Open Society Publishing Forum12 December 1998, Issue 24****************************************************************OPEN SOCIETY PUBLISHING FORUM OSI Center for Publishing Development Budapest, 12 December 1998, Issue 24 **************************************************************** In this issue *Foundation Publishing Budget Approval Process Latvian Books in Print Tbilisi Seminar on Publishers’ Associations Seminar for Senior Staff of Russian Publishing Studies Departments Ukrainian Teachers of Publishing Visit Publishing Studies’ Centers in the West Translations of Sources on the History of Kazakstan and Central Asia Supported in Kazakstan "Soviet Military Intervention in Hungary, 1956" – A New Title from CEU Press *Publishing in EC Europe and Central Asia VAT on Educational Books Lowered to 0% in Hungary *Publishing General News from the World of Electronic Book *Translations Published - Update *Supplement Conclusions of the Tour of Publishing Studies’ Centers in the West ALL THE BEST FOR FORUM READERS FOR THE HOLIDAY PERIOD AND NEXT YEAR ======================================================= Foundation Publishing ======================================================= BUDGET APPROVAL PROCESS The network program budget was submitted to the OSI Board early in November. As you know, the matching fund elements were provision and subject to change after the national foundation budgets are reviewed by the board. Nonetheless, some interesting facts emerge already. According to the figures we received from the national foundations, national publishing programs have been cut by 50%. On the other hand you have chosen to allocate more of your block grant to network publishing programs. The most popular items were the Translation Program and the Electronic Publishing Program. So our network budget was increased to the required level to match you block grant allocations. In summary this means that with the national programs decreasing, but network programs increasing, the overall total spend on publishing will decrease by 30%. George Soros was satisfied with this level of reduction and asked that we should try to cut by a similar amount next year. I am sure that with the ever growing experience within the network and the increased focus of our activities we can have just as much of an impact despite the reduced funding. Frances Pinter LATVIAN BOOKS IN PRINT On 16 October the first edition of the Latvian Books in Print was published. The catalogue was produced by the Latvian Booksellers’ Association and is the first such publication in the Baltics. Approximately 3,700 titles, arranged by topic, author, etc. in line with generally accepted international standards were included in the first edition with a print run of 600 copies. The preparatory stages, including designing the software and developing a mechanism for collecting information, took about one year (September 1997-October 1998). So far, stable cooperation has been established with approximately 50 book publishers controlling approximately two-thirds of the book publishing market in Latvia, as well as with major book wholesalers. The Soros Foundation - Latvia and the CPD contributed to the project with a grant of $3,128 (matching funds) for the development and maintenance of the home page of the catalogue. Other funds came from the Latvian Association of Booksellers ($1,265 for a part-time employee) and involved publishers ($2,320 for including their titles in the catalogue); the total budget of the project was $5,448. Additionally the Council of Europe’s Information and Documentation Center helped publish material promoting involvement of book publishers in the information process, among them a weekly information bulletin "Gramatu jaunumi" (Book News). The grant provided was $1,198. The Council of Europe also provided training for one person in Strasbourg last May. [based on information from Ilze Freiberga, Soros Foundation - Latvia <ifreib@sfl.lv>] TBILISI SEMINAR ON PUBLISHERS’ ASSOCIATIONS The seminar organised for participants from Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan took place in Tbilisi, Georgia on 21-22 November. It attracted 26 participants from the three countries. While the first day was filled with a presentation by Istvan Bart, the president of the Hungarian Publishers’ Association and a discussion, the second was left for individual consultations with the trainer. As the participants noted, there is always a need for an exchange of news and experience at such meetings, therefore an ad hoc presentation of the publishers’ associations from the participating countries was added at the end of the first day. Georgian Publishers’ Association has been active for two years and has achieved remarkable successes; it organised the first Caucasian Book Fair, established an ISBN Agency, and successfully lobbied for lowering of VAT on books. Its plans include starting a collection of book statistics and a review of publishing legislation. The Armenian association was registered four months ago and is occupied mainly