In the Grip of Technological Change

From the Back Cover

Between 1995 and 2013, 221 students graduated from Simon Fraser University’s Master of Publishing graduate program. Each one conducted research into the book, magazine, or online publishing industry – or, if you prefer, research into long-form, periodical, or continual publishing in any or all media – and produced reports documenting their findings.

The full set of 221 complete reports is publicly available at summit.sfu.ca and at publishing.sfu.ca/read/publishing-papers.

This volume, which follows Publishing Studies: Book Publishing 1 (2005), contains ten condensed reports that together give unparalleled insight into the world of publishing – information and analysis that will be useful to industry members, students, and the general public. Although not deliberately selected based on theme, the studies in this collection, originally written between 2009 and 2013, rather coincidentally offer a glimpse into both the tumult and opportunity presented by rapidly evolving technology, from ebook production workflows and open access models for scholarly monographs to strategies for lean publishing start-ups.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction by Rowland Lorimer

A Lean Start-Up: Building Engage Books as a Publisher in the Twenty-First Century by Alexandros Roscoe Roumanis

Betting on BabyLit: The Development, Branding, and Merchandising of a Board Book Series by Katherine C. Hutton

An Examination of Acquisitions: The Case of University of British Columbia Press by Murray Tong

Unconverted: Outsourcing Ebook Production at a University Press by Linnet Humble

The Raincoast eCatalogue: A Supplemental Selling Tool for Sales Representatives by Elizabeth Kemp

The Canadian Book Industry Supply Chain Initiative: Inception and Implementation of a New Funding Enterprise by the Department of Canadian Heritage by Heather MacLean

“First, Do No Harm”: Five Years of Book-Industry Data Sharing with BookNet Canada SalesData by Chelsea Theriault

The Challenge of Open Access for Scholarly Monographs in Canada by Andrea Kwan

Reciprocal Rewards: Bringing Reader’s Digest Magazine Brands and Content to Canadian Web Portals by Megan Lau

Foot/Print: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of the Canadian Magazine Industry by Jessie Johnston

Appendix

Master of Publishing Program Project Reports

Index