinar during which members of our Consumer Research Committee will unveil a major consumer research initiative and preview early findings from “Immersive Media & Reading 2020” .
Amidst all this activity, we are also pleased to introduce Daniel Albohn as the new Project Lead for Panorama Project. Dan joined the project this month and has ably “taken the baton” from Guy, who has accepted a new and exciting challenge in the library space.
Dan has a keen interest in reading, writing, literacy, and the associated public policy, and joins us following eighteen years at Sony where he led Global Business Development and established, launched and championed the innovative new product category of writable, paper-like reading devices including Sony’s Reader and Digital Paper. Industry veterans know Dan from his early work forging Sony's relationships with executives and thought leaders throughout the publishing community and his engagement with trade, professional, academic and newspaper publishers, libraries, bookstores, authors and other providers of services to the publishing sector.
During his six-year campaign for Sony’s Digital Paper, Dan worked extensively with professional societies, journal publishers, academic and law librarians, as well as the US House of Representatives and The United Nations. Given his genuine interest in the customers’ experiences and to gain an intimate understanding of habits and preferences, Dan met with many individual faculty and graduate students, both on campus and at annual conferences where Sony showcased the product to mathematicians, physicists, economists, and psychologists as well as lawyers and legislators.
Dan holds a BA in Economics from Columbia and earned his MBA in Marketing from The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
Under the auspices of The Panorama Project, Dan is thrilled to become part of a constructive conversation, to improve our learning and understanding, and to advance the mutual interests of all stakeholders. If you have any questions or would like to communicate directly with Dan, please contact him at projectlead@panoramaproject.org.
Dan also invites you to connect with him on linkedin.com/in/daniel-albohn.