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5856 results in Facet Publishing

Page 249 of 293

  • GENERAL SOURCES

  • Bob Duckett, Peter Walker, Christinea Donnelly
  • Book:
    Know it All, Find it Fast
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    25 October 2008, pp 1-12

  • Summary

    Typical questions

  • • I'm doing a quiz. Where would be a good place to start?

  • • I'm stuck with my homework. Are there any good websites that would help?

  • • Can you recommend some good reference books to buy for use at home?

  • • Is there a directory of websites?

    • Considerations

    Many single resources, printed and electronic, cover a large number of subjects. These will often be the first places to seek answers, especially if they are near to hand. The information may be brief and you may need to go on to more specialized and detailed sources, but it is surprising how often brief information, quickly obtained, satisfies most enquiries. Keep things simple and go for the obvious are two lessons quickly learned. Many of the following sources should be on the Enquiry Desk or on nearby shelves.

    Where to look

    Guides to reference sources

    Owen, T. B. (2006) Success at the enquiry desk, Facet Publishing

    As well as being an excellent introductory guide on how to deal with people making enquiries, this popular booklet has notes on the most useful reference works.

    Bopp, R. G. (2008) Reference and information services: an introduction, 3rd edn, Libraries Unlimited

    Gives background to reference work and resources; US emphasis.

    Dixon, D. et al. (2005) Basic reference resources for the public library, CILIP Information Services Group

    Guides to information sources is the title of a series of books published by K. G. Saur (previously Butterworth) which currently covers 25 subjects. They give more detail than is usually needed by staff in general libraries, but they provide a valuable guide for those who need to go into some depth, including the sophisticated library user.

    Walford's Guide to reference materials (Library Association) is being replaced by The new Walford: guide to reference resources (Facet Publishing), general editor R. Lester.

    This three-volume work is the standard UK guide to reference resources and provides a useful recourse should other approaches, such as direct appeal to library shelves, fail. Vol. 1, Science, technology and medicine, (2003), covers 8000 resources under 1000 subject headings. Vol. 2, The Social Sciences, was published in 2007; vol. 3 is in preparation, and will replace Generalia, language, literature, the arts (1998), 7th edn, Library Association.

  • KINGS & QUEENS, RULERS & HEADS OF STATE

  • Bob Duckett, Peter Walker, Christinea Donnelly
  • Book:
    Know it All, Find it Fast
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    25 October 2008, pp 294-294

  • Summary

    Typical questions

  • • When was Victoria queen of England?

  • • Does Belgium have a king?

    • Where to look

    Printed sources

    Cannon, J. and Griffiths, R. (2000) Oxford illustrated history of the British monarchy, 2nd rev edn, Oxford University Press

    This covers the history of the period from c.400 to the present day and lists all the monarchs.

    For rulers worldwide, Guinness have produced the useful:

    Carpenter, C. (1978) Guinness book of kings, rulers and statesmen throughout the world, from 300 BC to the present day, Guinness Publications

    A more recent addition is:

    Arnold, J. (2002) The royal houses of Europe, Patricia Arnold Separate volume for Great Britain. Consists mainly of genealogical tables.

    There are also many biographies available on both the current royal family and kings and queens of the past. Check your shelves for availability. Encyclopedias are generally good on royalty and heads of state.

    Electronic sources

    There is a useful website listing all heads of state and rulers from around the world, both past and present:

    www.info-regenten.de/regent/regent-e

    You could also try:

    www.rulers.org

    www.worldstatesmen.org

    www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

    For the history of the UK monarchy, try the official site:

    www.royal.gov.uk

  • MANUFACTURING

  • Bob Duckett, Peter Walker, Christinea Donnelly
  • Book:
    Know it All, Find it Fast
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    25 October 2008, pp 327-354

  • Summary

    Typical questions

  • • What is the UK's manufacturing output?

  • • What is the state of manufacturing in xxx?

