AQ - Book Trade and Publishing

1997

AQ -- Book Trade and Publishing

97-3/4-302

Publishers' International ISBN Directory. München [et al.]: Saur [et al.]. 30 cm. (Handbook of International Documentation and Information, 7). Previous titles: Publishers' International Directory with ISBN Index and Internationales ISBN-Verlagsverzeichnis [International ISBN Publisher Directory]. ISSN 0939-1959

24^th ed. 1997/98 (1997). 3 vols. ISBN 3-598-21606-8: DM 598.00

The 23^rd edition was reviewed in detail in IFB 95-3-350, so a short mention of this annual comprehensive international directory of publishers should suffice. The number of countries included is 209 (210 in the previous directory). Six further country numbers have been assigned (Libya, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Albania, and Kuwait). A total of 140 countries are now involved (some under collective ISBNs like 2 for the French- speaking countries), accounting for 70% of countries and 95% of the total book production. The arrangement of the three-volume work remains the same: volume 1, by country and then by name of publisher; volume 2, numerical by ISBN, including those firms that have ceased publishing; volume 3, an alphabetical list under publisher names only, as an index to volumes 1 and 2. The CD-ROM edition of the directory is now published regularly half a year after the print edition and thus updates it. [sh/gh]

97-3/4-303

Lexikon des Verlagswesens [Dictionary of Publishing]. Ed. Detlef Jürgen Brauner. München [et al.]: Oldenbourg, 1997. x, 220 p. ill. 22 cm. ISBN 3-486-23267-3: DM 39.80

The alphabetical order in this German dictionary is faulty (umlauts are not always filed as the base vowel plus "e" as stated), and the cross-references are handled inconsistently. The contents do not make up for these formal deficiencies. There are factual errors, imprecise and wrong definitions, and a few apparently made-up entry words. The dictionary attempts to cover all areas of publishing: terms used in magazine and newspaper publishing are covered along with those from book publishing. Too many terms that are not specific to publishing, chiefly technical in nature, are included, such as Modem and Werbungskosten (advertising costs), and the publishing-specific definitions of other general terms are not emphasized. The length of many articles does not correspond to the significance of the terms. About twenty signed "essay entries" are meant to give information about important areas. These too vary greatly in length and informativeness. Some concepts have been omitted entirely. Bibliographies are given only for some of the articles; there is no bibliography of more general works on publishing. [jh/gh]

97-3/4-304

Kleines Verlagslexikon: die wichtigsten Begriffe aus den Bereichen Anzeigen, Herstellung, Vertrieb und Werbung [Concise Publishing Dictionary: The Most Important Terms from the Areas of Personal Advertising, Production, Distribution, and Commercial Advertising]. Frank Kautter and Jochen Kraeft. Itzehoe: Verlag Beruf + Schule, 1995. 264 p. + suppl. (8 p.) 19 cm. ISBN 3-88013-495-2: DM 35.00

This German dictionary was issued by a publishing house that specializes in professional literature for the printing industry. It is limited to concepts from the key areas given in the title (advertising, production, and distribution) and therefore includes fewer entries than Lexikon des Verlagswesens (RREO 97-3/4-303, above)--about 1,500. Like the Lexikon, it is meant for those who work in publishing as well as individuals with a general interest in the area. It includes expressions not only from book publishing but also from magazine and newspaper publishing, bookselling, and printing. Some deficiencies of form are present here, too: many abbreviations are not spelled out, and spelling is inconsistent. There are occasional factual errors, though fewer than in the Lexikon. At the end are a bibliography and texts relating to the book trade. Addresses of associations, trade schools, and other institutions are given in a supplement, to be updated regularly. This work is fairly dependable for short definitions of specialized terminology. For longer entries over a wider range of topics, one should go to the standard reference work, ABC des Buchhandels by Wilhelm Stöckle (8th ed., 1992), which will be released in a new edition soon. [jh/gh]

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