I was updating our website today, and as always I was amazed and proud of all the projects we’ve completed during the past few months. The list is pretty dizzying: Alternative Energy, Chemical Compounds, Encyclopedia of the World’s Nations and Cultures, World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties, World Religions Reference Library, Poetry for Students, Drama for Students, Scribner Encyclopedia of America Lives–and that’s to say nothing of all our work on the Contemporary Authors database. Whew! In the coming months we’ll look forward to our first title for Omnigraphics and a new multivolume work for Facts On File. Above all, I’m thinking about the industry and exploring ways of taking our company to the next level. Needless to say, it’s an exciting time to be at Schlager Group. And in case anyone has forgotten, hurricane season starts June 1. Fasten your seatbelts!
I just noticed a curious feature of the new issue of Library Journal (April 1, 2006): In the Reference section, of the 7 reviews, 6 are about Greenwood titles. Sage squeaks into the final spot. Certainly, the number of new print reference titles has been diminishing, and some publishers (e.g., Thomson Gale) have curtailed their output of new titles. Still, this particular issue’s selections strike me as an odd sort. Greenwood must be happy, however!
Today’s New York Times has an interesting article (registration required but free) about how an increasing number of American college students are buying their textbooks from India. For years American and UK publishers have allowed Indian printers to produce cheap, paperback versions of their textbooks and to sell them for as little as 10 percent of the normal cost–but only in India. Now, American students are realizing that they can save tons of money by buying these paperback reprints. It’s all a matter of finding a “distributor” (or a friend) or can ship the books from India. The established publishers are beginning to crack down on companies trying to profit from this angle. Interestingly, one Indian student at an American college said he had no plans to buy cheap textbooks from India, but only because he had no plans to buy any textbooks at all. “All the information is available online,” he said. Although this is probably not true, it does speak to the larger challenging facing all established publishers, whether they produce textbooks or reference books.
Google has partnered with publishers in both the U.K. and the U.S. to begin offering entire books for purchase and viewing online. (Read about it here.) Readers will be able to view a few pages from the book before purchase so they can make sure they want to buy the book. Once they purchase it, they will not be able to download it but will be able to view it through a web browser. One imagines that only very specific kinds of books would be of use in this format. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
Berkshire has launched the website for their upcoming China newsletter called Guanxi. (It means “networks” or “connections” in Chinese.) Check it out here, and check out the subscription price. Wow! Pretty expensive for a 12-page monthly newsletter. I would love to read it, myself, as I think the whole topic is fascinating, but I doubt I’ll spring for it given the cost. I wonder just who will be willing to pay the price? The website is gorgeous, though.
The recent issue of Against the Grain, a publication dedicated to news of academic libraries and librarians, featured an interesting interview with Matthew Bruccoli, a renowned F. Scott Fitzgerald scholar who was one of the founding editors of the legendary Dictionary of Literary Biography. This series, published by Gale, has delivered hundreds of volumes since the late 1970s. In the interview, Bruccoli talks about how he and C.E. Clarke were urged by Gale founder Fred Ruffner to conceive of a new literary reference series. The result was the DLB, which features volumes devoted to specific literary genres and periods (e.g. American poets since World War II). Bruccoli and Clark set up a production company to produce the volumes, and as of 2006 Bruccoli-Clark-Layman had a staff of some 40 editors working on their projects. (They have done other series besides DLB, both for Gale as well as for other publishers including Facts On File.) Unfortunately for BCL, Gale has decided to curtail production of new DLB print volumes and instead will only publish online updates. It’s unclear exactly what this means for the overall DLB production levels, but my understanding is that they will go way down. It will definitely mark the end of an era. Alas, I inadvertantly threw away this issue–sorry!
Berkshire Publishing has posted its new catalog on its website. It’s a wonderful piece that provides an interesting snapshot of a young, small but growing publishing company in our industry. They are publishing in many different subject areas, from world culture to sport to terrorism to religion; their niche is expensive, multivolume encyclopedias. They are already announcing numerous titles that won’t be ready for release until 2007 and 2008, e.g. encyclopedias of China, sustainability, the 21st century (interesting, that), and extreme sport. One thing I like about Berkshire is their way of supporting their primary publishing efforts with newsletters (including one on China) and ancillary websites (e.g., www.librarieswelove.org), all of which are ways of bulding relationships with libraries and readers alike. Smart of them.
Library Journal’s website has an interesting snippet about Bowker, which was long known as the publisher of Books in Print. That title was overwhelmed by the advent of Amazon.com, and Bowker itself nearly went out of business. It survived by forming partnerships and offering its data to bookstores. Click here for the article.
The Orange County Library System in Orlando, FL, has won the Thomson Gale Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services. The award is in recognition of OCPL’s eGuides reference service.
This article from Information Today provides an interesting and informative perspective of the various benefits and drawbacks of the Wikipedia and Britannica publishing models. The author’s conclusion is that both models are useful research tools.
The New York Times has an article about the situation at the National Archives. It provides a good summary as well as some new information on recent developments. Registration is free but required.
Here is an interesting article about how a historian discovered that intelligence agencies were systematically removing documents that were previously available to the public at the National Archives and re-classifying them as secret. Score one for historians!
The new issue of Library Journal has a column by a librarian at Boston University extolling the virtues of print reference. The article is a somewhat nostalgic ode to classic print references like Gale’s Encyclopedia of Associations. Although the author does note that occasionally a print source can provide an answer faster than an online search, his main argument in favor of print reference is more personal: “Let’s not forget that one of the many joys of working at the reference desk is precisely the ability to browse a print volume and serendipitously come across a delightful fact or amusing morsel of information.” Not exactly an air-tight business reason for publishers to bring out more print reference–or for libraries to buy it.