- AAP welcomes re-introduction of legislation to protect copyright of researched works
- Publishers, other copyright-related trade associations, submit annual intellectual property rights report
- Pat Schroeder to step down as head of AAP
- Authors Guild concerned about Kindle 2's new 'Text to Speech' function
- Listen to recording of Mar. 25 TAA Teleconference on textbook writing
- Listen to recording of Mar. 19 TAA Teleconference on grant writing
- TAA Conference session previewed on Beyond the Book
- Brooks/Cole, Delmar Cengage Learning and Pearson Higher Education sponsoring the 2009 TAA Conference Hospitality Hour
- Listen to recording of Mar. 4 TAA Teleconference on contracts
- 2009 TAA Council election candidates announced
- TAA announces 2009 Texty, McGuffey Award winners
- Book Review: Robert Boice, Professors as Writers: A Self-Help Guide to Productive Writing
AAP welcomes re-introduction of legislation to protect copyright of researched works
The Association of American Publishers welcomed the re-introduction of legislation to safeguard the rights of authors and publishers of copyrighted, peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, and praised House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) for their bipartisan leadership and continuing support in protecting the rights of the scientific and scholarly publishing community.
The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act, HR 801, was re-introduced in response to a government mandate that allows the National Institutes of Health to make the content of publishers’ value-added, peer-reviewed journal articles freely available online within 12 months of publication. The legislation would recognize the importance of the added value in quality assurance controls that journal publishers contribute to ensure the integrity of such articles as key components of the nation’s record on scientific research, and would help keep the Federal Government from undermining copyright protection for journal articles where private-sector publishers have added such significant value. The legislation would address serious concerns that the mandate is inconsistent with policies underlying U.S. copyright law and undermines our nation’s ability to comply with international copyright treaty obligations.
Allan Adler, AAP Vice President for Government and Legal Affairs commented: “While the Government may fund the research, not-for-profit and commercial publishers together invest hundreds of millions of dollars each year conducting peer review, editing, publishing, disseminating, and archiving scientific and scholarly journal articles to inform the research community and the general public about the results of such research. This legislation would enable the government to disseminate research funded by the government while ensuring copyright protection and preserving the incentives for the private-sector investments in the journal publishing community.”
Background information and a detailed discussion of the concerns addressed by the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act can be found online at: www.pspcentral.org. For additional information contact PSP Executive Director John Tagler (jtagler@publishers.org or 212-255-0200 ext. 223).
Publishers, other copyright-related trade associations, submit annual intellectual property rights report
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) joined with six other copyright-related trade associations Monday to submit its annual Special 301 Report to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The report, completed under the umbrella of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), details issues related to intellectual property rights protection and market access around the world.
This year’s report highlights copyright protection and enforcement problems in 48 countries and territories, and recommends that 40 of them be placed on an appropriate USTR “watch list.” USTR is required by statute to conduct an annual review of intellectual property protection worldwide, undertaken each spring, and the IIPA report was prepared pursuant to that mandate. USTR places countries and territories on appropriate watch lists if an interagency government review process finds shortcomings in their efforts to combat intellectual property theft. Global piracy continues to be a serious problem for the copyright industries and the U.S. economy, costing high paying U.S. jobs and undermining U.S. economic growth.
In the report, the IIPA asks that China be placed on the Priority Watch List again this year. AAP and its sister organization in the UK have continued their anti-piracy efforts in China over the past year, with particular emphasis on organized textbook piracy on China’s university campuses and on Internet infringements affecting professional and scholarly publishers. While 2008 saw ongoing action on the textbook piracy issue, much more needs to be done and new revelations about the widespread use of infringing textbooks and reference books in university libraries throughout the country are particularly troubling. In addition, AAP remains deeply concerned by the Chinese government's inaction in the face of egregious infringement of online academic and professional journals by a company called Kangjian Shixun. Well-known Chinese libraries are supplying electronic copies of journals to this company for sale in competition with legitimate publishers.
