About BookNet Canada

BookNet Canada is a non-profit organization that develops technology, standards, and education to serve the Canadian book industry.

Founded in 2002 to address systemic challenges in the industry, BookNet Canada supports publishing companies, libraries, booksellers, wholesalers, distributors, sales agents, industry associations, literary agents, and media across the country.

BookNet Canada’s services and research help companies promote and sell books, streamline workflows, and analyze and adapt to a rapidly changing market.

Industry-led and partially funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, BookNet Canada has become, as The Globe and Mail puts it, “the book industry’s supply-chain nerve centre.”

Cover of the BookNet Canada Year in Review 2024/2025 report

What we do

Supply chain technology

We increase accuracy and efficiency in the Canadian supply chain through our technology services:

  • The BiblioShare suite of services, BiblioShare, bibliographic data distribution, and Webform for ONIX creation, help our stakeholders with metadata creation, aggregation, maintenance, and distribution. Automatic notifications alert book buyers and media when something has changed.
  • CataList is a powerful digital catalogue tool for marketing, selling, and ordering books.
  • EDI makes sharing orders, shipment notices, and invoices fast and easy. 
  • SalesData is the national tracking service and analysis tool for print sales in the Canadian English-language trade book market.
  • LibraryData is a national library collection and circulation analysis tool.

Standards & certification

Standards are the linchpin of the supply chain. We develop and maintain them so industry technology can run smoothly and to the benefit of all involved. We actively work on the standards in these four areas:

Research & education

BookNet provides the industry with actionable research and forward-thinking professional development.

  • Tech Forum provides free, live webinars with professional development and industry insights.
  • The Canadian Book Market, Canadian Book Consumer, and Canadian Leisure & Reading annual research reports provide insight into the book buying and reading habits of Canadians.
  • We work with various stakeholders on custom research reports with data tailored to their needs.
  • Webinars, tutorials, and training keeps the Canadian publishing industry abreast of the latest trends and information.

Bestseller lists

BookNet Canada is the source for national and regional bestseller lists in Canada, including those published by The Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, and the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association through their Indie Bookstores website.

  • Retailers report their weekly book sales to SalesData, then we aggregate that data and create bestseller lists for the media to publish. 
  • Interested in having a bestseller list for your publication or website? Get in touch! We work with media outlets of all shapes and sizes, and we’re happy to tailor bestseller lists to your audience’s needs and to your budget. 
  • Learn more about how books make it onto bestseller lists with our blog post, What makes a book a bestseller.
A brief history of BookNet timeline. Key highlights: 2002 BookNet Canada is founded, 2009 BiblioShare launched, 2011 CataList launched, 2016 SalesData v.3 launched, 2019 LibraryData launched, 2020 Green Book Alliance founded, 2022 Memento Livres launched.

Environmental sustainability at BookNet

At BookNet Canada, we’re committed to environmental sustainability. Regular parts of our work, like keeping our servers running, add to our business’ carbon footprint. With the help of Carbonzero, we’re offsetting these carbon emissions through investments in projects that permanently reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As an organization, we’ve chosen to support the Ontario Greenhouse Biomass to Energy Project and the Smart Soil Carbon Project to offset our 2024 emissions.

CarbonZero certification badge

BookNet Board of Directors

The BookNet Canada Board of Directors is comprised of a cross-section of representatives from firms across the publishing supply chain and the industry’s professional associations.

Chair

Jeffrey Begley
Chief Technology Officer, Library Bound Inc.
Association of Canadian Book Wholesalers

Secretary-Treasurer

Lita Barrie
Chief Executive Officer, Burlington Public Library
Canadian Urban Libraries Council

Directors

Hilary Atleo
Owner, Iron Dog Books
Canadian Independent Booksellers Association

Karen Brochu
Publisher, House of Anansi Press
Association of Canadian Publishers

Catherine Gerbasi
Owner & Publisher, Portage & Main Press
Association of Canadian Publishers

Michael Guy-Haddock
Vice President of Sales, Simon & Schuster Canada
Canadian Publishers’ Council

Athmika Punja
Director, Operations, Penguin Random House Canada
Canadian Publishers’ Council

Heather Kuipers
Owner, Ella Minnow Children’s Bookstore
Canadian Independent Booksellers Association

Rania Husseini
SVP Print, Indigo Books & Music Inc.

Observers

Laura Carter
Executive Director, Canadian Independent Booksellers Association

Jack Illingworth
Executive Director, Association of Canadian Publishers

Leigh-Anne Graham
Executive Director, Canadian Publishers’ Council

Mary Chevreau
Executive Director, Canadian Urban Libraries Council