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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the state of contemporary publishing, specifically the realms of fanfiction and self-publishing, for the ways in which readership is represented in conjunction with authors and publishers within the publication process. The structure of this process is then compared with Robert Darnton’s communications circuit in order to propose a new model for the publication. As the publication process has a profound impact on the teaching and practice of collection development and reader studies in LIS, the discipline must be aware of any changes to the publication process.

Using the case study approach, this research examines the cultural product, Fifty Shades of Grey (FSOG). Evidence included fanfiction and self-published manuscripts, reader reception of these texts, and a timeline of how the texts developed.

Evidence gathered from the case study illustrate a variety of players and infrastructure present in the development and trajectory of FSOG. Throughout the entire development of the cultural product, readers were found to be active agents in the publication process promoting strong connections between reader and author. Findings focus on the themes of textual development and their publicity.

Proposes a new model for the publication process that includes fanfiction and self-publishing.

From the point of view of the book chain, self-publishing is becoming increasingly common and it is doing so faster in the commercial world than in science. This study aims to analyse the phenomenon of self-publishing from the point of view of the research being done on it. Thus, in addition to studying the subject, it is going to be possible to analyse the viability of this methodology as an analysis technique.

The methodology is based on a combination of traditional bibliometric studies and analysis of social networks applied.

Self-publishing is a phenomenon that is being studied by the scientific community. But the research on this topic has a low rate of co-authorship and a low relationship between the most prolific authors and their relevance. The combination of techniques used has proven to be a very good choice for analyzing the data.

There are not enough works analyzing the research in self-publishing. Because of the peculiarities of the topic, a combination of various techniques will provide a better approach to its study, so, this paper contains some results using bibliometrics and others using social network analysis applied.

The article aims to convey the experiences of installing an Espresso Book Machine (tm) into Windsor Public Library. It relates how an extremely high-tech, mechanical and new process was received in a very traditional field.

Windsor Public Library acquired an Espresso Book Machine, and built around it a Self-Publishing Centre which included iMacs loaded with software, a scanner, a comfortable area and a dedicated staff member.

The creativity that arose from the Self-Publishing Centre was not limited only to individual, solitary authors who wanted just to produce their own works. A network of like-minded people formed to give encouragement and support developed, increasing the opportunities for elevating literacy in our community.

Limitations are obviously that we are one small community enjoying the benefits of this machine. It is impossible to predict if other communities and geographic locations would enjoy the same success.

Practical implications are that even with the advancing tide of ebooks and non-print matter, patrons are still very eager to consume and produce printed materials.

The technological marvels of the high-tech gear that have been installed would be lost without the people forming communities around the technology.

The results of installing the Self-Publishing Centre were very different from what we anticipated. The products and community established here are as awe-inspiring as the machine at the heart of the Centre.

This paper aims to, through an analysis of the current literature, explore the current state of the library e-publishing community and its approach to preservation. Libraries are increasingly proposing publishing services as part of their work with their communities, and recently, there has been a pronounced interest in providing electronic publishing (e-publishing) services. The library e-publishing community, however, has not systematically studied the need for the long-term preservation of the digital content they help create.

Through a reflective analysis of the literature, this paper explores the context and the evolution of e-publishing as a trend that aligns with public library missions; in doing so, it also explores implications for digital preservation in the context of these new services and identifies gaps in the literature.

Digital preservation is an important and worthwhile activity for library e-publishers; preservation of community-based author content cannot, however, be an afterthought and should be planned from the beginning. Future study should take into consideration the needs and expectations of community-based authors. Existing digital preservation guidelines also provide a point of reference for the community and researchers.

This paper addresses the understudied area of the importance of digital preservation to library e-publishing. In doing so, it also investigates the role of the library in supporting community-based authors when e-publishing through the library.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate characters and scenarios reflecting varied lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) identities in fiction in two library acquisitions platforms: a traditional library vendor (Coutts’ OASIS) and a freely available platform for self-published eBooks (Smashwords).

Using intersectionality as an approach, 200 LGBT fiction titles were examined in OASIS and in Smashwords with the goal of assessing the characters and scenarios represented. The hypothesis was that Smashwords’s titles, because they were self-published, would include more variety.

The titles in both platforms were roughly similar, with a pronounced focus on white gay males.

This research relied on limited metadata provided in each system. Additional research should evaluate the quality of the titles and the nature of the publishers.

Although the Smashwords eBook platform provides access to eBooks, a convenient way to consume genre fiction, the titles available do not represent more diverse LGBT identities than the titles available through a traditional library vendor platform, OASIS.

As libraries struggle with practical implications for selecting materials representing varied viewpoints, the question of self-published or indie eBooks has emerged as a potential option for providing these perspectives. The findings of this study indicate, however, that instead of reflecting a more diverse readership, the sample of Smashwords LGBT fiction eBooks examined largely resembles the materials that a library vendor provides.

Industry platforms can alter relations among exchange partners in such a way that the industry structure is changed. The focus of much industry platform research has been on how platform creation and leadership offers advantages to the most central firms, but platforms can also be advantageous for small specialist firms that compete with the most central firms. We examine book publishing as an example of an industry in which the central players – large publishing firms – are losing power to self-publishing authors because the distributor Amazon has a powerful platform for customers to communicate independently, and the non-publishing platform Twitter also serves as a medium for readers to discuss and review books. Our empirical analysis is based on downloaded sales statistics for Amazon Ebooks, matched with Amazon reviews of the same books and tweets that refer to the book or the author. We analyze how Ebook sales are a function of publisher, Amazon reviews, and tweets, and we are able to assess the importance of each factor in the sale of book titles. The main finding is that Amazon reviews are powerful drivers of book sales, and have greater effect on the sales of books that are not backed by publishers. Twitter also affects book sales, but less strongly than Amazon reviews.