“In light of the Chinese government's efforts to minimize the effects of China's significant piracy problem, it is truly unfortunate that the government has chosen to ignore this blatant infringement, which is being facilitated by government-run institutions,” said AAP President and CEO Pat Schroeder in response to the on-going issues in China. “Companies such as Kangjian Shixun that are profiting from blatant infringement must be held to account and China should take effective steps to stop libraries from engaging with such illegal enterprises. The threat of Internet piracy in China is growing daily and a country that expects to be a leader in the digital world cannot afford to let it continue."
The IIPA report also recommends that 12 other countries be placed on the Priority Watch List, among them Canada, Egypt, India, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, and Thailand, all of which are of significant interest to U.S. publishers. Thailand is facing a rare but very damaging pirate-production-for-export problem and AAP needs the full cooperation of Thai authorities in dealing with it. The court systems in the Philippines and India are in need of significant reform; online protection needs to be addressed by Canada and Russia and overall enforcement efforts in Pakistan need improvement.
The report recommends that 25 countries/territories be placed or kept on the Watch List. The report also requests Special 301 out-of-cycle reviews for Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia. Finally, IIPA requests heightened engagement by the U.S. government regarding eight additional countries or territories, including Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong. While IIPA makes no recommendation regarding placement of these countries or territories on a Special 301 list, the issues highlighted in the report remain significant.
AAP, as a member of the IIPA, submits specific recommendations relating to the publishing industry as part of the annual review. U.S. publishers continue to suffer significant economic harm in key overseas markets as a result of increased online piracy, commercial scale photocopying, illegal print runs, unauthorized translations and CD-R burning of book text.
“The IIPA report continues to highlight the importance of copyright-dependent industries to U.S. economic growth,” said Mrs. Schroeder. “The Special 301 process reminds us that piracy around the world impedes economic growth by diminishing the incentives to create and distribute content, and undercutting the companies who produce these products. And as access to online and mobile technologies increases, the threat of digital piracy looms ever larger as a real threat for the book and journal industry, both now and in the future. It is therefore essential that the gaps in intellectual property protection underscored in this report be closed.”
Mrs. Schroeder noted: “Online piracy is the central theme of this report, and rightfully so. China’s online journals piracy is a prime example, but unfortunately not the only one. Issues highlighted in Russia, Sweden and elsewhere in the report point out the severity of Internet piracy and the need to address it. Another important theme is the need for legitimization of campus practices throughout the world. South Korea needs to revive efforts in this area begun a few years ago; efforts in Taiwan are ongoing. Unfortunately, the attitude toward the use of legitimate materials on Brazil's university campuses is dangerously lax. Because of the ease with which pirate operations can embed themselves on college campuses, education ministries and university administrations must take effective action to encourage use of legitimate materials by students and lecturers alike.”
The full report can be accessed at www.iipa.com.
Pat Schroeder to step down as head of AAP
Former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, who has served as President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers since June 1997, will be leaving AAP on May 1, 2009 "to sail uncharted waters." The AAP Board of Directors has chosen Tom Allen, a former six-term Congressman from Maine, to succeed her.
"I'm still in the process of composing my life and while there's always a certain amount of sadness at leave-taking, this is the right time for me to move on," Mrs. Schroeder said. "I'm delighted to leave AAP and the industry it serves in Tom Allen's capable hands."
As a Member of Congress, Mr. Allen served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Budget Committee, Armed Services Committee, and Government Reform Committee. Highly regarded by Congressional colleagues on both sides of the aisle as a thoughtful and effective legislator, Mr. Allen is a former Rhodes Scholar with a law degree from Harvard.
"In this age of rapidly changing technology, we must not lose sight of the abiding importance of the written word to our culture, society and our democratic institutions," Mr. Allen said. "AAP advocates on issues of paramount importance ranging from free speech and education to the protection of intellectual property rights and international freedom to publish. I am excited about tackling the challenges of this new position and its responsibilities to the publishing industry and the reading public."
