ACP, BISG Meet to Discuss New BISAC Codes

ACP staff and representatives of publisher members met with the Book Industry Study Group's (BISG) committee that manages the BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) code list.  BISAC code is a standardized subject classification used by the U.S. book publishing industry to describe the primary topic of a book. 

ACP recommended that a RELIGION / Catholicism branch of the BISAC code tree be created. Thirteen categories in that branch were recommended for consideration including missals, sacraments, prayer, and Mary. 

ACP representatives stated that the goal of this proposal is to improve discoverability of Catholic titles by customers and bookstores. Currently, Catholic books fall under general content categories or sub-categories under the larger heading of Christianity. Though Catholics are Christians, many people in our culture do not understand this and many Catholics do not self-identify as Christians, but rather as Catholics.

As one ACP representative noted, the proposal may reflect bad theology, but it is good marketing.

There were no decisions made by the committee. The discussion will continue at the committee's October meeting where ACP will present additional rationale and options for meeting the improved discoverability goal.