    • Considerations

    When enquirers are asking about manufacturing make sure they understand what it is. Kompass, Dun & Bradstreet's key British enterprises and Kelly's all provide lists of manufacturers for all types of products. You will find details of these directories in COMPANIES. In addition, look at specific subject headings for specific sources.

    Where to look

    Directories

    As well as the above try:

    Kelly's OnLine www.kellysearch.com

    This covers the manufacturing industry. The enquirer can search by company name, product/services, and by country.

    Statistics

    Manufacturing worldwide: industry analysis statistics (1999) Gale Group

    This provides data on 500 manufactured products and commodities. It also gives details of 4000-plus companies in 119 countries.

    PRODCOM annual and quarterly industry reports

    An excellent source of manufacturer sales figures, available to download from www.statistics.gov.uk/OnlineProducts/default.asp.

    Economic and labour market trends, Producer prices indices: the economy, Manufacturing productivity, Index of manufacturing

    These are available to download at www.statistics.gov.uk. Then select ‘Economy’.

    Websites

    Confederation of British Industry www.cbi.org.uk

    Offers numerous publications to download free. Lots of links and information on the CBI's Manufacturing Council.

    BEAMA www.beama.org.uk

    Excellent for publications, downloads, statistics and lots more.

    EEF: The Manufacturers Organisation www.eef.org.uk

    The voice of the engineering and manufacturing in the UK. Excellent for publications.

    Heavy Industry News www.heavyindustry.com

    Institute for Manufacturing

    Mill Lane, Cambridge CB2 1RX

    www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk

    Excellent site, including Cambridge Manufacturing Review, available to

    download freely. It is worldwide in coverage.

    Manufacturing Chemist www.manufacturingchemist.com

    MAPS

    See also Atlases & Gazetteers; Geography, Geology & Earth Sciences

    Typical questions

  • • I want an Ordnance Survey map of the Yorkshire Dales.

  • • Have you any old maps of Bulgaria?

  • • Do you have a Victorian map of Plymouth?

    • Considerations

    It is not necessary to list all the different types of maps and atlases available. Most encyclopedias contain basic maps, and as for Ordnance Survey maps, simply go and check to see what you have on the shelves. Problems are more likely to be encountered in smaller branch libraries where stock may be limited, though even here the OS Landranger maps and street atlases for their local areas should be available.

    Where to look

    Old maps

    Most local studies departments of libraries stock old maps of their areas. Check your local studies department to see what is available.

  • WEATHER

  • Bob Duckett, Peter Walker, Christinea Donnelly
  • Book:
    Know it All, Find it Fast
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    25 October 2008, pp 464-474

  • Summary

    Typical questions

  • • What will the weather be like in Madeira next week?

  • • What is the average summer temperature in Boston, USA?

  • • What was the weather like on 23 September 2000 in Lytham St Annes?

  • • Have you any information about tornadoes? I want to know how they are formed.

    • Considerations

    There is much to consider here. Enquirers may want forecasts for holidays, or want to check previous weather for insurance purposes. They may be doing school projects on the weather. The possibilities are endless. However, with a few select resources, you should be able to manage most enquiries.

    Where to look

    General

    Harding, M. (2001) Weather to travel: the traveller's guide to the world's weather, 3rd edn, Tomorrow's Guides Ltd

    Weather profiles and what to wear for 205 countries.

    Meteorological Office (1991) Meteorological glossary, 6th edn, HMSO

    The definitive glossary.

    Pearce, E. A. and Smith, C. G. (2000) World weather guide, 4th rev. edn, Helicon

    Watts, A. (1994) The weather handbook, Waterline

    A good general introduction to our weather systems.

    Whitaker, R. (ed.) (1996) Weather: the ultimate guide to the elements, HarperCollins

    A comprehensive and accessible guide to meteorology.

    Longshore, D. (1998) Encyclopedia of hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones, Fitzroy Dearborn

    The Met Office

    The Met Office provide a wealth of information about weather.