This paper aims to examine the current state of collecting with emphasis on small, independent and local digital media for the purpose of exploring librarians’ tools to develop unique collections with these types of cultural products included.

This conceptual paper is based on examination of the current state of publishing and digital media, of case profiles of independent digital content providers, of case profiles of public libraries using digital media to expand collections and of collection developers’ tools, including reviewing sources.

With regard to expanding collections from small, independent and local digital content providers, user-generated content (UGC) is offered as a tool for collection developers to use alongside other traditional reviewing sources. UGC allows for embedding collective voices into collection development practices to capture digital cultural products from these providers.

This paper reflects on the current state of digital content creation and publishing, including the limitations and possibilities in place for the future of public library collections from both large publishing companies and smaller media creators. Non-traditional digital media are cultural products produced for consumption and reception; therefore, we consider how these materials fit into contemporary collections, how they are connected to public libraries and subsequently are made available to library users.

The paper aims at dealing with the role of users in the creation (or curation) and distribution of digital contents. User generated contents (UGCs) refer to a variety of media such as Wikis, question-answer databases, digital video, blogging, podcasting, forums, review sites, social networking, social media and mobile phone photograph. It attempts assessing their potential role as co-innovators. The paper follows the progressive creation of a new space for users, tracking its specific forms in each subsector of the media and content industries. Each subsector reveals a disruption in the production and circulation of new content.

The paper is based on desk research, a review of literature, review of the technical journals, and analysis of annual reports. The paper is part of an on-going research project on media and content industries.

The paper argued that since 2007 (release of iPhone and Kindle) the landscape went through a dramatic change, scaling up. It illustrates how the entire value chain of content (production/distribution/consumption) has opened up. The amount of UGC produced triggered a qualitative jump, ushering in new modes of interaction between the customers and creators, without necessarily turning the consumer into a full-fledge producer. The UGC model adds another source of production, thereby increasing diversity, ushering in new ways for talent scouting. It reveals various forms of co-creation and the role of a community model while also showing its limits.

This paper concentrates on digital media and does not deal with any other aspect such as knowledge sharing (Wikis). The paper does not cover the reactions of traditional industry players to UGC (some elements are given for newspaper), neither possible policy and regulatory responses The paper relies mostly on reports from news agencies, consultancies or annual reports from companies so as to delineate the main trends.

It shows that the role of customers did change within this context. The new channels offer novel ways to produce, curate and disseminate contents. It offers a range of examples from different industries.

The paper documents the participation of consumers in the production of content. it hints at the evolution of labour, alludes to the issue of diversity and of creativity, but does not address other societal issues.

Some reports were devoted to UGC in 2007 (OECD) and 2008 (Idate-IVIR-TNO) but in spite of the major changes that took place over the past decade, the research has been scarce, or has concentrated on a specific segment of the media industry. The paper is trying to offer a comprehensive overview of the various segments. Each sub-segment of the media industry illustrates a specific dimension.

Since Gutenberg invented printing in the fifteenth century, the book has become one of the most important information carriers for knowledge distribution, academic research, cultural heritage, and preservation. With advancements in technology both of electronic publishing and universal distribution and access on the Internet, the electronic book is supposed to become another revolution for information dissemination. This paper examines electronic books by giving a review of their historical development, definition and scope, characteristics and constraints, typology, related issues for library services, and user preferences. Consequently, this paper finds that electronic books only bring several evolutionary changes to the current operations of publishing and distribution in comparison with traditional books. The electronic book is just as much a consequence of the application of innovative information technologies as Gutenberg’s were for paper books. A revolutionary change is still required for the electronic book to become ubiquitous.

The emergence of the platform economy is reorganizing work, employment, and value creation. The authors argue that the digital platforms are fracturing work itself as the places and types of work are being reorganized into a myriad of platform organized work arrangements with workplaces being potentially anywhere with Internet connectivity. The authors differ from most traditional narratives that focus solely upon either work displacement, a single type of platform-organized value-creating activity, or David Weil’s concentration solely upon the workplace. The authors recognize that even as some work is replaced, other work is being transformed; new work and old work in new arrangements is being created and recreated. The taxonomy begins with the workers employed directly by the platform and its contractors. The authors then introduce the category, platform-mediated work, which we divide into three groups: marketplaces such as Amazon; in-person service provision such as Uber and Airbnb; and remote service provision such as Upwork. The next category, “platform-mediated content creation,” is complex. The authors identify three groups of activities: consignment content creators that include services such as the app stores, YouTube, and Amazon Self-Publishing; non-platform organization content producers, which refers to the enormous number of workers occupied with creating and maintaining websites; and user-generated content which is the non-compensated value creation that ranges from content uploaded to Facebook, Instagram, etc. to reviews on sites such as Yelp. It is only when work and value creation is considered in all of these platform-based manifestations that we can understand the ultimate dimensions of the platform economy and comprehensively understand its implications for work.