Business Books Research Articles

Alexey Vladimirovich Shevtsov — a Historian of the Russian Book Business

Alexey Vladimirovich Shevtsov — a Historian of the Russian Book Business

Dostoevsky in a Free Application: the Publishing Project of Adolf Marx in the Notebooks of Anna Dostoevskaya

The publication of the Complete Works of F. M. Dostoevsky became the main deed of his widow. Over the course of 10 years, book publication has been stable and profitable for the writer’s family. In 1893, the publisher of the weekly “Niva,” A. F. Marx, offered Anna Grigoryevna to sell him the literary rights to Dostoevsky’s works for printing them as a free supplement to his magazine. Dostoevskaya devoted a chapter of published memoirs to this transaction, but her unpublished notebooks contain additional information about both the external side of the agreement with Marx (lists, dates, notes) and the inner world of the publisher during this period (memories, experiences, doubts, comments). This article introduces into scientific circulation the materials of A. G. Dostoevskaya’s notebooks about family meetings about the sale of literary rights, details and curious stories related to the signing of an agreement with Marx. Ultimately, the deal with Marx was not as profitable as it seemed at first. It divided the publishing activities of the writer’s widow into “before” and “after” the contract: the time after the return of copyright was marked by a sharp decline in demand for Dostoevsky’s works due to the surplus of the Complete works of the Marx publishing house on the book market. The contract with “Niva’s” publisher turned out to be one of the essential circumstances in the process of termination of A. G. Dostoevskaya’s publishing activities in 1910. Despite the adverse consequences of the deal with Marx for the Dostoevsky family's book business, the writer’s widow remained friendly with “Niva’s” publisher, as evidenced by the documents provided in the article: her letter to him about the donation and publication of three letters from Dostoevsky to his brother Mikhail, as well as the mentions of the name of Marx and his publications in notebooks.

The Future of Russian Libraries: Current Problems and Development Forecasts

Some published and purely pessimistic scenarios for the development of Russian libraries are analyzed, based, among other things, on the statistics of printed book publishing in Russia, as well as on official data on the annual reduction in the number of public libraries. The one-sided and technocratic interpretation of the library as one of the information and communication channels that cannot compete with the Internet is fruitless. Long-standing predictions about the sad future of traditional libraries and printed book publishing have not been confirmed in practice. Book culture and book business in general, and books and libraries as their main subject and object in particular, are multifaceted. Printed and electronic books in modern conditions are increasingly acting not as antagonists, but mutually complement and enrich each other in the interests of the producer (author or publisher) and the end user (reader or buyer). The rejection of communist ideology and the change of technologies in the book world cannot diminish the socio-cultural role and humanistic significance of libraries as centers of personal development reading and education of a person able to navigate the information field. The library should not only provide free access to information, but also contribute in every possible way to the formation of socially significant knowledge. The problem of finding, critically evaluating and selecting high quality information becomes more acute every year. It is the library that has special opportunities in the practical training of its readers in these skills, i. e. to save the most valuable resource — time. Reliable state support is needed; this is the key to the further existence and development of libraries in Russia.

The Future of Russian Libraries: Current Problems and Development Forecasts

Some published and purely pessimistic scenarios for the development of Russian libraries are analyzed, based, among other things, on the statistics of printed book publishing in Russia, as well as on official data on the annual reduction in the number of public libraries. The one-sided and technocratic interpretation of the library as one of the information and communication channels that cannot compete with the Internet is fruitless. Long-standing predictions about the sad future of traditional libraries and printed book publishing have not been confirmed in practice. Book culture and book business in general, and books and libraries as their main subject and object in particular, are multifaceted. Printed and electronic books in modern conditions are increasingly acting not as antagonists, but mutually complement and enrich each other in the interests of the producer (author or publisher) and the end user (reader or buyer). The rejection of communist ideology and the change of technologies in the book world cannot diminish the socio-cultural role and humanistic significance of libraries as centers of personal development reading and education of a person able to navigate the information field. The library should not only provide free access to information, but also contribute in every possible way to the formation of socially significant knowledge. The problem of finding, critically evaluating and selecting high quality information becomes more acute every year. It is the library that has special opportunities in the practical training of its readers in these skills, i. e. to save the most valuable resource — time. Reliable state support is needed; this is the key to the further existence and development of libraries in Russia.