    Met Office

    FitzRoy Road, Exeter, Devon EX1 3PB

    Tel: 0870 900 0100; Fax: 0870 900 5050

    www.metoffice.gov.uk

    Current forecasts are available from:

    www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_weather.html

    Severe weather warnings from:

    www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_warnings.html

    Links to other sites giving related warnings and advice are at:

    www.metoffice.gov.uk/about/website/links.html

    The National Meteorological Library and Archive is based at the Met Office. This is open to the public and exists to provide information for anyone with an interest in the weather and climate and includes a comprehensive collection of published literature on meteorology and related science and original weather records. The Library and the Archive for England and Wales are based in Exeter, with an Archive for Scotland in Edinburgh and weather records for Northern Ireland being held in Belfast. A searchable online catalogue is available, which will enable you to see what is available on a particular topic.

  • Section 1 - Foreword: the author as reader: Editors’ introduction

  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Book:
    Reader Development in Practice
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008, pp 1-4

  • Summary

    In this section, Ann Cleeves explains how she takes an idea for a story, works with it, creates the manuscript, liaises with agent, editor and reader, and then promotes the work to her readers. This is a fascinating insight into how an author takes the writing process from idea to publication and beyond.

    This chapter is of great value to library and information professionals as it provides a unique perspective on the world of the writer and her public. An understanding of this process will help inform and consequently underpin many of the reader development activities undertaken by practitioners.

  • 8 - Cheers Ta: reflections on making poetry accessible to all

  • from Section 3 - Works of imagination: Editors’ introduction
  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Book:
    Reader Development in Practice
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008, pp 137-154

  • Summary

    Editors’ preface

    Mike's background in library and information work, particularly his experience in working with young people, gives him a distinct perspective on bringing literature to readers. In this chapter he uses his work with a variety of groups in society to illustrate how one can make poetry fun, exciting and a part of everyday life.

    While maintaining the theme of works of imagination, Mike takes a very different approach to the other authors in this section. He is concerned with enthusing people from children to pensioners to read, listen to, write and perform poetry. His use of diary entries is a novel way of illustrating the way in which, as a poet, he develops a relationship with his audience. This can be adapted and adopted by library and information professionals and incorporated in any reader development scheme.

    Introduction

    I believe the most appropriate way to tell someone how I bring literature to readers is to tear a month out of my diary and go through it, to show the many different ways in which I, as a writer, poet, a publisher and educationalist, promote reading and writing. I have chosen a fairly representative month: June 2007.

    Think about it

    I don't want to think about

    These things that I've been thinking about

    Cos when I think about

    The things I think about

    I think

    Don't think about them

    Think about something else

    Think about something that won't

    Make you think about

    The things that I've been thinking about

    Think about it

    Taken from Garry, M. (2007) Mancunian Meander, Cheers Ta

    A little about the poet

    A poet?

    I hate it when people ask me what I do for a living because it takes at least 20 minutes to explain fully. What I tell people when they do ask usually depends upon how much time I have and whether they are asking me out of politeness or whether they genuinely want to know.

    If I tell them, with my strong Mancunian accent, that I write poetry, they usually say things like: ‘What, you make pottery?’

    Then I reply with, ‘No, I write and perform poetry’, putting extra emphasis on the word ‘p-o-e-t-r-y’.

  • Introduction

  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Book:
    Reader Development in Practice
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008, pp xv-xvi

  • Summary

    This book is about all aspects of literature in relation to the reader. It covers the relationship between author and reader, and the impact that changes in technology and organizational and governmental policy have had on the publishing and promotion of literature. It reflects on the challenges facing library and information professionals in reader development, and examines current promotion and partnership options. We hope that it gives experienced practitioners, new professionals and students a firm underpinning knowledge on which they can build.

    This is an essential guide by current practitioners for current practitioners and students. It is not intended as a replacement, but rather as a complement to, and development of, other texts, containing new ideas and practical advice for the modern information professional.

