1. Books: The Durable Medium
Chapter Outline
History
Industry
Controversies

2. Manuscript culture Early Forms Earliest paper evolved around 3000 BC.
Papyrus to parchment, made from dried animal skins.
Greeks & Asian cultures made early books

3. Manuscript culture Early Forms
China - Book like objects from strips of wood
1st postmodern book Codex (pg 345)
Sheets of parchment sewn together bound with wood
Access was for the privileged
Priests, monks

4. Print Revolution The Printing Revolution
This Person came up with moveable metal type.
Printing changed the world
From oral culture to literature culture.
Led to many changes

5. Publishing in the U.S. The Book In America
1530’s - Spanish established first press in the Americas.
In Mexico City.
Early colonial publishers escaped repression in England,
Parchment gives way to early paper

6. Publishing in the U.S. Many colonial printers ran bookstores.
vertical integration.
Print shops/bookstores
Became meeting places & educational centers.
The Library Company of Philadelphia

7. Publishing in the U.S. Universal Education Massachusetts –
Passed law requiring every child be taught to read
Universal education
Became law in the U.S. in 1820s.
McGuffey’s Readers,
1st published in 1836

8. Publishing in the U.S. Paperback Books
Mass-market paperbacks introduced by Pocket Books in 1939
Male-oriented mysteries, Westerns, and thrillers
Harlequin, marketed romance novels grew in the 1960s,
Trade paperback - heavier cover and better quality paper.

9. Today’s Book Publishing
Types of Books
Trade books – account for largest share of books sold.
Fiction and nonfiction that are sold to the general public.
Educational books – textbooks for schools
Elementary, secondary, college, and vocational.

10. Today’s Book Publishing
Reference books – used to look up facts and information.
Professional books information for specific occupations
The specialty classification
Religious books, high school and college yearbooks,

11. Publishing in the U.S. New Forms of the Book
Audiobooks – Started for people with vision problems,
E-books – Digital files, usually downloaded from Internet.
E-books have the potential to change the medium.
Hypertext fiction
Anyone remember the type of books with this feature?

12. Today’s Book Publishing
The Players
Less than 200 full-time professional authors of books.
Most authors teach, work for newspapers/magazines, or are celebrities.
Authors write under contract or on spec;

13. Today’s Book Publishing
The Bookseller
Barnes & Noble
Accounts for more than 25 percent of book sales.
Megastores have about 100k titles,
Many perks & hard to find content
Independent bookstores
Not part of a larger company.
Indy Bookstore
Any advantages to independent bookstores? What?

14. Today’s Book Publishing
Amazon.com is the leading online bookstore
Developed “Bookmatcher”
Recommends books based on customer’s other preferences.
There are many other online booksellers
What other sites have you gone to for books?
Book Clubs
What are some book clubs you are familiar with

15. Books and Democracy Insight into experiences beyond our own Books
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Silent spring – pesticide industry reform
Uncle Tom’s Cabin,
Published in st national best seller.

16. Today’s Book Publishing
The Reader – Determine what’s published.
Bibliophiles
Consume 50 or more books a year.
Casual readers
Enjoy reading, but only a few books a year.
Required readers
Only read for work or studies.
Illiterates
Never learned how to read.
Aliterates
Those who can read but don’t.

17. Controversies Book Censorship – Banned Book link The First Amendment
Restricts government interference with free speech,
Any act of government censorship tends to be a serious issue.
Censorship by schools & libraries has been controversial.
Any books that were banned by your school? Why?

18. Controversies
Challenging a book, provides publicity that stimulates sales.
What books were publicized and sold well?
Book censorship around the world
Usually far stricter than in the U.S.
Censorship can protect children from
Pornography, obscenity, and writers who advocate violence.
Do you agree with this? Why, Why Not

19. Controversies The Blockbuster Syndrome Publishing blockbusters
Controls the economics of the industry.
Big payfor potential blockbusters
Little money for more literary works.
Midlist authors
Write books with literary merit but are not obvious blockbusters.

20. Controversies The Blockbuster Syndrome The quest for blockbusters
Has led to “books by crooks.”
Such as “A Millions Little Pieces”
Another problem of the phenomenon is
Decline in quality & accuracy in works of nonfiction.
Also, a number of books turn out to be hoaxes or plagiarized works.