Manufacturers, Printers and Booksellers in the 1872–1918 Records of F. M. and A. G. Dostoevsky

Abstract The Dostoevsky couple’s book trade is a separate, vast topic that has recently attracted increasingly greater attention of researchers. Starting in 1872 — the period of preparation of the novel “Demons” (1873) for publication — the Dostoevskys dealt with various publishers, printers, manufacturers and booksellers. The article is based on the 1872–1881 notebooks of F. M. Dostoevsky and the 1876–1918 notebooks of A. G. Dostoevskaya, as well as on scientific literature on publishing and book trade of 19th-century Russia, expanded comments and biographical references to such representatives of the book business as the Vargunin brothers and separately father and son Alexander Ivanovich and Konstantin Alexandrovich Vargunin; the Glazunov brothers and separately Alexander Ilyich and Ivan Ilyich Glazunov. The last representatives of the Glazunov publishing clan, Konstantin Ilyich and Ilya Ivanovich Glazunov, with whom, judging by the notebooks, A. G. Dostoevskaya interacted after the writer’s death, are being discussed for the first time. The article expanded the comment on the surname “Mamontov.” In the research literature on Dostoevsky, the emphasis is placed either exclusively on the writer’s relationship with Nikolai Ivanovich Mamontov, or with Anatoly Ivanovich Mamontov. Based on the notebooks of A. G. Dostoevskaya of 1876–1881, the article demonstrates that the Dostoevskys communicated with both representatives of the Mamontov family at that time. It is also suggested that in the late receipts issued by A. G. Dostoevskaya to a subscriber of the bookstore of a certain N. G. Mamontov, most likely refer to the bookseller N. G. Martynov. A. G. Dostoevskaya’s notebooks of the period after Dostoevsky’s death shows that the widow continued to cooperate with many publishers, booksellers and manufacturers after her husband’s death.

Private initiative as a growth factor of Book publishing activity in Russia in the last third of the 18th century

Importance. A landmark event in the history of Russia in the last third of the 18th century was the development of private printing houses, which destroyed the state and church monopoly on printing publications. The work of publishing houses played a decisive role in satisfying the spiritual needs of the broad masses of the population, contributed to the secularization of the national book culture. At the same time, the richness and diversity of fiction, educational and scientific literature, produced both in Russian and in foreign languages, thoroughly influenced the emergence and dissemination of new information and facts, increased the level of education of all segments of the reading population. Despite the existence of extensive research on the book publishing of this period, there is a well-known imbalance in the description of the activities of famous domestic printers and their foreign colleagues. Meanwhile, it was foreign specialists (I.M. Hartung, J.J. Weitbrecht, etc.) who played a key role in opening the first private printing houses in Russia. The study of their activities contributes to the increment of knowledge on the Russian book culture history, allows you to consider unknown pages of Russian book publishing and book trade.Research Methods. The main sources of the study are the materials of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (Fund 17, Fund 248), as well as legislative acts and orders of that time that influenced the book trade.Results and Discussion. Being a characteristic feature of the development of information culture in the first half of the 18th century, censorship could not stop the transformative role of books in the history of Russia. As a result of the intensification of book printing in the country, the emergence of free book trade, the successful operation of new education models, interest in printed products has noticeably increased. Book business has ceased to be only a capital occupation and has become the property of the whole country. By allowing everyone to start printing houses at will, the state equated them with factories, which facilitated the processes of creating and developing their own printing business.Conclusion. The activity of private book publishers in Russia in the second half of the 18th century created opportunities for the formation of the national book market, filling it with various scientific, fiction and educational literature. Thus, the printers contributed to the dissemination of the widest knowledge among the Russian population, increased the variety and quality of the literature sold.

The female entrepreneur: Fragments of a genealogy

This short article, based on a lecture, offers fragments for a genealogy of female entrepreneurship in the Global North. It argues that in business and management books and social texts, the entrepreneur has historically been overwhelmingly figured as male – as ‘entrepreneurial man’. Yet, over the past few decades, encouraged by both gender mainstreaming and neoliberal feminism, the symbolic locus of entrepreneurialism in popular culture has increasingly gravitated towards women. It shows how we might trace a mediatised evolution of female entrepreneurialism and its ideologies: from tragic 1950s entrepreneurial stars, through to the plucky shoulder-padded heroines of women’s magazines and films of the 1980s, through to the girlbosses, Instagram entrepreneurs and hustle culture of the present. What, it asks, is happening to the female entrepreneur in an era of neoliberal crisis? And what ‘left feminist’ alternatives to, or intersections with, this figure might be in our midst, or on the horizon?