    This is a guide to how readers develop, and the impact that they can have on what libraries offer. Implicit in the text are the questions: ‘Who is the reader? How do we reach readers? What are the benefits?’ The contributors offer chapters of an impressive range and scope, and there are some unconventional approaches to the topics. To link them together we have included a specific introduction to each section and a contextual preface for all chapters.

    We believe that the varying voices and styles of the contributors will create a refreshing and involving reading experience. At times the tone is academic and formal; at times it is colloquial and informal: this reflects the subject and style of each individual. Our contributors include academics, a poet, a crime writer, a teacher, a bookseller, a hypertext creator and web page designer and, of course, library practitioners. Each brings a particular tone and perspective to the topics they develop. Every contribution includes a practical framework of examples for the reader to take away and put into practice in their own professional area. We see the book not so much as a jigsaw puzzle but as a mosaic: each of the sections can stand alone but read together they form a complete picture.

Reader Development in Practice
  • Bringing Literature to Readers
  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008
  • Who is the reader? How do we reach them, and why? To what extent are readers determining what libraries offer? How has that changed since the birth of reader development? And what impact has organizational development had on the publishing and promotion of literature? This edited collection covers all aspects of literature in relation to readership, exploring the chain of events connecting author and reader. It reflects on the challenges facing information professionals in reader development, looks at current promotion and partnership options, and offers new professionals and students fresh ideas, practical guidance and a firm underpinning knowledge upon which to build.These user-friendly and clearly structured contributions bring together the work of expert practitioners and academics from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Key topics include: regional partnerships and reader development strategies; social inclusion and accessibility; emergent readers and social regeneration; the roles of imaginative fiction in people's lives; imaginative literature for children and young people; imaginative literature for adults; reading and information technology; promoting books to readers; and, sharing the knowledge - developing reflective practitioners. This contemporary guide is essential reading for library and information professionals, students and researchers. It will also be of great value to students taking literature and publishing courses.

  • 10 - Beyond the Caxton legacy: is this the end of the book and its communities?

  • from Section 4 - Future directions: Editors’ introduction
  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Book:
    Reader Development in Practice
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008, pp 175-184

  • Summary

    Editors’ preface

    This chapter reviews developments in making literature available to readers and provides a number of scenarios under which the traditional book may continue to survive, regardless of the emerging technologies which are making literature available in other, competing, formats.

    With their experience in library and information science education, librarianship, bookselling, reading groups and the web, the authors provide a unique perspective on developments in this area.

    Introduction

    While Toffler's vision of word processing leading to the advent of the ‘paperless office’ (Toffler, 1981) has yet to come into existence, access to literature without the use of books is rapidly gathering pace. Indeed, 600 years after the invention of the printing press, Caxton's legacy, the traditional method of making literature available to readers appears to be under threat. Over the past 15 years the world wide web has provided increasing resources, and it was inevitable that works of literature should be among those made freely available in electronic formats. In addition, more sophisticated hardware and software have enabled text to be delivered in a range of multi-media formats. In some cases, admittedly, such technologies have removed the need to read, but on the other hand they have also removed barriers to literature for many who find reading difficult or even impossible. It remains to be seen whether current experiments in the use of ‘Web 2.0’ technologies will further develop access to literature away from the printed word. James Bridle (2006), on his site booktwo.org, hypothesizes: ‘As digital technologies become ever more prevalent, we believe it is inevitable that the primacy of the physical book will fade, and the art forms traditionally associated with it will be radically altered also.’ E-books are clearly here to stay.

    Historical developments

    Conversion of literary texts into electronic format began as early as 1971 when Michael Hart identified the value of computers for ‘the storage, retrieval, and searching of what was stored in our libraries’ (Hart, 1992). This was the beginning of Project Gutenberg. The goal of Project Gutenberg was to make freely available in electronic format books whose copyright had expired (Lebert, 2004). Initially, Hart keyed in individual texts such as the American Declaration of Independence using simple code which could be easily read and searched by any system (Berglund et al., 2004).

