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April
11, 2004
Congress Requests
GAO Study of Textbook Pricing
The United States
Congress has asked its independent investigative office to examine college
textbook pricing. The General Accounting Office study, which could take
up to a year, will examine how much money students typically spend on
textbooks; how much it costs publishers to produce new and revised edtions
of textbooks; and why textbooks cost less overseas.
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CCC To Hold Beyond
the Book Event in Chicago
The Copyright Clearance
Center invites TAA members to attend its Beyond the Book event on Monday,
May 10 at DePaul University in Chicago. Beyond the Book, a conference
series on the business of writing and publishing, offers insights and
information for authors and freelance journalists to seek out sustainable
ways to reach new audiences and new markets. Panelists include Sun-Times
columnist Neil Steinberg, DePaul University's Laura Hartman, poet and
biographer Barry Silesky, and relationship counselor John D. Moore.
The fee will be waived for TAA members. For more information, visit
http://authors.copyright.com
or call 800-982-3887 ext. 2420.
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TAA Convention
Held This Past Weekend
TAA's annual convention,
held at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus on April
3, drew members from as far away as Japan. A dozen academic experts
presented attendees with new ideas affecting academic publishing and
research. Six presentations covered a range of topics including writing
and scholarship in the university setting; doing complex web-based academic
research; and acquiring images for use in scholarly publications.
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Convention
Keynote Speaker Shares Publishing Insights
Professor Robert
Picard journeyed from Sweden to St. Petersburg to address his peers
at Saturday's TAA convention in St. Petersburg. Picard led the session,
"Changing Economics of Scholarly Publishing", with an overview of the
impact of evolving media markets on academic publishing. Picard, professor
of economics and director of the Media Management and Transformation
Centre at Jonkoping International Business School in Sweden, discussed
publishing in a modern global economy that is increasingly trading industry
for information. According to Picard, textbook publishers are responding
to the market flux by seeking new markets internationally, moving into
trendy niche markets, and taking part in mergers and joint ventures
in the hope of slashing some of their manufacturing, warehousing and
distribution costs. For more on Picard's presentation, visit the TAA
convention news section.
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Keys to Tenure
and Promotion
Mark Durand, professor
of psychology and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at USF St.
Petersburg, and Robert Diamond, author, higher education consultant
and president of the National Academy for Academic Leadership, discussed
what accomplishments beyond an impressive volume of publications should
contribute to faculty scholarship in a TAA convention talk entitled,
"Publication, Scholarship, Tenure, and Promotion." Diamond, author of
the book, Preparing for Promotion, Tenure, and Annual Review: A Faculty
Guide, cited reliance on department input to find experts in the field.
He suggested that scholarship should break new ground in the field and
provide the foundation for further work, while satisfying the traditional
criteria of remaining scholarly, illustrating expertise in the discipline,
showing thorough documentation, and gaining peer support. He cited these
values in determining the quality of publication and the degree of scholarly
work: "It has to break new ground and move the field ahead." For more
on Diamond and Durand's presentation, visit the TAA
convention news section.
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Veteran Teachers
Help Less Experienced Ones
Doug Matthews, president
of Teaching Point, brought a panel of teacher-authors into a TAA convention
session that introduced the idea of having expert teachers write coursework
for out-of-field, less experienced teachers. The teacher-authored texts
include lesson plans, teaching tips, class notes, and student and teacher
workbooks. "It's a life saver for those who get thrown into the deep
end," Matthews said. "We provide soup to nuts, everything a teacher
needs."
Each of the teachers
on Matthews' panel balanced teaching, grading, conferences, and daily
homework with their authoring efforts to produce courses for struggling
teachers. These teacher-authors retain text copyrights on the courses
that they write for Teaching Point. David Lovell, a history teacher
from Nashville, stressed the importance of testing books in a practical
environment with his students. He has written a United States history
course. Dianna Smith, a journalism teacher from Houston, has created
coursework that integrates a web site, on-line classroom and library
to keep her coursework relevant, topical, and instantly accessible.
For more on Matthews's presentation, visit the TAA
convention news section.
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CCC To Hold Beyond
the Book Event in Chicago
The Copyright Clearance
Center invites TAA members to attend its Beyond the Book event on Monday,
May 10 at DePaul University in Chicago. Beyond the Book, a conference
series on the business of writing and publishing, offers insights and
information for authors and freelance journalists to seek out sustainable
ways to reach new audiences and new markets. Panelists include Sun-Times
columnist Neil Steinberg, DePaul University's Laura Hartman, poet and
biographer Barry Silesky, and relationship counselor John D. Moore.
The fee will be waived for TAA members. For more information, visit
http://authors.copyright.com
or call 800-982-3887 ext. 2420.
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of page for all news
TAA Welcomes
Advertising on Web Site, in Print Newsletter
If you would like
to place an ad in the June issue of The Academic Author, or on the TAA
website, please contact TAA's new advertising manager, Aaron Gregerson,
at (507) 452-2029 or AMGreger5431@webmail.winona.edu.
For ad rates and submission form, click
here.
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