Традиции и новаторство горьковской стратегии книгоиздания для детей

Book publishing for children in Russia has a long and glorious history. In the first half of the 1920s, children’s literature was regularly published by two specialized publishing houses: Raduga and G. Mirimanov. Maxim Gorky, as an experienced book publisher, initiator and organizer of various publishing projects, adhered to traditions in the book business and introduced innovative approaches to children’s book publishing. The book for Gorky, a supporter of active and productive reading, has always been a work of culture and art capable of elevating a person, being an instrument of education and enlightenment. Gorky’s strategy included the preservation and enhancement of publishing experience. Gorky practiced publishing principles suitable for children’s literature in 1912 when editing Italian Fairy Tales translated by M. Andreeva. In 1917, he participated as an author and editor in the creation of a collection for children Christmas Tree in the Pams publishing house. In 1918, together with the publisher I.R. Belopolsky, the writer organized the first “pre-pioneer” Soviet magazine Severnoe siyanie. In 1933, Gorky was puzzled by the creation of a specialized children’s publishing house, for which he formed a special communicative field: he included his correspondents in the discussion of the plans of Detgiz. He turned for help in creating new children’s literature to K.I. Chukovsky, S.Ya. Marshak, M. Ilyin, S.T. Grigoriev, M. Prishvin, B. Zhitkov, Vs. Ivanov, Yu. Olesha, M. Zoshchenko, artist V. Lebedev, and others. Gorky’s appeal to children in the summer of 1933 with the question of what they read and what books they want to get was a truly innovative method of studying young readers, unique in its simplicity and effectiveness. This unique publishing strategy yielded significant results: Gorky and all those responsible for publishing books for children received reliable, truthful answers from young readers, learned the true interests and requests of Soviet children. Thus, thanks to Gorky, the interests of children began to determine the tasks and directions of the children’s publishing house, as well as the methods and forms of work of its editorial staff. In addition, involving children in discussing the problems of children’s publishing solved the problem of involving children and adolescents in reading. Gorky’s competent strategy - clear ideas about the mission, goals, objectives, orientation of the publishing house, a clear orientation to the target audience - in organizing the state children’s publishing house Detgiz, which still exists today, contributed to the formation of a special Soviet cultural space and to the change of the conceptual activity guidelines of the publishing house for children. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

Russian Book Business of the 19th — Early 20th Century on 23rd Pavlenkov Readings

The review of the All-Russian scientifi c conference “23rd Pavlenkov Readings. Book business in Russia in the 19th — early 20th century”, held in the Russian National Library on 17—19 October 2023, presents the reports delivered at the plenary session and four sections: “Ivan Sergeevich Aksakov (1823—1886) — publisher, publicist, poet: to the 200th anniversary of his birth”, “History of publishing”, “History of book collections” and “History of censorship”. The participants of the readings were researchers from St Petersburg, Moscow, Moscow region, Nizhny Novgorod, Orel, Samara, Khabarovsk. The speakers represented various scientifi c institutions: libraries, universities, museums. Among them there were both experienced book historians and novice researchers who touched upon various aspects of the history of the book in their reports.

“Indispensable Reference Book”: Russian Calendars or Monthbooks of the 18th Century from the Collection of the Russian State Library Book Museum

For a modern user, a calendar is usually a reference table that lists all the days of the year in sequential order, dividing them into months and weeks, and highlighting weekends and holidays with a special color. People of the 18th century gave the calendar similar definitions, but its functions were much broader: the calendar became a desk book, fulfilled the functions of a notebook, an individual for each family home directory — for this purpose in the copies, even at the stage of conclusion in the cover or binding, blank sheets were bound to keep family and household records. Throughout most of the 18th century, the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg had the exclusive right to issue calendars, and the calendars, along with other academic publications, were subject to state and church control, as they contained current information about persons serving at the court and about the highest Russian officialdom. The Russian State Library as part of the collection of the Research Department of Rare Books (Museum of Books) holds a representative collection of calendars and monthbooks of the 18th century, which makes it possible to get acquainted with the repertoire of this type of publications. The present study examines the subjects and readers’ address of calendars or monthbooks of the 18th century, reveals the content of the “Calendar or Monthbook for the summer from the Nativity of Christ...”, court, historical, geographical, economic, travel, church, “fortune-telling” calendars on the example of copies from the collection of the Book Museum.The calendar as a type of publishing reacted sensitively to the changes that took place in society and in the book business in different historical periods, tried to record the information that seemed important to contemporaries, helped owners to structure their lives and the lives of their families, their homes and households. Calendars had their readers and admirers. It is in the calendar that one finds information that has not passed the test of time, but is so necessary to reconstruct the history of everyday life of a particular era.