  • 5 - Getting into reading

  • from Section 2 - Reader development: promotions and partnerships: Editors’ introduction
  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Book:
    Reader Development in Practice
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008, pp 75-96

  • Summary

    Editors’ preface

    With the growing interest in reader development and the increasing sense that libraries can have an important new role in social regeneration, this chapter about a public library service's involvement in the Get Into Reading project will make inspiring reading.

    This chapter takes reader development from the practitioners, librarians and partners directly to the reader. The voices of readers are important: they have a lot to say to the information professional. This chapter shows how readers pick up on staff attitudes, and illustrates some of their attitudes to libraries.

    Introduction: foul-weather friends

    My mother was a docker's daughter who won a scholarship to a public school. Her life went badly askew during her marriage and divorce, and she died in unhappy circumstances in her early 50s. An avid reader of trashy novels, she liked good books too, and during my younger childhood, when things had not yet become too bad, she read to me: Heidi, The Wind in the Willows, Tales from the Arabian Nights, My Family and Other Animals. One of my strongest memories is of her pulling her hair down and over her face to recite some of the witches’ stuff from Macbeth: ‘Where the place?/Upon the heath/There to meet with Macbeth.’! She would get us all screaming and hiding behind the couch. That was the residual benefit we got from her scholarship.

    I grew up as the oldest of four children in a poor and pretty chaotic singleparent family. My local library, Toxteth in Liverpool, was a refuge. They let me take out adult books on a junior ticket. Aged 12 and recently graduated from The Borrowers and The Hobbit, I read Strike the Father Dead, a novel by John Wain. I don't think I understood it, but that didn't seem to matter. I read Under Milk Wood and borrowed an LP of it. However, I left school at 16 with just two GCEs – English language and art – two you could get without doing any work. English literature – which we called ‘books’ at home – was a mainstay against unhappiness but the way you had to ‘do’ it at school seemed unnatural and required a level of discipline and concentration I didn't have. Themes in Romeo and Juliet: what a weird way to talk to 15-yearolds! I truanted or just blanked out.

  • 7 - Dire consequences?: the development of futuristic fiction as a genre for young readers

  • from Section 3 - Works of imagination: Editors’ introduction
  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Book:
    Reader Development in Practice
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008, pp 121-136

  • Summary

    Editors’ preface

    Tacit theories about childhood and youth are a crucial but challenging area with which professionals working with and for young people routinely engage. This chapter will enable professionals to consider their own values, attitudes and assumptions about the varying views of childhood, youth and literacy that underpin the emergence of a bleak, dystopian literature for young readers. The genre and its critical reception foregrounds and frequently calls into question some stock assumptions adults often hold about the nature of childhood and about young readers as a group. In this way it acts as a useful springboard for thinking about approaches to professional practice.

    Introduction

    When I first studied authors’ use of future fictional time in the mid-1990s, I discovered, rather to my surprise, that it was much easier to find evidence of fears for the future of our young within children's literature and its criticism, than it was to find examples of the various anodyne futures that were envisaged by the social theorists of the time (Frankel, 1987). Writers of, and commentators on, books for the young tended to believe that technological ‘progress’ was more likely to result in harm, and to undermine traditionally cherished human values, than to become a benign force. As a rule distress about the future appeared to make the idea of a literary utopia seem like a naïve dream, and a dark dystopian literature for teenagers emerged. Since then, the immense popularity of this genre shows little sign of abating, and the list of titles produced steadily lengthens each year, although, as I will suggest by the end of the chapter, it has recently begun to develop in new ways, becoming increasingly adventurous, richly textured and experimental.

    It is particularly noteworthy that futuristic fiction for young readers has emerged in the context of deep public anxiety about growing up. Quite simply, this genre articulates deep-seated fears about the world – what it has become and what that might imply for the future of childhood and adolescence. It reveals considerable evidence of a growing sense of an imagined historical crisis of unprecedented proportions. Moreover, the fact that so many writers not only feel fearful about the future but also seek to engage young readers with their daunting, often horrifying speculations itself offers insight into dominant discourses about childhood and youth.