by organisational issues though it managed to participate as such in the Frankfurt Fair. The Azerbaijani association is also new. Among its plans are lobbying for lowering the cost of obtaining a publishing license, launching a trade journal and establishing an ISBN agency. The seminar was coorganised by the Open Society Georgia Foundation, the CPD as well as OSI Armenia and OSI Azerbaijan. The total cost of the seminar was about $9,000. [JC] SEMINAR FOR SENIOR STAFF OF RUSSIAN PUBLISHING STUDIES DEPARTMENTS On 9-11 September Moscow State University of Press was the venue of the "Publishers in the Time of Change" seminar for senior staff of department of publishing studies of Russian universities organised with a grant from OSI-Moscow ($17,000). Thirty-five participants in the event were identified out of 116 applicants from institutions providing publishing education, the rest being put on a waiting list for similar future seminars. The seminar was attended also by numerous officials, among them representatives of the federal Ministry of General and Professional Education, the State Committee for Printing and the Russian Book Chamber. The focus of the seminar was on the problems of copyright, publishing management, finance and taxation, structure and typology of textbooks and new information technologies. In addition to lectures on the above topics, the participants were presented with some new pre-press and printing equipment and were introduced to activities of a number of foreign and joint venture companies. The final discussion also provided an occasion for a direct discussion with the government representatives. The participants were issued graduation certificates and a set of professional books (A.A. Gassov, A.M. Tsiganenko: Information Technology in Publishing, Uve Baufeld, Manfred Dorra, et al: Transfer of Information to Press, A.A. Jigo, S.Y. Kalinin: Publishing Standards). Among the problems of the Russian publishing industry identified at the seminar were the lack of information on textbook demand, unfavourable taxation and financial regulations, the lack of technical equipment, distribution (especially by mail), the high cost of short print runs and the lack of coordination among academic publishers. With regard to professional education, the participants agreed that there was an acute need for an additional seminar of this kind (86% evaluated this event as "excellent", 14% as "good"), therefore the Moscow State University of Press is planning a two-year seminar cycle. [based on information from Alexander Livergant, OSI-Moscow <tar@osi.ru>]] UKRAINIAN TEACHERS OF PUBLISHING VISIT PUBLISHING STUDIES’ CENTERS IN THE WEST In the framework of the project "Development of Human Resources for the Ukrainian Book Industry" seven publishers and representatives of senior academic staff of publishing educational institutions visited three Western publishing schools (Oxford Brooks University, Institute of Economic Techniques and Culture in Leipzig and Formacion Publish in Madrid) on 7-21 June. The objective of the visit was to study the experience of these three countries in publishing studies. The group got acquainted with the curricula and teaching methodology applied in publishing and bookselling studies in these three countries. It also visited the publishers’ associations, numerous publishing houses, printers and bookshops. The tour was organised by IBD of London. It was co-finansed by the International Renaissance Foundation in Kyiv and the CPD in the amount of $50,816. [based on information from Lydia Hryva, International Renaissance Foundation <hryva@irf.kiev.ua>] SEE ALSO CONCLUSIONS OF THE TOUR IN THE SUPPLEMENT TRANSLATIONS OF SOURCES ON THE HISTORY OF KAZAKSTAN AND CENTRAL ASIA SUPPORTED IN KAZAKSTAN The Soros Foundation - Kazakstan has already supported seven translations of books written by foreign authors on Kazakstan and Central Asia within their Translation Program. The objective of the program is twofold: first, to present to the Kazak audience the picture of the country present in the writings of the various foreigners travelling there, and second, to translate titles covering the "white gaps" in the history of the country and the region. The enterprise is unique as no other governmental or non-governmental body has made similar efforts yet. Books are translated into Kazak or Russian. [based on information from Shynar Imangalieva, Soros Foundation - Kazakstan <siman@soroskz.glas.apc.org>] Translated within the project: 1. Collective Work: The Kazak Diaspora: Problems of Ethnic Survival (from English into Russian, two texts included: Benson, L. and I. Svanberg (eds.): The Kazaks of China: Essays on an ethnic minority, and Svanberg, I.: Kazak Refugees in Turkey: A Study of cultural persistence and social change), $9,620 2. Collective Work: Sources to the History of the pre-Islamic Central Asia (from English, French and German into Russian), $7,397 3. Akiner, Shirin, A.: Formation of the Kazak Identity: From tribalism to statehood (from English into Russian), $4,238 4. Andreev: