Book Distribution

The Google book project began in 2002 as an effort to digitize millions of books. In December 2004, Google announced that it had entered into agreements with the libraries of Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, and the University of Oxford, as well as the New York Public Library to "digitally scan books from their collections so that users worldwide can search them in Google." Google's press release said that it would make available "brief excerpts" of copyrighted material but that its use of these works would comport with copyright law.

Nonprofit advocacy organization Green Press Initiative (GPI) announced that the U.S. book industry has passed "a meaningful environmental threshold." Approximately 50 percent of publishers now have environmental commitments in place—most with goals and timelines for vastly improving their environmental and climate performance. "This is significant due to the fact that as recent as 2001, virtually no publishers had environmental commitments on record …," according to a GPI press release. 

Just two or three years ago, “green” was a hot topic in publishing, as publishers competed to adopt meaningful paper policies, and several high-profile titles were published in environmental packages. But with the economic downturn, much of the talk of “green” initiatives was replaced by a new “green” imperative: the need to preserve profits and cash flow.

Effective cash management is critical to the health of any business, but the recession and associated credit crunch have made paying close attention to managing cash more important than ever.

Today, the U.S. book industry passed a meaningful environmental threshold—approximately 50 percent of publishers now have environmental commitments in place–most with goals and timelines for vastly improving their environmental and climate performance

Book Business’ resource guide is your year-round tool for quickly finding the companies, services and products that can help your enterprise succeed in today’s marketplace. The guide offers a comprehensive selection of companies that provide valuable services to the industry in everything from business management and interactive media to manufacturing, production, distribution, marketing and more.

Every medium possesses a unique set of characteristics. While this statement sounds self-evident at face value, the failure to understand and exploit the attributes of each medium often results in strategic missteps for publishers. The result: product failure from putting the wrong product in the wrong medium, or missed opportunities for product value creation.

The first step in the RFP process is to identify the companies you wish to consider as potential bidders for your distribution business. You have, essentially, two options: specialist firms that provide distribution services to book publishers, and book publishers who handle distribution for other publishers.

It used to be straightforward. A publisher sent out a catalog of new releases, promoting certain titles to bookstores. Marketing proceeded through fixed channels and seasonal rituals, and, year after year, everyone knew their place in the dance. Not so anymore.

Scholastic Makes Progress Toward Goals for FSC-Certified and Recycled Paper Use