  • 6 - Two worlds collide: hypertext and rewriting

  • from Section 3 - Works of imagination: Editors’ introduction
  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Book:
    Reader Development in Practice
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008, pp 101-120

  • Summary

    Editors’ preface

    With the age of computers and the world wide web we have developed new ways of reading. Internet users have become used to reading short sections of text, linked by hypertext to other related sections of text, and being able to make decisions about what sections they read. This provides readers with choice and control over their own reading paths and directions.

    A new form of literature has developed that takes advantage of the changes in how we navigate texts. These ‘hypertexts’ form the basis of one possible future for literature, combining the old techniques of narrative creation with new technological methods of dissemination. This chapter examines the phenomenon of hypertexts, how we interact with them and how they affect us as both readers and writers. It investigates the possibility of alternative routes through, and perspectives on, a story.

    The hypertext referred to in this chapter, The Multiple Perspectives of Jekyll and Hyde, is available online at www.jekyllandhyde-multipleperspectives. co.uk.

    Introduction

    As a lifelong student of creative writing, choosing a topic for my PhD was naturally a difficult thing to do. With the whole range of the written word open to me, where could I start and how could I ensure I would choose something of a sufficiently academic level? After much thought and consultation with tutors, I decided to combine a number of my interests by rewriting a classic gothic story as a computer-driven web of texts known as a hypertext. In doing this I would be obliged to examine not just the process of writing, but also that of rewriting. I would need to combine this with a study of hypertext and the interaction with this new medium of both writer and reader. A lot of work had already been done on the theory and practice of hypertext, and more still on the processes of both writing and rewriting, but there had been little investigation of the crossover between these two fields.

  • Section 2 - Reader development: promotions and partnerships: Editors’ introduction

  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Book:
    Reader Development in Practice
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008, pp 19-22

  • Summary

    Section 2 considers the impact of recent and current reader development schemes and outlines possibilities for new projects. It commences with a discussion of partnerships in reader development, moves on to methods for making literature accessible to all, then discusses how one library authority's ideas on reader development changed over time. The section concludes with a very moving personal account of setting up ‘Getting Into Reading’, and the benefits to individuals and libraries of participating in such a scheme.

    This section gives a wide perspective on the benefits to libraries, partners and individuals of participating in reader development schemes. It describes and evaluates a range of activities and provides an insight into the benefits and implications of setting up a scheme. It can also be used as a template for developing and evaluating new reader development activities.

  • 9 - Premature elegies: e-books, electronic publishing and reading

  • from Section 4 - Future directions: Editors’ introduction
  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Book:
    Reader Development in Practice
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008, pp 159-174

  • Summary

    Editors’ preface

    This chapter provides a detailed examination of the e-book, its marketplace and its readership and how these have developed over the past decade. The author considers the e-book and its history, the role of the reader, the technologies available and the users of e-books. In addition she discusses hypertext fiction, online bookselling and locating rare and second-hand texts. This chapter encourages the practitioner to consider adopting new strategies in order to meet the demands resulting from the availability of these new technologies.

    Introduction

    In the late 1990s publishers thought they had discovered an exciting new way of delivering literature to readers, and a promising new revenue stream: the e-book. The hype about e-books became pervasive, insisting that we would soon be reading almost everything online, from academic journals to glossy magazines – and yet, around ten years later, paper is still the dominant medium for most types of publication, and certainly for literature, and the number of books and magazines published is greater than ever. Literature is largely delivered to readers on paper, in the form of traditional print on paper. So what happened to all the overheated predictions about the future, and has anything really changed as a result of electronic publishing? This chapter will examine not only e-books, but also the effects that electronic delivery of information of various sorts have had on the way that publishers and authors deliver literature to readers.