A Description of the Kyrgyz-Kaisak Middle Ord (from Old Slavic into Russian), $7,978 5. Demko, J.: The Russian Colonisation of Kazakstan 1896-1916 (from English into Kazak), $9,959 6. Kestl, J.: Journal von der Ao. 1736 aus Orenburg zu dem Abul Geier Chan der Kirgis = Cantact Tatarischen Orda (from old German into Kazak), $4,300 7. Kestl, J.: Journal von der Ao. 1736 aus Orenburg zu dem Abul Geier Chan der Kirgis = Cantact Tatarischen Orda (from old German into Russian), $8,197 8. Toktaganov, A.: Qui - A Message from Allah (from Kazak into Russian), $4,999 To be translated within the project 1. Collective Work: Notes of German Travellers in Kazakstan in the 18th Century (from old German into Russian) 2. Golden, Peter: Ancient Turks (from English into Russian) 3. Kashgarskyi, Makhmud: Divan Lugat at Turk ("Compendium of Turkic Languages", from Arabic into Russian) 4. Khasanov, A: The Nomads and the Outside World (from English into Russian) "SOVIET MILITARY INTERVENTION IN HUNGARY, 1956" – A NEW TITLE FROM CEU PRESS This new CEU Press title was edited by Jeno Gyorkei, formerly of the Military History Institute, Budapest, and Miklos Horvath, Political College of the Hungarian Army, Budapest, and contains a study by Alexandr Kirov, military historian. From the catalogue: "This study reveals new material on the organization, command, strategy, and tactics of the Soviet armed forces which invaded Hungary in 1956. Particularly interesting is the precise documentation of the irrationally large size of the forces. The major contribution made by the book is its source material: it is based on research in Soviet archives, and this alone makes the volume of unique scholarly importance. The book opens with a substantial introductory essay by the editors, and includes a major study by Alexandr Kirov, based on research in Soviet military archives. One of the real strengths of the book is that it also includes the memoirs of General Yevgeny Malashenko, in 1956 a colonel in the Soviet Army and acting Chief of Staff of the Special Corps in Budapest, who provided unparalleled insights into Soviet military procedures, politico-military co-operation, and the actual fighting strengths and weaknesses of the Red Army. Very few other high-ranking Soviet officers have ever published their memoirs in the West." ======================================================= Publishing in EC Europe and Central Asia ======================================================= VAT ON EDUCATIONAL BOKS LOWERED TO 0% IN HUNGARY The Hungarian Parliament lowered the VAT on educational books from 12% to 0% in mid-November. This decision came as a result of multiyear lobbying by the Hungarian Publishers’ Association. The association identified a governing party MP who "adopted" the issue and managed to secure the support first of the parliamentary cultural committee and then of the governing party faction. In both cases the initiative to lower VAT was accepted by the respective bodies and further presented as their own. At the same time the association asked its members to exercise pressure on the parliament through their authors who are also MPs irrespective of their political attitude, which contributed to the support for the initiative among both the government parties and the opposition. Upon request of the association the president of the International Publishers’ Association issued a letter endorsing the change to the Prime Minister and the President of Hungary. In support of their request the association argued for the EU recommendation that VAT on books should be either 0% or the lowest possible rate, considering the rates of VAT on books in other countries and the disastrous effects the 12% VAT on books has had on Hungary (the country introduced a 6% rate in 1992, which was then raised first to 10% and finally to 12% in 1993). The goal of the association is to lower VAT to 0% for all other books next year, which enjoys the support of the parliamentary faction of the governing party. [JC] ======================================================= Publishing General ======================================================= NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF ELECTRONIC BOOKS One of the recent developments in the world of electronic books (e-books, book-like appliances for reading texts from an electronic) is NuvoMedia’s Rocket eBook, already available at $499. For this price you can have a plastic gadget weighting 600g and measuring 19x12cm, which includes a built-in dictionary and other word processing features. Tapping on a button you can scroll down or through the books. You can attach it to your computer and download various books in 2 to 5 minutes. It is powered by a quickly chargeable battery. NuvoMedia teamed up with Barnes & Noble, one of major US publishing companies that will make titles available for downloading onto personal computer. The other electronic book is Softbook ($299). This also has the word processing and searching option but with its A/4 size screen it is bigger than the Rocket eBook. Using