Books: The Durable Medium Chapter Outline History Industry Controversies.
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Transcript of Books: The Durable Medium Chapter Outline History Industry Controversies.
Books:The Durable Medium
Chapter OutlineHistoryIndustryControversies
Early Forms Earliest paper evolved around 3000 BC. Papyrus to parchment, made from dried animal skins. Greeks & Asian cultures made early books
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
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
Many colonial printers ran bookstores. ▪ vertical integration.▪ What is vertical integration?
Print shops/bookstores▪ Became meeting places & educational centers.
The Library Company of Philadelphia
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
Books and Slavery Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, ▪ Published in 1851 - 1st national best seller.
The Book-of-the-Month Club was formed in 1926,
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.
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?
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.
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,
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;
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?
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
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.
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?
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
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.
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.