AAP Chairman Richard Sarnoff (Bertelsmann Inc.) said: "Pat's boundless energy and creativity have served AAP well for the past twelve years. We have every confidence that as he takes the helm, with his distinguished background and his passion for books, Tom will provide the visionary and solid leadership we need to keep AAP's momentum going in this rapidly evolving environment."
The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP's more than300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software, and electronic products and services.
Authors Guild concerned about Kindle 2's new 'Text to Speech' function
In light of a new feature of Amazon's Kindle 2 that reads e-books out loud, the Authors Guild is recommending that authors who haven't yet granted their e-book rights to backlist or other titles, start doing so.
In an email sent to their members on February 12, the Guild said Kindle 2's new "Text to Speech" function "presents a significant challenge to the publishing industry." Although the existing audio quality of the Kindle 2 is only serviceable, said the Guild, they expect the software to improve rapidly.
"If you have a new book contract and are negotiating your e-book rights, make sure Amazon's use of those rights is part of the dialog," said the Guild. "Publishers certainly could contractually prohibit Amazon from adding audio functionality to its e-books without authorization, and Amazon could comply by adding a software tag that would prohibit its machine from creating an audio version of a book unless Amazon has acquired the appropriate rights. Until this issue is worked out, Amazon may be undermining your audio market as it exploits your e-books."
Listen to recording of Mar. 25 TAA Teleconference on textbook writing
TAA members can now listen to a recording of the March 25 TAA Teleconference "Is Textbook Writing For You?" presented by Michael D. Spiegler, Professor of Psychology, Providence College.
Listen to recording of Mar. 19 TAA Teleconference on grant writing
TAA members can now listen to a recording of the March 19 TAA Teleconference "Grants Gamesmanship" presented by Jay Matteson, Text and Academic Authors Association Foundation (TAAF) Executive Director.
TAA Conference session previewed on Beyond the Book
The 2009 TAA Conference session, "Time Management: Why You Don't Need It, Can't Do It Anyway — and What To Do Instead" by Susan Robison, a psychologist and professor of psychology at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, was featured in a Beyond the Book podcast: Click here for podcast
The 2009 TAA Conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas, June 25-27 at the El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel: Register here
Brooks/Cole, Delmar Cengage Learning sponsoring the 2009 TAA Conference Hospitality Hour
Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, Delmar, Cengage Learning, and Pearson Higher Education are sponsoring the 2009 TAA Conference Networking Hospitality Hour. The Hospitality Hour is held each night of the conference and allows attendees to network between the end of sessions for the day and dinner. It is held in a special suite at the hotel. The 2009 TAA Conference will be held in San Antonio, TX June 25-27 at the El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel. Delmar is the leader in skills based solutions for educational institutions, businesses and professionals. Brooks/Cole has a 40-year tradition of innovative publishing in 17 disciplines, including mathematics, meteorology, life science, and engineering.
More info: Visit Cengage web site
More info: Visit Pearson web site
Listen to recording of Mar. 4 TAA Teleconference on contracts
TAA members can now listen to a recording of the March 4 TAA Teleconference "Negotiation of Author-Publisher Contracts for the Experienced Author," presented by Michael R. Lennie, an author’s attorney and literary agent at Lennie Literary & Authors Attorneys in San Diego.
2009 TAA Council election candidates announced
 Fred Kleiner  Angela Jackson  Claudia Sanchez  Michael Spiegler  Maria Lopez-Class  Mary Kay Switzer |
Six TAA members are running for open positions on the TAA Council. Open positions include Secretary and two Council positions. Ballots will be mailed to TAA members on March 15. The deadline for receipt of ballots is April 15. Terms begin on July 1.
Fred Kleiner, who is currently serving a one-year term on the Council that will expire in July 1, 2009, is running for the Secretary position unopposed. Council position candidates include Angela Jackson and Claudia Sanchez, who were appointed by the TAA Council for one-year terms in July 2008; Michael Spiegler; Maria Lopez-Class; and Mary Kay Switzer, who is running for her third term on the Council.