A Multifaceted Scientist: a Bio-bibliographic Portrait of A.Yu. Samarin

The review of the eleventh issue of the series “Russian Historians of Science and Technology”, published since 2005 under the auspices of the S.I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Natural Science and Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IHNST RAS), is presented. It is called “Samarin Alexander Yuryevich: materials for bio-bibliography” (Moscow, 2023) and is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of A.Yu. Samarin, the famous historian of books and book business, bibliographer and librarian, historian of science, organizer of research, Deputy Director General for Scientific Publishing of the Russian State Library, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation. He has also been successfully cooperating with the IHNST RAS for a long time, being concurrently the chief researcher of the Department of Historiography and Source Studies of the History of Science and Technology. The review reveals the main content of this collection, which in a multidimensional and multifaceted way shows the role and place of A.Yu. Samarin in organizational, scientific and educational activities for the benefit of the Russian book culture, as well as introduces readers to little-known details of his life path. Special attention is paid to the diverse author and editorial activities of A.Yu. Samarin (including as editor-in-chief of the Bibliography magazine, which, after the inclusion of the Russian Book Chamber in ITAR-TASS, was published as an independent publication in 2015—2020). It is concluded that the publication of the index is an important milestone in the development of book, library and bibliographic knowledge about the history, current state and prospects of Russian book culture.

책생태계 지속가능성을 위한 북메타데이터 구축에 관한 연구

The domestic and international publishing industry is facing environmental changes in the media industry. Information technology and data integration in the publishing industry are considered fundamental infrastructure for innovation and demand generation in the book business market. This study examines the digitization of publishing, with a focus on book metadata, to support the sustainable book ecosystem in South Korea, which is navigating through the evolving media landscape. The importance of book metadata lies in its efficient data utilization, data accumulation, enhancing discoverability and sales of books, as well as providing useful services to stakeholders in the publishing industry. Additionally, it plays a crucial role in marketing efficiency. In this context, the implications for the sustainability of the book ecosystem are as follows: Firstly, it involves cost savings through standardized book information input and the creation of an environment for marketing using uniform book data. Secondly, it emphasizes the need for interconnected sharing of information among publishers, bookstores, distributors, and other relevant parties. Thirdly, it highlights the requirement for data analysis infrastructure to support comprehensive support systems for stakeholders in the publishing and distribution ecosystem. Finally, it underscores the necessity of utilizing book metadata for the establishment of policies promoting the development of the publishing industry.

Book Review: The Sustainable Business Handbook: A Guide to Becoming More Innovative, Resilient, and Successful

We are living in an era where the global business terrain is increasingly shaped by environmental, social, and economic chal­lenges. It is important not only to know about sustainable principles, but also to understand how to turn this knowledge into tangible action. The core objective of “The Sustainable Business Handbook: A Guide to Becoming More Innovative, Resilient, and Successful” is to offer practical knowledge and insights to business operators. This book offers compre­hen­sive guidance for organiza­tions and leaders to navigate the complex situations of sustainable business management, transform­ing challenges into opportunities for innovation and success. Several case studies from real world businesses are provided throughout the book. This book has earned noteworthy recognition, being shortlisted for Project Syndicate's Sustainability Book Award 2023, and further acclaimed as the winner of the Business Book Awards 2023 in the Change and Sustainability category. Remarkably, Project Syndicate is a renowned international media organization, widely acknowledged for its role in publishing and syndicating perceptive commentaries and analyses on a diverse array of global subjects (Project Syndicate, 2023).

Bibliographic Annals of Russian Bibliology — 2009

A critical review of the next bibliographic index “Bibliology: Index of Literature for 2009” published in 2023 by “Pashkov House” is presented. This book was prepared by the employee of the Russian State Library, authoritative bibliographer L.I. Fursenko. This issue covers the publications on bibliology and book culture (from the general problems to the bibliophily and book art) that published in the Russian Federation during 2009. The reviewer underlines the need to continue one of the most important bibliographic project in the sphere of the contemporary book science and culture. The traditional merits of this voluminous index and its enduring relevance not only for specialists of book business but another ones representing wider spheres of science, culture and education are specially noted.

Economic Imaginings of Consumption in Book Retail

Abstract Far from being a conventional trade in consumer goods, with price value estimated from a relationship between demand and scarcity, book retail is saturated in the politics of class, gender, and race. To thrive, it must be alive to the promises and pitfalls of those dimensions, especially as they are imagined through reading. Therefore, to understand book retail only through institutionalized models of neoclassical economics would be a mistake. A mistake not only because book retail trades in symbolic goods, which are goods of an inherently interpretive, political, all-too-human kind, but also because symbolic goods defy foundational categories such as ‘consumption’. From a historic case study, that of book retail in Southampton around 1900, it can be shown which forces have actively sustained the book business. Revealed, too, is how economics is merely the material mathematized wing of a particular cultural-political way of thinking, one that can be broken free from without losing either business or responsibilities to race, gender, and class.

