Minutes Thursday, 14 February 2008, 8:00AM - 5:00PM Louisville Marriott Downtown Louisville, KY, USA Download all attachments ( 4,742 KB) The first meeting of the 2008 TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee (PSC) was held at the Louisville Marriott Downtown Hotel, Louisville, KY, USA on Thursday, 14 February 2008. Saifur Rahman, Committee Chair, called the meeting to order at 8:15AM. A list of attendees is attached. ( Attachment 1 )
I.	Review and Adoption of Agenda. The agenda was approved as submitted. (Attachment 2)

II.	Approval of15 February 2007 Meeting Minutes. The minutes of the 14 June 2007 meeting were approved as submitted.
III.	Opening Remarks. Mr. Rahman gave a brief overview of the key items to be discussed at the meeting.
IV.	Sales and Marketing Update. Mr. Dahl reported on 2007 accomplishments, sales by market and territory, and 2008 goals. (Attachment 3 )
V.	Publishing Industry Update. . Ms. Lange reported on several key industry activities that may impact IEEE, including several moves by Elsevier and Microsoft, as well as IEEE’s lead role in Scitopia.org. In addition, she provided an overview of the planned IEEE product management activities for 2008. ( Attachment 4 )
VI.	IEEE Xplore®. Mr. Grenier reported on the recent work done to “assess the Xplore application and infrastructure architecture and make recommendations to improve the availability of Xplore to meet the agreed service levels defined by the business owners.” ( Attachment 5 )
VII.	Action Items
	A.	Single Article Pricing. In response to feedback provided during the November 2007 PSC meeting, Mr. Dahl again presented a proposal to reduce the member and non-member prices for articles delivered via IEEE Xplore. The initial proposal (changing the prices from $13/$35 to $9.95/$29.95) had been rejected, with a request that new prices of $5/$20 be considered. Based on further analysis of the marketplace and competitors’ pricing, Mr. Dahl indicated that the initial recommendation was still appropriate. ( Attachment 6 ) A Motion was made to: Endorse changing the member/non-member pricing for articles delivered via IEEE Xplore from $13/$35 to $9.95/$29.95. A friendly amendment was made to: Endorse changing the member/non-member pricing for articles delivered via IEEE Xplore from $13/$35 to $10/$29. The amended Motion passed.
	B.	Terms of Use for Society Member Digital Libraries. Mr. Dahl reminded the Committee of its endorsement in November 2007 of thresholds for access to digital libraries offered to Society members. ( Attachment 7 ) ACTION: IEEE Sales & Marketing staff will develop a member-friendly process to communicate the thresholds for access to Society Member Digital Libraries.Action Item Due: June 2008 Meeting Series.
VIII.	Strategic Issues
	A.	Publications Strategic Planning Update. Mr. Durniakpresented an overview of the 5-year vision of the IEEE Publication Products and Services Board (PSPB). ( Attachment 8 )
	B.	Publishing R&D Projects and New Initiatives. Ms. Caputo presented an update on several key publishing research and development projects. ( Attachment 9 )
	C.	Product Line Reviews Conference Publications. Mr. Vasquez reported on the future of print single sales, the next steps in the work to establish citation data for IEEE conference publications, advances in the timeliness of posting of conference content in IEEE Xplore, and other key areas of focus. ( Attachment 10 ) Society Periodicals. No report was provided. Non-Member Online Libraries. Ms. Mclean presented several strategic issues for IEEE’s major online offerings. (Attachment 11) Standards. Ms. Kenney provided a review of the business paradigm of the standards product line, as well as several collaborative opportunities. (Attachment 12) IEEE Computer Society. Ms. Wilson presented a report on several strategic efforts being undertaken by the IEEE Computer Society. (Attachment 13) IEEE Communications Society. Mr. Howell provided information on the development of a certification program in Wireless Communications Engineering Technologies (WCET) being undertaken by the IEEE Communications Society. (Attachment 14 ) Education. Ms. Bagley provided a product development update on IEEE Expert Now. (Attachment 15 )
IX.	Operational Issues
	A.	Conference Publications Distribution Methodology. Mr. Varian presented an update on the development of a new methodology for distributing conference publications business revenue. He indicated that potential solutions will continue to be analyzed, culminating in a proposed new algorithm to be presented in May/June 2008. ( Attachment 16 )
	B.	Impact of Conference No-Shows on Conference Publications. Mr. Varian previewed a presentation to be given to the IEEE Conferences Committee (CC) and the IEEE Publication Products & Services Board (PSPB) regarding conference no-shows. Initial versions of the recommendations in the presentation were presented to the CC and PSPB for approval during the November 2007 Board Series. However, no consensus was reached at that time. ( Attachment 17 )
	C.	E-Pub Product Development Process. Ms. Lange reported on the new delivery options being made possible via the development of e-publications. She indicated that several operational policies need to be followed while the product development processes are being refined. ( Attachment 18)
	D.	Charters of TAB Periodicals Packages Committee and Conference Publications Committee. Mr. Rahman indicated that the charters of the two PSC standing committees will be undergoing a review to ensure that they reflect current needs and activities. ACTION: Mr. Varian and Mr. Dunlop will submit suggested charter changes to Mr. Rahman for consideration prior to the June 2008 meeting series.Action Item Due: Mid-May 2008.
X.	Product Development Updates
	A.	IEEE Journals Library Plus. Ms. Mclean provided an update on the launch of this new offering targeted at the corporate market. ( Attachment 19 ) `
	B.	IEEE Computing Library. Ms. Mclean also provided an update on the launch of this additional new offering targeted at the corporate market. ( Attachment 19 )
	C.	Expanding the IEEE Digital Backfile. Ms. Mclean presented a summary of and next steps for the project to digitize additional IEEE legacy content for transactions and journals. ( Attachment 20 )
XI.	Products/Services Updates
	A.	IEEE and Multi-Society Offerings. Reports were presented or submitted for the following offerings: IEEE/IEE Electronic Library (IEL), IEEE Member Digital Library (MDL), single article sales, IEEE Enterprise suite, Society/Council periodicals (including the IEEE All-Society Periodicals Package (ASPP), conference publications, and IEEE Expert Now. ( Attachment 21 )
	B.	Society Activities 1. IEEE Computer Society. Ms. Wilson provided an update on the IEEE Computer Society Digital Library (CSDL) offerings. (Attachment 22) 2. IEEE Communications Society. No report was provided.
	C.	Standards Offerings. This topic was covered in item VIII.C.4.
XII.	Standing Committee Reports
	A.	Conference Publications Committee (CPC) Report. Mr. Varian indicated that the main focus of the CPC’s recent activities (including those discussed at its 8 February 2008 meeting) was the development of a new distribution algorithm (item IX.A).
	B.	TAB Periodicals Packages Committee (PPC) Report. Mr. Dunlop provided an update on the recent activities of the CPC. ( Attachment 23 )
XIII.	Information Items
	A.	New Periodicals Proposals. No information was submitted.
XIV.	Time And Place Of Next Meeting. The second meeting of the 2008 TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee will be held on Thursday, 19 June 2008 in Denver, Colorado, USA in conjunction with the IEEE Meeting Series.
XV.	Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 4:35PM.