The Frankfurt Book Fair

Against the Grain Volume 28 | Issue 6 Article 18 2016 Back Talk--The rF ankfurt Book Fair Ann Okerson Center for Research Libraries, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/atg Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation Okerson, Ann (2016) "Back Talk--The rF ankfurt Book Fair," Against the Grain: Vol. 28: Iss. 6, Article 18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7771/2380-176X.7564 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. Back Talk — The Frankfurt Book Fair 2016 Column Editor: Ann Okerson (Advisor on Electronic Resources Strategy, Center for Research Libraries) <[email protected]> o experience cutting edge in the book a great research university. That world of li- my favorite there was the huge local shop of business, one has to go to a city that’s brary licensing has now grown from its humble Gudrun Sjödén, the colorful Swedish designer Tfive hundred years old. Every October, beginnings to something vastly larger, where who has begun branching out to cities around over a quarter of a million people descend on buyers are represented by consortia of every the world. And there’s no shortage of evening Frankfurt for the Buchmesse. The first Book stripe. Although these days publishers and receptions, as well as wonderful dining. Fair was held in 1454, just about the date on library licensors know each other better, the But one goes to the Fair because there’s which Gutenberg was turning out his first complexities of the business are great and the real work to be done. I was attending this Bibles, 25 miles away in Mainz. With ups amount of money changing hands still greater. year with the remarkable Anne Powell, Pro- and downs, the Fair has been an annual event Frankfurt can be an unglamorous city, as gramme Manager at INASP (formerly called ever since. A conscious decision was made fairgoers get there just in time for the cold the International Network for Availability of in 1949 to revive and promote it, and what and rain of October. This year, we were a Scientific Publications), the UK not-for-profit we see and experience now is a result of that couple of weeks past Oktoberfest, so the that works around the world to connect readers inspired decision the year after the revival of delights — I recall one year fresh hot potato in developing countries to the most important the Deutschmark and a year before people first pancakes, Kartoffelpuffers, from a kiosk on scientific and scholarly publishing, as well as spoke of the German Wirtschaftswunder — the pedestrian mall — are fewer, but the city to provide support for research, education, and “Economic Miracle.” makes a huge effort to welcome us. (Fair publication. Working with consortia in devel- Once upon a time, booksellers and publish- registration includes a pass good for unlimited oping countries is a special niche of licensing ers had to come to Frankfurt to see what had use of public transportation while you’re there, work, dependent on the commitment of the been published and what was on offer. Now and it’s an excellent system.) The Fair itself smallest to largest commercial publishers to we have more ways (and Book Fair clones) is beautifully organized in the vast halls of making their output available to users in places of getting information that pedestrian; but, if the “Messe” — which is used at other times where the first-world pricing models we love anything, the appeal of meeting, seeing, and of the year for many other kinds of fairs and to complain about just can’t work. INASP greeting has increased. The core business of meetings. People have to eat! The food trucks has projects in 22+ countries, and having had the Frankfurt Book Fair is business: doing are a variable delight, heavy on the pretzels the opportunity to meet some of the senior the deals that make the world of publishing go and bratwurst (70% of the people attending scientists in countries like Bangladesh has around. Buying, selling, and licensing rights are German, after all). It takes a sturdy pair given me a sense of enormous satisfaction as make the Fair a lucrative venue for people of sneakers to get from one floor to another, researchers become part of the global scientific from all over the world — literally. Now an one booth to another (over 7,000 exhibitors), community. What we learned over and over in American author’s agent is likely to be seen and it’s a MUST to have all one’s meetings our publisher meetings at the Fair is that our negotiating rights for Chinese translation with scheduled well in advance, because everyone publisher partners are also passionate about the semi-official state press that also publishes is so busy. For example, at one big publisher’s supporting emerging countries. the collected