Interconnections between Art and Commerce: Literary Prizes, Readers, and the Reading Committee of the Irish Women Writers' Club (1933–1958)

ABSTRACT This essay examines the interconnections between art and commerce that lie behind cultural production. Using the case study of the Irish Women Writers’ Club (1933–1958), it explores the political, cultural, and social realms in which alliances are formed and supported, and the intersections between culture and the business of books, art, and politics, reading committees and readers. It extends on recent scholarship which positions women writers firmly at the centre of Irish literary life in the mid-twentieth century, offering new unpublished accounts of the club, their public activities and reading practices, and the machinations behind the reading committee that awarded the literary prize, the Book of the Year, from the period 1936–1939. As progressives, they leveraged their connections, national and international, to maintain a space for female intellectual thought while keeping alive the tradition of women's writing for future generations.

Search for Ways to Develop Regional Book Culture

The objective of the article is to give an overview of the materials of the Public Hearings on the problems of books and reading «The Reader: Global Challenges and Personal Stories» held on March 24, 2023 in Novosibirsk in the frames of the IV International Scientific and Practical Conference “Homo legens in the Past and Present”. They brought together about 30 representatives of the government and administration, book theorists and practitioners, heads of higher educational institutions, representatives of the library community, and public organizations. There were identified three directions for the development of the regional infrastructure for reading: the first one – related to the organization of regional studies of books and reading, search for tools to improve the quality of reading; the second – associated with the development of publishing (book, magazine) and bookselling practices, growth of their influence/ impact on the socio-cultural environment; the third direction – defining libraries as centers for organizing reading and formulating the problems of training library specialists. Resulting the Public Hearings, the resolution was prepared for the heads of legislative and executive authorities of the region with proposals for the development of the regional infrastructure for reading. The general outcome was the realization of the need to provide comprehensive support to all actors of book culture (writers, artists, publishers, critics, literary scholars, journalists and the media, bookstores, libraries and readers) and to strengthen partnerships, state, public and business initiatives in all areas of book business.

New Laws, Documents and Achievements in the Sphere of the Book Culture and Librarianship

The article presents information about recent organizational solutions and events in the sphere of book business, such as: the development of libraries as cultural centres, including the new regional subjects of the Russian Federation; using of recommendatory bibliography of literature for children; acquisition of library collections for INION RAS; science and research activities of the central regional libraries. It is told about changes in the library legislation, aims and purposes of Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation for 2023 in the sphere of librarianship.

Development of Children's Islamic Book Business Based on Dental Health Education and Medical Rehabilitation

Interest in children's Islamic books is still lacking and needs to be increased in society, especially parents, because many children prefer story books with fairy tale nuances. In Medical Rehabilitation, reading books needs to be a habit from an early age because it can stimulate the brain and increase knowledge. Knowledge about dental health, especially preventing cavities, is still lacking so it needs to be improved. The aim of this activity is to increase interest in children's Islamic books, it is necessary to include education about children's Dental Health and Medical Rehabilitation so that knowledge increases along with interest in children's Islamic books. The method used in this activity is collaboration with children's Islamic book business partners, followed by an educational program through counseling about Dental Health and the importance of reading from a Medical Rehabilitation perspective at the Experimental 2 State Elementary School in Yogyakarta. In this activity, education is carried out through counseling, practice of preventing cavities, education about the importance of reading, especially Islamic children's books. The activity ended with a post test in the form of a quiz and a demonstration of putting the educational results into practice as an assessment of the success of the program. As a result of this activity, all participants were very happy and enthusiastic about reading Islamic children's books because many did not know that there were interesting Islamic children's books. Knowledge about dental health and medical rehabilitation increased from the results of the post test which included knowledge about dental health and the importance of reading, and participants were able to demonstrate how to prevent cavities. Conclusion, this activity was successful because knowledge about dental health and medical rehabilitation increased along with the increasing interest of children in children's Islamic books.

The Most Important Events in the Russian World of Book

The article presents information about recent organizational solutions and events in the sphere of book business , including the development of libraries as cultural centres , abolition of age marking for educational editions , the introduction of normative dictionaries of the Russian literary language , the foundation of the Association of Presidential Libraries for CIS members and the Cooperation Council meeting of national libraries of Russia.