Limits of growth: a few steps towards the methodology of book publishing research
Abstract The author analyses the research on the Competiveness of European Publishing Industries, commissioned by the European Commission in 1996. As already presented in the article, published in Knjižnica in 2000, in this research insufficient methodology and criteria were used, and as the result...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Slovenian Library Association & University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)
2002-10-01
|
| Series: | Knjižnica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.uni-lj.si/knjiznica/article/view/14037 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Abstract
The author analyses the research on the Competiveness of European Publishing Industries, commissioned by the European Commission in 1996. As already presented in the article, published in Knjižnica in 2000, in this research insufficient methodology and criteria were used, and as the result, the Slovenian publishing industry performed as one of the most competitive in Europe, regardless of the fact that already in the second half of the nineties, the first signs of a crisis in the Slovene book industry were already visible. The author proposes new criteria for measuring competitiveness of book industries, the difference between the production & sales costs and the average retail price of a book title. The article shows that the average production and sales costs in Slovene publishing are higher than in the rest of Europe. As a consequence, Slovene publishers earn less than their colleagues in other parts of Europe. The article analyses the historic, demographic, economic and social reasons for such a state of affairs. In conclusion, the author states that the reasons for low book sales and low publishers’ incomes should not be looked for in bad reading habits, but in too expensive books, and partially also in inattractive book contents. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0023-2424 1581-7903 |