Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal February 2009 Volume 7(1)

Publishing

Spreading the word

If you are keen not to miss out on the latest news and information about publishing in Scotland the website BooksfromScotland.com is the place to look – and you can use it to promote your own author events, says Vanessa Garden.

Publishing Scotland (formerly the Scottish Publishers Association) was launched in 2007 as a new organisation taking responsibility for the development and representation of the publishing sector in Scotland. Its remit is to act as the voice and network for publishing, to develop and promote the work of companies and individuals in the industry, and to co-ordinate joint initiatives and partnerships.
We know that many librarians are keen to support Scottish publishing and to stock a wide range of new Scottish books. We also know it can be frustrating trying to find out what these new books are when you don’t always have the time to browse through individual publisher catalogues and websites. Publishing Scotland offers two tools to help bring information about Scottish books and publishers into easily searchable resources: the website BooksfromScotland.com and the printed Publishing Scotland Yearbook.

BooksfromScotland.com
BooksfromScotland.com was set up in 2005 and is now the world’s largest e-commerce and information site dedicated to promoting Scottish books. We aim to act as a shop window that demonstrates the breadth of literary activity in Scotland to the global community – showcasing the range of books available but also supporting new writers and publishing ventures. An important part of the remit of setting up BooksfromScotland.com was always to provide a site that would be useful to librarians.
Our comprehensive database of Scottish books is maintained using technology from BDS in Dumfries, which allows it to be electronically updated on a daily basis. The ‘recent releases’ feature shows you all books published in the last 30 days, while ‘upcoming titles’ will give you a list of everything due out in the next month.

The site’s search functions allow you to browse not just by date but by a wide-ranging set of categories, so whether you need ideas for new fiction for general readers, or a specific text for academic or professional institutions you’ll be able to find what you need. You can also search by locality: the site has ‘literary maps’ both of Scotland and the wider world. A general search will show all the content on the site relating to a particular theme or book; the advanced search will let you browse for specific titles or authors.

As well as maintaining this data, BooksfromScotland.com works closely with Scottish publishers to complement the sales side of the operation with background information on the books and authors we sell. There are over 170 author profiles and 50 interviews on the site plus extracts, articles and reading guides. You can use our Events Listings to promote your own author readings and also to see which writers are touring in your area.

We appreciate that all libraries have different supply needs so please think of us as a research tool as well as a sales channel. A simple way to make sure you don’t miss new material on the site is to sign up to our monthly e-newsletter (contact editor@booksfromscotland.com to join the mailing list).

We are continually developing the site and are always keen to hear from users. Please let us know your thoughts on how to how we can improve our services to librarians. What features would be useful in your day-to-day work? What do you find especially helpful? Tell us about your forthcoming events and activities so we can promote them.

Publishing Scotland Yearbook 2009
The new edition of Publishing Scotland Yearbook 2009 has been fully revised. It includes more than 100 Scottish publishers and details of specialist interests and contacts. There are several new features this year: a calendar of major Scottish literary festivals, a glossary of publishing terms (for those moments when the difference between EPOS and EPS temporarily evades you) and details of Scottish writing prizes and previous winners. There are also listings of all the major Scottish literary organisations.

As well as a handy resource for those already working in the industry, it is a useful starting place for anyone looking for an overview of the Scottish book trade such as new authors, recent graduates or someone considering a career change.

Information
BooksfromScotland.com: Liam Davison (editor@booksfromscotland.com;0131 228 6866).

Publishing Scotland Yearbook 2009: Vanessa Garden (vanessa.garden@publishingscotland.org; 0131 228 6866).

Information Scotland Vol. 7(1) February 2009

Information Scotland is delivered online by the SAPIENS electronic publishing service based at the Centre for Digital Library Research. SLAINTE (Scottish libraries across the Internet) offers further information about librarianship and information management in Scotland.