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A Darker Shade of Grey
How non-mainstream published books find their way into libraries
Presentation at EURASLIC Conference, Lyon, May 2011
Anneli Meeder, Dipl.-Bibl.NHBS | Everything for Wildlife, Science & Environment
Introduction
Special libraries and specialist booksellers use the same methods and processes for the identification of new titles for inclusion in their catalogues.
At NHBS:
We identify more than 300 titles for inclusion in our catalogue each month
We evaluate all titles, and reject inappropriate titles
Subject areas covered: Natural History (Botany, Zoology), Biology, Ecology, Conservation, Sustainable Development
All languages, all countries of publication
Title Selection The Challenge
The objective for libraries and for NHBS:
To have the most complete collection / catalogue of relevant titles on the subject
The challenge:
“How do you find out about all these titles?”
More than half of all publishers in the NHBS catalogue have only one title in our subject range
In 2010, 1300 publishers and suppliers sent books to NHBS, over 850 of them sent only one title
Title Selection Sources of Information
“Pushed” (automatic):
– Publishers' catalogues, fliers, emails
– Booksellers' catalogues, emails
– User/buyer requests– Mailing lists (i.e.
IAMSLIC, Algae-l)– Acquisitions lists of
other libraries
“Pulled” (research required):
Book reviews
Subject searches on booksellers' websites
Monitoring publishers' websites
Contacting publishers to request information on new titles
Title selection for catalogue/collection development relies on information from:
Title Selection What makes titles difficult to find?
Typical reasons why titles are overlooked:
Established publisher with only one title in the subject area
New publisher, “niche” publisher with few publications
Society or Association with few publications
Self-published author
(Vanity publishing)
Not Grey Literature
Books are overlooked, but they are published with the intention to sell:
They have an ISBN
They have a set retail price
Books are not available electronically
There is some availability through booksellers
Books receive limited marketing
This is a challenge for both libraries and publishers!
Example 1: one-off title by established publisher
Publisher usually specialises in other subjects, but publishes a one-off title in marine biology
Publisher doesn't know how to reach the target audience for this title
Librarians don't know the publisher
Availability: Usually available through booksellers
Coastal Plankton Photo Guide for European Seas
Otto Larink and Wilfried Westheide
Publisher: Verlag Dr Friedrich Pfeil, Germany
2011
2nd edition, 1st edition was published 2006
Publisher specialises in German and English titles on Archaeology and Paleontology
The Borneo Suckers Revision of the Torrent Loaches of Borneo
Tan Heok Hui
Publisher: Natural History Publications, Borneo
2006
Publisher specialises in botanical field guides
Example 2: New Niche Publisher
New publishers trying to establish a publishing profile
Limited marketing know-how
Often print-on-demand or inferior printing quality
Availability: usually available from booksellers
Phytoplankton of Norwegian Coastal Waters
Jahn Throndsen, Grethe Rytter Hasle and Karl Tangen
Publisher: Almater Forlag, Norway
Publisher specialises in children's books
Publication year: 2007
Translation of a Norwegian title, originally published in 2003
Coelacanth Portrait of a Living Fossil
Peter L Forey
Publisher: Forrest Text, United Kingdom
2009
Limited availability through booksellers
Publisher specialises in natural history titles by established authors
Example 3: Society or Association with small publishing arm
Many specialist titles in Natural History are published by societies and associations.
Publications are usually of a high quality:
Well edited
Printed to high standards
Advertising of new titles is generally limited to members of the society or association
Sensibly priced
Often not available from booksellers
Building a Future for Wildlife Zoos and Aquariums Committed to Biodiversity
Conservation
G Dick and M Gusset
Publisher: World Zoo and Aquarium Association (WAZA), Switzerland
2010
Available from many booksellers
Subterranean Fishes of the World
Graham S Proudlove
Publisher: International Society for Subterranean Biology SIBIOS-ISSB, Italy
The only book ever published by the society
2006
Not available through most booksellers
Example 4: Self-published author
Authors publish their own books without established publisher
Self-publishing is relatively easy
Editing can be low quality
Limited marketing abilities
Difficult to buy from regular booksellers
Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes
Maurice Kottelat and J Freyhof
Publisher: Maurice Kottelat, Switzerland
2007
Self-published by established author
Very limited availability through booksellers
Fishes of Tehran Province and Adjacent Areas
Brian Coad
Publisher: Shabpareh Publications, Iran
2008
Very limited availability through booksellers
Conclusion
Some publications that cannot be classified as “grey” are nevertheless hard to identify.
Some titles of relevance may take years to find their way into libraries.
Marine Biology libraries need to rely on information-sharing to stay up-to-date on new relevant titles.
Information can come from a variety of sources (publishers, library users, other libraries and booksellers).
Specialist booksellers offer new title catalogues and subject catalogues that have many overlooked titles.
Thank you
Anneli Meeder, Dipl.-Bibl.
www.nhbs.com
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