Publishing Matters
The Role of E-book Vendors as the Intermediaries between Publishers and Libraries: A Discourse Analysis of E-book Vendor Websites
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mei Zhang
E-book vendors, particularly those in the areas of humanities and social science (HSS), play a critical role in knowledge dissemination, as they facilitate interactions between publishers as content providers and academic libraries as consumers through their technical infrastructures and services. Using concepts developed in platform literatures, this paper investigates e-book vendors as the intermediary platforms in the scholarly publishing market by examining vendors’ differentiation strategies used to attract both sides of the platform: publishers and academic libraries. Specifically, this paper identifies six major and emerging e-book platform vendors in the HSS market in the U.S., including the ProQuest, EBSCO, JSTOR, ProjectMUSE, De Gruyter and the American Council of Learned Societies. After collecting online promotional materials from the websites of these vendors used for libraries and publishers, this paper reports findings from a discourse analysis of the materials, focusing on vendors’ self-identifications and how vendors market and communicate their missions and distinctions from other vendors to both publishers and libraries. Along with the prior research of the author on academic libraries’ purchase decisions of e-book products and university presses’ selection decisions of vendors, this paper on vendors as the intermediaries will help stakeholders develop a comprehensive understanding of the e-book scholarly publishing ecosystem by exploring the power relationships among all three stakeholders: libraries, publishers, and vendors, and how these power relations shape the scholarly publishing industry.
Issues of Representation and Inclusion in Scholarly Publishing: The Roles of Authors, Reviewers, Editors, and Published Research
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Theophilus Adedokun
Representation and inclusion have become pressing issues in recent years, as systemic biases resulting in the underrepresentation of certain groups continue to be revealed in scholarly publishing. This paper presents strategies that have been implemented by the African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies (AJIMS), to promote equity and diversify its authorship, reviewers, editors and the research published in the journal. Specifically, the paper discusses how targeted recruitment of reviewers and intentional diversification of the AJIMS editorial board have brought traditionally excluded voices into the journal's editorial decision-making processes. Additionally, the paper highlights how special issues, targeted calls for papers, and an articulated values/practices statement have shaped the focus and values of the research published in AJIMS. While these strategies have the potential to make scholarly publishing more representative of diversity while upholding quality standards, the paper argues that systemic change necessitates commitment at all levels. In conclusion, the paper emphasizes that lasting inclusive practices require the dedication of all stakeholders such as authors, editors, reviewers, publishers, professional societies, and the wider research community engaged with scholarly publishing.
Featured Thirty Years Reflection and Implication of the Allowability of Controversial Anti-government, Revolutionary Book Publishing by Great Britain View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Susan Fredricks
Great Britain has a long, storied history of both freedom and censorship in book publishing. The timeline shows peaks and valleys beginning with the early laws under King Henry VII who, essentially, banned the publication of anti-monarchy books. Historical events including revolutions, world wars, and terrorist attacks have also necessitated Great Britain’s government to censor and ban particular books. This government overreach has not always been popular with their citizens. Therefore, this study was designed to examine a thirty-year period when Britain allowed revolutionary or anti-government books to be published. Using the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) Role of Government themed survey data from 1985, 1990, 1996, 2006, and 2016, the hypotheses on Great Britain’s citizens’ book publishing beliefs were analyzed. During a five-year period from 1985 to 1990, when data was available for analysis, Britain demonstrated a belief on whether specific controversial books, including white supremacists’ books, should be allowed to be published. This study also notes that various times have shown a downward trend of censorship that might be due to environmental factors. Implications and future research endeavors are also discussed.
