A View from the Top

Abstract

What is the forecast for reference publishing? Publishing executives have been engaged in this ongoing discussion, most recently at the Reference Books Bulletin Editorial Board program, "The Future of Electronic Reference Publishing: A View from the Top," at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. As a preview to the program, I asked four executives-John Barnes, executive vice president, Strategic Marketing and Business Development, Gale/Cengage Learning; Casper Grathwohl, vice president and publisher, Oxford University Press; Rolf Janke, vice president and publisher, Sage Reference; and Michael N. Ross, senior vice president, education general manager, Encyclopaedia Britannica-to answer a few questions about the industry.