Ideas
Welcome to the Books and Publishing Community
This knowledge community is brought together by common interest in the past, present and future of books and publishing. The community interacts through an innovative an innovative face-to-face conference, as well as year-round virtual relationships in a weblog, peer reviewed journal and book imprint - exploring the affordances of the new digital media. Members of this knowledge community include academics, publishers, librarians, IT professionals, authors, researchers and research students.
Conference
Members of the Books and Publishing Community meet at the International Conference on the Book, held annually in different locations around the world. The Conference was held in Cairns, Australia in 2003; Beijing, China in 2004; Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK in 2005; Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA in 2006; Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain in 2007; The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA in 2008; and The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland in 2009. In 2010, the Conference will be held at the University of St. Gallens, Switzerland. In 2011, the Conference will be held at the University of Toronto, Canada.
Our community members and first time attendees come from all corners of the globe. The conference is a site of critical reflection to discuss the past, present and future of the book, and with it, other key aspects of the information society, including publishing, libraries, information systems, literacy and education. Those unable to attend the conference can opt for virtual participation in which community members can submit a video and/or slide presentation with voice-over, or simply submit a paper for peer review and possible publication in the Journal.
Publishing
The Books and Publishing Community enables members publish through three media. First, by participating in the Book Conference, community members can enter a world of journal publication unlike the traditional academic publishing forums - a result of the responsive, non-hierarchical and constructive nature of the peer review process. The International Journal of the Book provides a framework for double-blind peer review, enabling authors to publish into an academic journal of the highest standard.
The second publication medium is through the book imprint Books and Publishing, publishing cutting edge books in print and electronic formats. Publication proposals and manuscript submissions are welcome.
Our third major publishing medium is the news blog, constantly publishing short news updates from the Books and Publishing Community, as well as major developments in publishing, libraries, information systems, literacy and education.