The Columbia Guide to Digital Publishing [Paperback]

William Kasdorf (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0231124996 | ISBN-13: 978-0231124997 | Publication Date: January 2003

<P>What is metadata? When do you need to archive digital content? How does electronic publication affect copyrights? How can XML and PDF improve your workflow and your publications? There is a digital dimension to virtually all publishing today. Beyond the obvious electronic media -- the music and movies we take for granted, the increasingly indispensable Web, the eBooks that most of us will take for granted in a few years -- almost everything we read, even on paper, was produced digitally. This new digital world offers a steadily increasing number of choices. It is this rich and rapidly changing publishing environment for which <I>The Columbia Guide to Digital Publishing</I> was created. Although there is a vast amount of information on a host of topics relevant to digital production and publishing available -- some in print, more on the Web -- there has been, until now, no single resource to which those involved in any dimension of publishing could turn for guidance. <I>The Columbia Guide to Digital Publishing</I> fills that need.</P><P>The Guide is definitive: written by experts in the broad array of subjects it covers, it provides reliable, authoritative, user-friendly information about a vast number of topics. Designed to be the first place to go to learn about any of the numerous interrelated issues that define the digital publishing landscape, it offers readers a multilevel approach, from a brief glossary definition of a technical term or acronym (sometimes all a user needs), to a concise discussion of a topic (comprehensible to the lay person, yet useful for the technical expert). It puts a subject in the context of other topics and broader issues, with real-world examples, liberal cross-references, and pointers to sources of further information in print or electronic form.</P>

Editorial Reviews

Review

<P>A truly interactive resource.... The guide targets professionals and nonprofessionals, and the result is both thorough and readable.... Recommended especially for public and academic libraries.</P> (Library Journal April 2005)

<P>The editor and contributors, who have distinguished careers in digital publishing, have exerted great effort to include all relevant information for beginners, yet they offer enough detail to capture the attention advanced users without expanding to a multivolume work or becoming too long... A superb opening gesture for creating a dialog on the scholarly communication process.</P> (Choice )

<P>In a world where all things electronic have become dominant, this remarkable volume serves as a comprehensive handbook to every conceivable aspect of digital publishing.... This valuable compendium is most highly recommended for all collections.</P> (John Maxymuk American Reference Books Annual )

<P>Columbia's guide was created and edited in a text-encoded electronic format that has been used to derive both the print and Web versions.... A solid electronic resource with good content.... Recommended.</P> (Choice )

<P>An excellent technical overview of the constantly evolving world of electronic publishing. Updates and hyperlinks add value to the online version, which is well organized and easy-to-use.</P> (Booklist )

<P>Much is neatly packed into this encyclopedia of information on everything ranging from digital-rights management to digital legal issues.</P> (Columbus Dispatch )

<P>This book will be a very welcome addition to the bookshelf of anyone working with any form of digital publishing. It is by far the most thorough, authoritative digital publishing reference source available. Editor William Kasdorf, Past President of the Society for Scholarly Publishing, has pulled together an impressive array of experts to produce this definitive guide.</P> (The Indexer )

<P>The <I>Guide</I> is remarkably successful in fulfilling its intentions... It was a pleasant surprise to discover that although the book does contain many references to specific hardware devices and software programs, it contextualizes these references in discussions that will remain relevant for years to come.</P> (Maria S. Bonn Portal: Reviews )

<P>[C]lear out a prominent space on your bookshelf for <I>The Columbia Guide to Digital Publishing</I>... [T]his guide is a compendium of in-depth articles on all these aspects of digital publishing and more, each written by an expert in the field.... Destined to become a classic, <I>The Columbia Guide to Digital Publishing</I> will be the Bible you turn to again and again, whether you need to make publishing decisions large and small, or share a teaching resource with a manager or staff member.</P> (Darrill Anderson Technical Communication )

<P> <I>The Columbia Guide to Digital Publishing</I> is the <I>War and Peace</I> of digital communication resources. It is epic in scope and exhaustive in detail, historic, and prophetic. An original. A universe. It's long but it's all substance... <I>The Columbia Guide</I> may be new and it may be the first of its kind, but it has the makings of a classic.</P> (Linda Hengstler Science Editor )

Review

<P>I like the project and the best compliment I can give is, 'where can I buy one?'</P> (Troy Linker, Director of Publishing Technology, American Library Association )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 816 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231124996
• ISBN-13: 978-0231124997
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #493,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Introduction if you are New to the Field, January 23, 2007

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Columbia Guide to Digital Publishing (Paperback)

The first sentence of this book says: 'Today, virtually all publishing is digital to some extent, whether content is delivered electronically or in print.' He is right, and this large (750 page) book covers virtually every aspect of the digital aspect of document production, manufacture, distribution and everything else. The book is produced by a group of people with experience in all aspects of the industry. They are consultants, analysts, professors, authors, printers, journalists, and come from industry, universities, consulting and publishing firms.

Most of the book is on the technical aspects, the hardware, software communications that allow the creation, management and distribution of digital documents.

The last part of the book is on marketing, copyrights and so on. I believe this area is a bigger problem than the authors admit. Yes, copyright law has been extended to cover electronic publishing, but how do you handle web sites in Nigeria or China that simply don't follow the rules? What is to keep them from selling your material on their web site?

An overall excellent book for someone new to the field. It is getting a bit dated, and a new edition would be nice to have.

5 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Who writes this drivel?, February 18, 2006

By 

Paul Mazurkiewicz "Pavatius" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Columbia Guide to Digital Publishing (Paperback)

Yesterday I helped my 10th grade sister with Politics and the English Language by George Orwell. I explained to her why Mr. Orwell says a double negative is bad English.

I highly recommend all the contributors to this book begin with the basics of writing in the English language. Strunk & White is a good read and not too long and I also recommend Mr. Orwell's essay to elucidate exactly why not not is not not not good English.

The most aggravating aspect of this book however isn't the piss poor English. I have school books for my MA in publishing I am supposedly to learn from that are full of grammatical and spelling errors every other page. It happens. I can deal with that.

No, the worst part of this book are the factual errors that just make me want to throw the book out the window in a fit of rage at the sheer lack of research put into it.

Don't believe me? On page 626, the author predicts that in possibly five years technology may be available that will prohibit users from making photocopies of protected material and that this technology may be commercially viable in seven to ten years.

If the author did the slightest amount of research, he would know the technology is already widely used and has been for nearly a decade. The article on wikipedia about the EURion constellation can provide you all the details.

You know I'm really trying to give the book a fair chance. It is a textbook after all, and I am trying, I really am, but I continually question the intelligence of the authors and their competence in the field they are supposed to be experts in every other paragraph.

Don't buy this book. And if you need it for school, photocopy the parts you can stomach to read.