Book Industry Collaborative Council

Transcription

1 Book Industry Collaborative Council Scholarly Book Publishing Expert Reference Group Ms Diane Costello Executive Officer Council of Australian Univserity Librarians JB Chifley Building Australian National University Acton ACT 0200 Dear Ms Costello, 14 December 2012 The Book Industry Collaborative Council (the Council) was established by the Australian Government in June 2012 to help the book industry deal with the rapid changes evoked by digitisation. The Council will also assist the industry implement the industry-led reforms highlighted in the 2011 Book Industry Strategy Group report. The Council has identified the distribution of scholarly book publications in the humanities and social sciences (HASS) as a key area for industry reform. Accordingly, an expert reference group (ERG), comprising representatives across this area, has been established to examine this topic in depth. The ERG is developing a means by which key actors can best collaborate to maximise exposure of Australian book publishing to the global research community in a financially sustainable way. For reference, I have enclosed the Scholarly Book Publishing ERG s terms of reference and deliverable. As your organisation is a key stakeholder in this matter, we are seeking your view on the future of scholarly book publishing within HASS in Australia. Input from the Council of Australian Univserity Librarians (CAUL) will mean that the ERG will be better informed to develop sustainable models for HASS scholarly book publications in Australia. Acknowledging that work over the Christmas period is often challenging to conduct, we would appreciate it if the CAUL could complete the attached survey by Thursday, 31 January I encourage you to pass this survey onto the Library Publishing Advisory Committee who would be able to provide an important perspective for this consultation. Responses should be ed to the Book Council Secretariat, bookcouncil@innovation.gov.au. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on or john.byron@curtin.edu.au. Yours sincerely Associate Professor John Byron Chair Scholarly Book Publishing Expert Reference Group Book Industry Collaborative Council

2 Enc. Scholarly Book Publishing ERG s terms of reference and deliverable Future of the scholarly book publishing Australia survey 2

3 SCHOLARLY BOOK PUBLISHING expert reference group Terms of Reference The Scholarly Book Publishing Expert Reference Group (ERG) will engage with universities, publishers, the learned academies, government agencies and other key stakeholders to ascertain: 1. current and foreseeable approaches to scholarly book publishing, particularly within the humanities and social sciences 2. a scholarly book publishing ecosystem that best enables maximum reach, influence and commercial success for publishers and their works 3. implications of this ecosystem for participants in the sector 4. possible avenues by which participants in the sector might profitably collaborate beyond the life and scope of the Book Industry Collaborative Council Deliverable A position paper on scholarly book publishing in the humanities and social sciences, outlining: the role and benefits of scholarly book publishing the challenges scholarly book publishing faces today and in the near future, both in Australia and abroad means by which key actors can best collaborate to maximise exposure of Australian scholarship to the global research community in a financially sustainable way recommendations to governments, the publishing industry and the research sector that will give effect to the above Members of the scholarly book publishing ERG Curtin University Australian Publishers Association (APA) Monash University Printing Australian Academy of the Humanities (AAH) Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) Australian Research Council (ARC) Universities Australia (UA) National Scholarly Communication Forum (NSCF) Aust Inst Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Stud (AIATSIS) University of NSW Press Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education John Byron (Chair) Louise Adler Nathan Hollier Elizabeth Webby Stuart Macintyre Leanne Harvey Tom Cochrane Colin Steele Rhonda Black Kathy Bail Robert O Connor 3

4 Scholarly Book Publishing Expert Reference Group Future of the Scholarly book publishing Australia survey Key stakeholder name: Distribution of scholarly book publishing in the social sciences and the humanities is the subject of much recent discussion. While monographs and book chapters continue to be the most influential forms of publication in these disciplines, the traditional hard copy book has come under scrutiny in recent times. There are a multitude of factors that present both challenges and opportunities to scholarly book publishing in the human and social sciences, including: the rise of electronic platforms and the increasing demand for open access; escalating business pressures making commercial academic publishing increasingly unviable; the importance of contributing to the disciplinary conversation by being read and cited; the dramatic fall in academic library spend on monographs compared to serials; the dominance of research quality metrics largely based on scientific journals; and the broader issues confronting the publishing industry. Given these significant elements, what are the big ideas that could ensure Australian scholarly book publications are disseminated and contribute to the global research community? What are the roles for research, industry and government?.

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