speeches of the supreme leader booth (Cambridge University Press), we INASP wouldn’t be doing its job if it of the moment. It’s also the venue of choice arrived on time for our appointment, but still weren’t also pushing forward to make sure for many parallel meetings — for example, had to wait for a small table at which to sit and that the important set of users it represents are the International STM organization’s annual have our meeting — the several tables were connected to the most important innovative fall meeting. all in use for other scheduled appointments! techniques and enterprises. For example, And then there are throngs of people like (I began scheduling appointments in July, 3 we attended a riveting presentation about me, working at a slightly less exalted level. months in advance.) Yewno, an exciting new type of discovery I’ve gone to the Fair off and on for over Quick daytrips are possible — my favorite tool. Stanford University Library is a beta twenty years. When electronic journals were is to Wiesbaden a few miles west, tester, and University Librarian Mike Keller young (1996), I remember an the home of our colleagues at happened to be at the stand to give us a aisle conversation in the exhibit Harrassowitz, the great and hospi- demonstration. Anne and I had a meeting with halls with Academic Press (a table German book publisher and Kent Anderson, CEO of RedLink, about the firm later absorbed by Elsevier bookdealer that has made North Library Dashboard, with its distinctive way of — in the year 2000), where American libraries their special presenting usage metrics. We discussed how we concluded one of the first market. And when one needs RedLink’s offerings could bring high value to licensing deals for bringing a little relief, there’s actually a library consortia in developing countries (those electronic journals to users in lot of interesting shopping — discussions continue). We were privileged to meet up with many long-time INASP friends and supporters, for example: Lenny Allen (OUP); Anne Dav- ADVERTISERS’ INDEX enport (Geological Society); Toby Green (OECD); Herman Pabbruwe (Brill); Anne 23 ACCESSIBLE ARCHIVES 8 THE CHARLESTON REPORT 88 MIDWEST LIBRARY SERVICE Snoeyenbos (Project MUSE); Kim Steinle 9 ALEXANDER STREET, A PROQUEST CO. 7 COLD SPRING HARBOR LAB PRESS 13 PROQUEST (Duke); Martha Whittaker (ASM); and 59 AMERICAN PHARMACISTS ASSOCIATION 11 COPYRIGHT CLEARANCE CENTER 45 RITTENHOUSE BOOK DISTRIBUTORS many more — 24 scheduled appointments! Thanks to all for their support! 31 ANNUAL REVIEWS 37 EMERY-PRATT 19 SPIE DIGITAL LIBRARY In summary, new work is begun at the Fair, 27 ASME 3 GOBI LIBRARY SOLUTIONS 87 WORLD SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING CO. some long-struggled-over work is completed, 5 ATG 2 IGI GLOBAL and of course there are some frustrating meetings as well. In the great world of Frankfurt, 15 THE CHARLESTON ADVISOR 39 MCFARLAND an organization such as INASP is like a small For Advertising Information Contact: Toni Nix, Ads Manager, puppy running around between the legs of the <[email protected]>, Phone: 843-835-8604, Fax: 843-835-5892. bigger dogs, and the Fair is hardly aimed at continued on page 78 86 Against the Grain / December 2016 - January 2017 <http://www.against-the-grain.com> Piracy Don’s Conference Notes • Libraries generally do not provide appropriate user education from page 77 about the use of passwords. • Communication is necessary when a new security system is • Off-campus access is cumbersome. implemented. • Personalization requires registration and authentication on • Many different parties must work together to combat piracy; each publisher site, and each publisher has its own unique how ready are institutions to integrate? (Generally, the larger interface. ones are ready, but the smaller ones are not in a position to • Systems lack scale or an agreed-upon infrastructure between make changes.) information providers and consumers. • What are good things for the user? Confusion stemming Toler suggested the creation of an institution’s authentication server, from the need to log in to systems with different credentials to which new users or users with new devices are automatically directed should go away, so that search and discovery can be a richer when accessing any publisher’s site. Once they authenticate themselves experience. There are benefits to a universal identity system. with that server, they can use their device to access any publisher’s content • IP address management is a difficulty now for many admin- from anywhere in the world. In this model, the authentication moves istrators because access should be based on individuals, not from the publisher’s site to the user’s institution, and there is no further institutions.

Load more