“Data-informed insights on public libraries and their impact on book discovery, author brand development, and sales”
I ran The Panorama Project from July 2019 – October 2020, with a broad goal of measuring the impact of libraries on authors and publishers, primarily sparked by the persistent belief among some publishers that library ebook lending was cannibalizing their retail sales. The OverDrive-funded initiative continued for a little while after I left, but quietly faded into inactivity by late 2022, while its biggest research initiative evolved into something more library-focused via the ALA.
Unfortunately, its website was unexpectedly taken down in late 2025, so a holistic overview of its efforts is only available through the Internet Archive now. I’ve updated all of my links in various posts on this site, and created this page for future reference.
I was (and still am) very proud of the work I did there, from hitting the ground running when Macmillan announced their controversial library ebook terms a couple of weeks after I started, to my two biggest initiatives: Immersive Media & Reading 2020 and the Library Marketing Valuation Toolkit.
I’m going to be creating separate pages here for those two efforts so they’re easier to find, but for now, both of those links go Internet Archive pages that have the basics. I’ve also added a tag to a handful of relevant posts I wrote here during that time.
Stay tuned for more updates…
Notable Media Coverage
- Panorama Project Pivots, Taps New Leader; Publishers Weekly, July 2019
- Guy LeCharles Gonzalez: Making Library Ebook Access Personal at the Panorama Project; Library Journal, August 2019
- Why It’s Time to Quantify the Library’s Role in the Reading Marketplace; Publishers Weekly, Dec 2019
- Macmillan CEO Discusses Embargo, Alternate Licensing Models, in “AMA” | ALA Midwinter 2020; Library Journal, January 2020
- Discussing Libraries and Publishing with Guy Gonzalez, lead for The Panorama Project; Book Riot, March 2020
- Panorama Project To Provide Actionable Data on Importance of Libraries to Publishers; Library Journal, March 2020
- Putting a Value on Author Events at the Library; Publishers Weekly, June 2020
- Cross-industry initiative identifies titles with unmet demand beyond the bestsellers; IBPA, July 2020
- Demand for anti-racist literature is up. These black bookstore owners hope it lasts.; The Washington Post, July 2020
- Filling the Evidence Gap: an Interview with Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Panorama Project; IFLA, July 2020
- New Report Explores ‘Engagement’ with Books, Digital Media; Publishers Weekly, February 2021
- New Research Report From The Panorama Project: “Immersive Media & Books 2020: Consumer Behavior and Experience with Multiple Media Forms”; infoDOCKET, February 2021
- U.S. Book Show: Key Findings from Project Panorama’s ‘Immersive Media & Books 2020’ Report; Publishers Weekly, May 2021
- ‘Immersive Media & Books’ Study: Audiobooks and Context; Publishing Perspectives, July 2021