Recent Trends and Developments in Publishing in Croatia

Abstract

Croatia considers the book a priority cultural product. Today various forces, both positive and negative, affect publishing in Croatia. A survey of traditional publishing in Croatia based on statistical data collected by the author in the Croatian ISBN Agency over the past 8 years introduces the main topic. The author then reports on the results of a survey of 1,000 publishers, aimed at establishing which medium publishers used for their books between 1993 and the beginning of 1998, the period when book production passed from printed to digital form. The research results show that modern electronic book forms have been gradually developing in Croatia in parallel with traditional publishing. The number of publishers producing books in electronic format is not great. However, the fact that nearly a quarter of the publishers who returned the questionnaire do produce electronic books, shows that Croatian publishers accept new technologies as they appear in countries with a developed publishing industry, onlyin amuch more modest scope. The author mentions electronic books published by as many as forty publishers, and gives a survey of online-bookstores in Croatia. Special attention is paid to book legislation in the country. As a conclusion the author proposes an incentive for electronic publishing.