Fred Kleiner is the author of the 2007 Texty Award-winning A History of Roman Art and co-author of the 2001 Texty and McGuffey Award-winning Art through the Ages, and was recently elected to TAA's Council of Fellows. He is professor of art history and archaeology and chair of the art history department of Boston University, where he has taught since 1978.
In his position statement, Kleiner said that he has always admired the work TAA has done on behalf of authors and deeply appreciates the many valuable services it provides its members. He decided to run for a position on the TAA Council, he said, "in order to 'give back'," and hopes that his varied experience as an author of textbooks, journal articles, and scholarly monographs; as an academic editor; and as a mentor to younger colleagues as long-time department chair, would benefit TAA's membership.
Kleiner, if elected, would replace Ron Pynn, who has served one term as Secretary and has decided to step down. Pynn is one of TAA's founding members and served as TAA's executive director for more than a decade.
Angela Jackson is president and CEO of Culturally Competent Consulting, Inc, and is currently fulfilling a one-year contract with the Michigan City School Administration as a Cultural Liaison. She has a B.S. in Industrial Management, an M.Ed. in Community Counseling, and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from Virginia Tech where she also specialized in Race & Social Policy. She has published academic articles and taught as an assistant professor in counseling/psychology programs teaching courses such as Abnormal Psychology, Practicum/Internship, and Multicultural Counseling.
In her position statement, Jackson said she was attracted to service on the TAA Council because of TAA's mission of assisting textbook and academic authors to publish and its work to enhance educational materials. "I have a passion for writing and inspiring others through the process," she wrote. "This new appointment would allow me to support the association in achieving its goals. I aspire to publish materials in multicultural education and as a council member I bring an exciting area to the publishing discussion. I envision using my strengths of empowerment, fortitude, and dedication to forward the approved agendas of TAA."
Claudia Sanchez is an assistant professor in the department of teacher education at Texas Woman’s University. Her academic interests include grant writing, mentorship in teacher education programs, multicultural teacher competency, Spanish-English biliteracy, and English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching methods. She is director and co-director of three federal grants totaling over 4 million dollars, which focus on the preparation of teachers in critical need areas.
In her position statement, Sanchez said that as a Council member she would like to "continue to grow as a published author while supporting the endeavors of TAA’s membership." Sh is interested in promoting TAA among text and academic authors, and has a special interest in attracting authors from diverse backgrounds to our Association: " I strongly believe that the more diverse we are, the greater we become."
Michael Spiegler is a professor of psychology at Providence College and previously taught at the University of Texas, Austin. He has been a successful textbook and academic author for more 40 years with several leading textbooks, including Contemporary Behavior Therapy (5th ed.) and Personality: Strategies and Issues (8th ed.). For the past 13 years, Spieglerl has worked to promote quality college textbooks by giving workshops and presentations on textbook writing at universities and professional conferences (he is a TAA Workshop presenter). He also teaches a 3-day intensive course on all phases of textbook writing in the national Chautauqua program. He regularly reviews manuscripts for publishers and serves as a consultant/mentor to college textbook authors in diverse disciplines. Spiegler is currently writing a comprehensive Handbook for College Textbook Writing.
In his position statement, Spiegler said he is president of TAA's fan club and has been ever since he attended the 2006 TAA Conference in Buffalo: "I've been actively involved in TAA, including presenting TAA-sponsored textbook writing workshops, recruiting members, and serving on panels at our annual meeting. I've also been working with our executive director on an exciting grant to foster scholarly writing among culturally-diverse high school math and science students. I'd like to further contribute my experience in and enthusiasm for textbook and academic writing as a council member. Two specific initiatives I would sponsor are (1) expanding TAA chapters and facilitating their activities and (2) broadening TAA's purview to other scholarly endeavors including conference presentations and discipline-based writing for the public."