Softbook you do not need a computer but only a phone jack, which helps you to get connected with the SoftBook Network. Once the reader is online, s/he can browse a vast selection in the Soft Bookstore ranging from periodicals to documents. This virtual bookstore maintains a wide range of texts published commercially: periodicals newsletters and books. [Monika Horvath, based on Publishers’ Weekly 26 November 1998] ======================================================= Translations Published - Update ======================================================= NEW TITLES PUBLISHED WITHIN THE PROJECT CEU Translation Project: MACEDONIA 1.Descartes, Rene: Meditations metaphysiques, grant $1,700 2. Jelavich, Barbara, History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, grant $7,784, $214/author’s sheet 3. Jelavich, Barbara, History of the Balkans: Twentieth Century, grant $7,784, $222/author’s sheet 4. Smith, Adam: The Wealth of Nations, grant $17,853, $558/author’s sheet 5. Woolf, Virginia: A Room of One's Own, grant $2,500, $357/author’s sheet East Translates East Project ESTONIA Gombrowicz, Witold: Dzienniki, grant $2,714 ======================================================= Supplement ======================================================= CONCLUSIONS OF THE TOUR OF PUBLISHING STUDIES’ CENTERS IN THE WEST From the report prepared by Ihor Z. Myklushko, the Assistance Professor of the Ukrainian Academy of Printing in Lviv Issue 1. Integration of the forms and methods of training for publishing and printing specialities. To gradually adapt the forms and methods of training that exist in Ukraine to those in Oxford Brooks University. Proposals: 1. To sign the memorandum on cooperation between the Ukrainian Academy of Printing (UAP) and Oxford Brooks University (OBU) with the aim of integration of the teaching process. 2. To form an experimental group of students to be taught in accordance with the OBU methods of teaching, and agree the curriculum for publishers with the Education Ministry of Ukraine. 3. To enroll people from publishing houses for upgrading their qualification at the Skills Improvement Department in accordance with the OBU teaching methods. Issue 2. Development of education depends on the publishing sphere. UAP should pay more attention to cooperation with Ukrainian publishing houses, it should establish connections with foreign publishing houses, and more actively offer its services in the field of re-qualification of publishing houses’ staff. Proposals: 1. To join the Publishers’ Association of Ukraine. 2. To form Supervision Council consisting of representatives of publishing houses and printshops. 3. To strive to bring about changes in the education, publishing, and copyright law through joint efforts with the Publishers’ Association of Ukraine. 4. To introduce a remote education scheme as an alternative to education by correspondence. Issue 3. Information technologies determine development of society. UAP should develop an area of publishing and information technologies. Proposals: 1. To provide, within the framework of the memorandum, a probation period for UAP lecturers at OBU. 2. To form the chair of publishing and information technologies. 3. To introduce in the curricula the following subjects: Technology of Electronic Publishing, Multimedia Technology, Publishing Databases, Copyright and Intellectual Property, Book Design, Computer Networks in Publishing." 4. To initiate a webpage of UAP. 5. To begin work on designing electronic textbooks for teaching specialists in publishing. Issue 4. Education should not be free of charge. UAP should raise its rating among the institutions of Ukraine, which will permit the enrollment of more students to the paid form of education. Proposals: 1. To introduce a probation period for UAP students. 2. To convince the Education Ministry of Ukraine to enroll more students to the paid form of education. 3. To organize a group that will design projects to be financed by international grants. Issue 5. Book design is art. To initiate group work of students on projects. To teach courses in editions designing, using data bases, computer network in publishing. Proposals: 1. To initiate a group form of work of students on projects. 2. To foster an increase in the number of interdepartmental diploma projects. 3. To establish a student publishing house under the UAP on a self-governance basis. 4. To introduce intensive-study foreign languages courses. ======================================================= Open Society Publishing Forum is a publication of the OSI Center for Publishing Development. Archive of back issues: <www.osi.hu/cpd/spf> Contact person: Jerzy Celichowski <celichow@osi.hu> Distribution: Monika Horvath <mhorvath@osi.hu> You can also contact us at: Center for Publishing Development Open Society Institute 1525 Budapest 114. sz. posta PO Box 10/22 Hungary e-mail <cpd@osi.hu> tel (36 1) 327 3014 fax (36 1) 327 3042 =======================================================
See also:
[#23'98] [ #22'98 ][
#21'98 ][
#20'98 ][ #19'98
]
|