(Press Release) SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—While publishers are feeling the weight of the Kindle, Nook, and e-books, one Massachusetts-based non-profit, The PJ Library, is helping boost publishing sales, build family libraries, and enhance the tradition of reading with children at bedtime. The PJ Library and publisher, Marshall Cavendish, are teaming up to launch a new line of books to tap into a niche market.
The PJ Library is an international Jewish-literacy program that partners with philanthropists, Jewish Federations, Jewish Community Centers, and other Jewish non-profit organizations, to bring high-quality books and music to children at no cost to the families, regardless of income. Currently, The PJ Library sends out approximately 65,000 books a month to families in more than 130 communities in the United States and Canada. The organization's mission is to strengthen the identities of Jewish families and their relationship to the local Jewish community.
Marshall Cavendish, a leading North American publisher of nonfiction series, children's books, illustrated encyclopedias, and digital resources, has seen a need for more Jewish children's titles in the major chain book stores. To meet the demands of buyers, Marshall Cavendish called upon the experts in Jewish children's literature at The PJ Library to select and endorse a line of books expected to hit Borders, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon in September 2011. The first titles set to be released are: The Golem's Latkes, Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah, Many Days, and One Shabbat.
"For a long time, I've wanted to start a line of Judaica picture books, but because they'd sell into a niche market, I could never make the numbers work," says Margery Cuyler, publisher of Marshall Cavendish Children's Books. "I'm so glad that The PJ Library came along, because with their support, we can now develop an exciting program of children's books that reflect Jewish values and identity."
As The PJ Library has grown, so has its purchasing power in the publishing industry. The PJ Library boosts profits for publishers and, at the same time is enhancing one genre that was previously almost non-existent: Jewish-themed children's literature. The Association of American Publishers reports that religious book sales have grown by 2.4 percent at a time when publishing sales, in general, are down. Reports show a 1.8%. decrease—$23.9 billion in 2009, down from $24.3 billion in 2008.
Examples of The PJ Library's Publishing Power:
• In 2009 alone, The PJ Library spent more than $2 million on books, which were given to subscribers.
• The PJ Library has purchased more than two and a half million books since 2006, including one million copies of the Scholastic title, Something from Nothing by Phoebe Gilman.
• Each year, The PJ Library purchases 88 unique titles for eight different age groups and works with nearly 50 publishing companies.
• The PJ Library has influenced the publication of 14 new Jewish children's books and the reprinting of more than 20 backlist titles.
Each Marshall Cavendish book will be have an image of a shofar, an ancient musical horn historically used to announce important events and today played on the high holidays. In addition, there will be an embossed seal with The PJ Library logo. "We are honored to have our logo appear on titles in the major book stores," says Marcie Greenfield Simons, director of The PJ Library. "Marshall Cavendish embraces publishing books with Jewish values and bringing them into the mainstream market. The PJ Library is thrilled to partner with Marshall Cavendish in this endeavor, which will bring more high-quality Jewish-themed books into print."
About The PJ Library
The PJ Library is an award-winning Jewish family engagement program designed to strengthen the identities of Jewish families and their relationship to Jewish community. The PJ Library, which started in 2005 by providing books to 200 families, today offers free, high-quality Jewish books and music each month to more than 65,000 children between the ages of six months and eight years in more than 130 communities in the United States and Canada. About 44,000 preschool children in Israel also receive books through "Sifriyat Pijama." The programs were created by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, which funds institutions and programs that directly transmit Jewish learning to children, adults, and families. The PJ Library impacts families beyond the books they receive at home by building a community of practitioners, connecting families to their local Jewish communities, and enriching local Jewish programming. The PJ Library partners with philanthropists and Jewish
Federations, Jewish Community Centers, and other Jewish non-profit organizations to bring The PJ Library books and music to children. The PJ Library pays 60 percent of the cost of sending one package each month to PJ Library participants, while the partnering organizations pay 40 percent, just $40 USD a year ($50 USD in Canada). For more information about The PJ Library, visit www.pjlibrary.org.