week3 db

Chapter 10 Summary 

The History of Books from Papyrus to Paperbacks As early civilizations advanced and discovered writing, they also started to create the first prototypes of books. By 2400 B.C.E., the Egyptians had papyrus scrolls, the Babylonians had clay tablets, and the Chinese were making book–like objects by 1000 B.C.E. An early style of book in Europe called a codex used bound pages made of parchment. Illuminated manuscripts were a hallmark of the manuscript culture, a period in the Middle Ages during which scribes copied texts by hand. At the same time, methods of block printing were being developed in China and later introduced to Europe. The Chinese were also the first to develop moveable type, an innovation that was developed independently in Europe when Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press. His staff produced the first so–called modern books, including the Latin Bible, on special parchment called vellum. The printing press made it possible to mass produce books relatively quickly and cheaply, which resulted in the widespread exchange of ideas that profoundly influenced and changed culture and society. The printing press followed settlers to the New World, with the first print shop in the colonies open for business in 1630. By the mid–1760s, all thirteen colonies had printing shops. In the 1800s cheaper machine–made paper and inexpensive paperback books made books more accessible to the masses. These included the dime novels, sometimes also called pulp fiction. Printing got even faster with the mechanical typesetting linotype machines in the 1880s, and in the early 1900s offset lithography allowed books to be printed from photographic plates instead of metal casts. Modern Publishing and the Book Industry As the growing middle class demanded more and more books throughout the 1800s, publishing became more organized with the formation of publishing houses. These publishing houses grew alongside the shift from rural to urban culture between 1880 and 1920. The divisions of the modern book industry come from economic and structural categories developed by publishers and trade organizations. Categories of book publishing include:

• trade books (popular fiction and nonfiction) • professional books (targeting various occupational groups) • textbooks (divided into el–hi, college, and vocational texts) • mass market paperbacks (including instant books, which are published quickly

after a major event occurs) • religious books (including the all–time best–seller, the Bible) • reference books (including dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, etc.) • university press books (typically scholarly works in niche intellectual areas).

Trends and Issues in Book Publishing Since Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold fifteen thousand copies in fifteen days in 1852, American publishers have stalked the best–seller, or blockbuster.

Chapter 10 Summary 

This search has taken on new dimensions since then with the convergence of book publishing with other forms of media. Perhaps the biggest such relationship is with television and film, with books providing material that can be made into television programs or movies. At the same time, promotion on television can help book sales. Publishing has also merged successfully with sound recording to produce audio books, or recorded readings of books. The latest trend in publishing comes with the recent popularity of e-books. These are digital books read on a computer, digital reading devices like the Kindle, or touchscreen tablets like the iPad. The e-book market is now the fastest growing segment of the book publishing industry. The future of e-books could mean reimagining our idea of the book, as touchscreen tablets and computers have the ability to host e–books with interactivity, video, and hyperlinks. Some issues involving books include the preservation of older books and attempts to censor books. Older books printed during the nineteenth century on acid–based paper are particularly vulnerable to deterioration. Librarians are working to preserve and copy these books, scanning some of them to be accessible for free on the Internet —one such digitization project is the Google Library Project. Another threat to the availability of books is censorship. As societies realized the power associated with knowledge and the printed word, various authorities have censored and banned books that they deemed radical, dangerous, or obscene. In modern–day American society, these attempts to control access to books can take the form of a book challenge, a formal request to remove a book from public or school library shelves. The Organization and Ownership of the Book Industry The definition of a publisher varies widely. A publisher may be a large company occupying an entire office building, or one person working from home on a desktop computer. However, like most mass media, the majority of commercial publishing is dominated by a handful of major (often international) media conglomerates. The largest for the last twelve years has been Germany’s Bertelsmann. Some worry that the distinctive styles of older houses and their associations with certain types of books and literary figures no longer characterize the industry. Another concern is the financial struggle of independent publishers and booksellers. Finally, because large houses favor publishing bestsellers, they might not spend as much time pursuing more modest or unconventional types of books. Some typical jobs associated with a publishing operation are: the acquisitions editor (who signs authors and handles subsidiary rights), the developmental editor, the copy editor, and the design managers. The final stage of the process involves getting the books into the hands of the customers, which can be done through a variety of stores — from independent bookstores to book superstores and big box retailers like Walmart and Sam’s Club—as well as book clubs, mail order operations, and increasingly, online booksellers and digital bookstores.

Chapter 10 Summary 

Despite the domination of large conglomerates and superstores, there are alternatives. Libraries are an example of an institution that makes books freely available to everyone. There are traditional independent publishers as well as those taking advantage of lower– cost e-publishing. Books and the Future of Democracy Recent studies show reading is on the rise in America, although some critics worry the upsurge is less about serious literary work and more about consumerism. But despite these concerns, this finding of increased reading is encouraging. Since the early days of printing, books have helped us understand ideas and customs outside our own experiences. For democracy to work well, we must read.