A Pexodyssey: Bibliographic Data Management and the Implementation of Pexod at the Dundurn Group

In the summer of 2004, The Dundurn Group, implemented a new database technology called the Publisher's Extensible ONIX Database (PExOD). PExOD is a bibliographic database developed at the Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing in 2002. The decision to adopt this technology at The Dundurn Group came from the increasing digitization of the book publishing industry, the use of ONIX for exchanging bibliographic data with trading partners, and the lack of any formal system for dealing with data at the company. This report describes the implementation, integration, and impact of PExOD on the publishing processes at The Dundurn Group, successes and problems of implementing the software, and suggested changes to PExOD, while also explaining the context of PExOD within the structure and problems inherent to the supply chain in Canada.