Professional publishing and Lithuanian books in the first two-thirds of the 19th century in Lithuania: The case of the Zawadzki firm

Successfully profiting from textbook publishing as the typographer at Vilnius University, Józef Zawadzki (1781‒1838) established one of the most important and most successful book publishing, production, and distribution companies of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century in the territories of former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt. The Zawadzki firm represented the new category of professional publishers. Over the first seventy years of the firm’s existence at the firm’s expense were published 122 Lithuanian books, as well as printed about 50 Lithuanian publications at their authors finances. The attitude of the members of Zawadzki family regarding the publishing of Lithuanian books essentially changed. While the Józef Zawadzki was indifferent towards them, in the middle of the 19th century Adam Zawadzki (1814‒1875) outcompeted other professional book publishers and distributors, and monopolized the publishing of Lithuanian books in the Samogitian Diocese, becoming not only the most important publisher of Lithuanian books, but also their printer and distributor. The successful realization of Adam Zawadzki’s business plans was partly due to his longstanding contacts with the most active figures of Lithuanian written culture, with whom he maintained a new form of cooperation based on authorial royalties, partly due effectively distribution of published matter, using first stationary bookstore in the periphery, located in the west of Lithuania (which served as a retail and wholesale trade enterprise), various ways of non-stationary book trade, services of a commercial library and advertising. Owing to Adam’s efforts, the Zawadzki firm made a significant contribution uniting main forces of authors and publishers of Lithuanian books in 19th century Lithuania, renewing the repertoire of Lithuanian books, as well as giving Lithuanian book publishing, production and distribution features characteristic for a modern business. A model of dealing with censorship through illegal publishing, developed with the publication Apej brostwą błaiwistes arba nusiturieima, was used throughout all the forty years of the press ban and helped raising several generations of literate Lithuanians and bringing Lithuania and Lithuania Minor closer together.

The Decline of College Textbook Publishing: Cengage Learning and McGraw-Hill

America’s college textbook publishers historically had a business model based on continuing profits and growth led by high prices. However, that model eroded as competition from the used-book market and rental textbooks resulted in falling textbook sales and losses for publishers. Textbook publishers are currently revising their business model so as to move away from printed textbooks to digital (online) educational materials. Also, publishers are downsizing their operations and undergoing mergers with each other to survive in the marketplace. The 2019 merger proposal of McGraw-Hill and Cengage Learning reflects the current problems of college textbook publishing: The merger would be between two financially weak companies that are attempting to reduce overhead and production costs and create additional revenue streams. However, the U.S. Department of Justice’s concerns about the harmful effects on competition led to the companies’ agreement to abandon their plans to merge in May 2020. JEL Classification: A00, K21, L22, L41

Hidden Curriculum in Schools: A Comparison of Religious Otherness in Pakistani ELT Textbooks

The emphasis of this research was religious otherness depiction in high school English textbooks issued by four State controlled Pakistani textbook boards of i.e., BTB Quetta, STB Jamshoro, KTB Peshawar and PTB Lahore. It besets a broad contrast among the religious otherness descriptions as depicted in provincial ELT textbooks and the otherness related notions of their corresponding students. To achieve the goals, the study was alienated in 2 phases: In phase 1, the textbooks of government textbook publishing boards were investigated and in the second phase their corresponding readers’ religious otherness ideas were obtained and evaluated. The research devised a modified model of analysis by blending Van Dijk (1998) and Fairclough (2001) CDA model for interpretation and explanation of religious otherness in representative text extracted from textbooks’ discourse. The study discovered the prevalence of religious otherness- related themes in all ELT textbooks. It was also found that STB discourse had improved religious otherness images and students’ otherness ideas than other provincial textbook boards and their respective readers. The study also revealed that Muslim male and female students had peculiar otherness notions about minority religious communities. The readers’ responses to questionnaire items in phase 2 of research suggested that textbooks had a significant part in molding otherness related notions of young readers. The study recommended an otherness-based investigation of the textbooks prior to publication at federal government level to ensure citizenship equality as envisioned by founder of the nation.

Academic Publishing

This chapter on academic publishing covers the origins of the field; the impact of the two major drivers of change—the printing press and the Internet—on the spread of knowledge; Open Access; the monograph; university presses; academic libraries; commercial academic publishers; trade publishers and the cross-over book; peer review; journals; HE textbook publishing. It looks at all these areas through the lens of change, stressing the need for greater connectivity between the various communities of practice involved in the academic publishing field, and underlines the historic and existing collaborative and innovative strengths it contains.