    The e-book and its history

    The definition of an e-book is inseparable from the history of hype, bust and cautious retrenchment that has characterized the e-book. To use a broad definition, it is simply a digital version of a text, which might otherwise be printed. Indeed, almost all printed books are now composed and typeset electronically, and so in theory it is as simple to output such material as an electronic file as it is to print it. This was one of the reasons for the enthusiasm that publishers initially felt about e-books: it is possible to sell the same thing twice, in different media. Not only that, but electronic copies would need no warehousing and have smaller distribution costs.

  • 4 - Managing fiction: managing readers and writers

  • from Section 2 - Reader development: promotions and partnerships: Editors’ introduction
  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Book:
    Reader Development in Practice
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008, pp 59-74

  • Summary

    Editors’ preface

    This chapter follows and develops the ideas introduced in earlier chapters by Jane Matthieson and Linda Corrigan. Anne Sherman considers how, over time, reader development has changed from being seen as an optional extra to being a central part of a public library's remit. In an often amusing way, Anne articulates the changing attitudes of staff to reader development activities and describes some of the schemes introduced.

    Introduction

    This chapter endeavours to show one public library service's changing perspective on reading development – no longer seen as an add-on or optional extra, but as an integral part of service delivery to bring literature to its readers. No criticism of staff or policy is intended, and the views expressed are those of the writer and not intended to be representative of the service as a whole.

    Issues with book issues

    Every person his or her book

    A newspaper review of a newly published book was brought into a library and a request made for the item. The details were duly noted and appropriate forms filled in, the borrower appreciating that the book was not in stock but that his request would be passed on for the stock specialist's attention. The title in question was The Collector's Edition of the Lost Erotic Novels by Anaïs Nin, and the Guardian review that had attracted the reader's attention raised a few weary eyebrows in the staffroom later in the day:

    [T]his self-styled Collector's Edition of erotica is indeed designed for those with specialist interests. There will, however, be just as many enthusiasts of the one-handed read as earnest bibliophiles squinting over their order forms. This is fascinatingly filthy stuff … After 600 pages of orifices, whips and feverish flutterings, the sordid depths of the human psyche will never seem quite the same again.

    The review was itself slightly feverish in tone, but the overall verdict was that this was a recherché and valid collection of erotica with contributions from masters of the art, and a timely reminder of the tenet ‘Every person his or her book’.

  • 1 - The imaginative spark

  • from Section 1 - Foreword: the author as reader: Editors’ introduction
  • Edited by Susan Hornby, Bob Glass
  • Book:
    Reader Development in Practice
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 August 2008, pp 5-18

  • Summary

    Editors’ preface

    This contribution presents detailed insight into the activities of a successful working author. Ann describes the process of writing from inception to publication, and provides a fascinating overview of the links between author, publisher, libraries and readers.

    Introduction

    In this chapter I consider how reading influences the process of writing – from the way the stories we read as children feed into our adult experience of the narrative, through to the editing, reviewing and promotion of a finished book. I explore the development of a book from original idea to completed manuscript, using two of my crime novels as examples, and then describe how the writer must be both author and reader during the editorial process. I look at the other professionals in the publishing industry – agents, editors and publicists – and suggest that a passion for reading is as important for them as it is for the writer. I consider the importance of the public library system in developing and promoting both new and more established writers, and suggest that librarians and publishers should make more effort to understand the other's role. Writers now understand the need to engage more directly with their readers, and I explore the way some authors come together to bring their work to reading groups and festival audiences. I use the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival as an example of good practice. The range of reading groups is considered and the potential of new technology in the promotion of books is discussed. I explain that at last publishers have come to recognize the importance of the reader.

    In the beginning

    First of all, I'm a reader. I understand how fiction works, what makes a good story and how to get inside a character's head, because I've always been absorbed by the books I read. I don't analyse what I read from a writer's perspective; when I'm reading, I'm lost in the story like everyone else. The process of writing is instinctive and develops naturally. We all know how to structure a joke. Standing at the bar, a beer in one hand, we string our listeners along, pausing just before the tag line for dramatic effect. Nobody's taught us how to do that.

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