Maria Lopez-Class is a research instructor in the department of oncology at Georgetown University with the Latin American Cancer Research Coalition, has worked with minority populations for over 10 years. She has experience with community outreach services and health-related research that addresses psychosocial factors and disparities among Latinos, Asians, and African-American groups. Her dissertation research was an in-depth multi-variable examination of socio-ecological factors that hinder Latinos from engaging in diabetes self-care.
In her position statement, Lopez-Class said that as a recent junior faculty member, she has learned the importance of publishing and networking. "Writing is time-consuming and requires significant academic creativity," she wrote. "Networking is not an institutional based endeavor, but rather one that spans across many disciplines and outside living quarters (e.g., institutions). As a TAA council member, it is my hope to apply my networking skills to create a forum for others to collaborate on projects.”
Mary Kay Switzer is an associate professor in the communications department at California Polytechnical State University in Pomona, Calif. and a former news anchor. She is also a highly successful grant writer, curriculum developer and author and is involved in television and video production.
In her position statement, Switzer said that as a textbook author and academic author, she feel that she can continue to support issues concerned with both of those constituencies. "I want to work to improve the use of new technology to enhance educational materials and textbooks," she wrote. "I am also concerned with stopping the practice of the selling of desk copies."
Download 2009 TAA Council Election Nominees for candidates' full position statements and bios.
TAA announces 2009 Texty, McGuffey Award winners
TAA has selected three textbooks to receive a 2009 Textbook Excellence Award ("Texty"), and four textbooks to receive a 2009 William Holmes McGuffey Longevity Award ("McGuffey"). Two books tied for the College Physical Science category: An Introduction to Physical Science, 12th ed., by James T. Shipman, Jerry D. Wilson, Aaron Todd, and Charles Higgins, and Meteorology Today, 9th ed., by C. Donald Ahrens.
The Texty winners for 2009 are:
- Seismic Methods and Applications: A Guide for the Detection of Geologic Structures, Earthquake Zones and Hazards, Resource Exploration, and Geotechnical Engineering, 1st ed., by Andreas Stark, published by Universal-Publishers, Inc. (College Physical Science category)
- Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles, 6th ed., by William Stallings, published by Pearson Education (Prentice Hall) (College Computer Science/Engineering category)
- Challenging Behavior in Elementary and Middle School, 1st ed., by Barbara Kaiser and Judy Sklar Rasminsky, published by Merrill/Pearson (College Communication/Education/Performing Arts/Visual Arts)
The McGuffey winners for 2009 are:
- An Introduction to Physical Science, 12th ed., by James T. Shipman, Jerry D. Wilson, Aaron Todd, and Charles Higgins, published by Houghton Mifflin (Now Cengage) (College Physical Science category)
- Meteorology Today, 9th ed., by C. Donald Ahrens, published by Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning (College Physical Science category)
- Hotel, Restaurant & Travel Law: A Preventative Approach, 7th ed., by Karen Morris, Norman Cournoyer, and Anthony Marshall, published by Delmar, Learning. (College Humanities/Social Science category)
- Probability and Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences, 7th ed., by Jay Devore, published by Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning (College Mathematics/Statistics category)
TAA created the Textbook Excellence Award in 1992 to recognize current textbooks and learning materials. To be nominated, a work must carry a copyright date for the previous or current year. TAA created the McGuffey Longevity Award in 1993 to recognize textbooks and learning materials whose excellence has been demonstrated over time. To be nominated, a work must have been in print 15 years and still be selling. Learn more about TAA's Texty and McGuffey Awards: Click here
Book Review:
Robert Boice, Professors as Writers: A Self-Help Guide to Productive Writing
Reviewed by Anna Adachi-Mejia
 Robert Boice Professors as Writers: A Self-Help Guide to Productive Writing Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press, Inc., 1990 ISBN: 1-58107-13-X 186 pages |
In academia, a key metric by which professors are measured – prolific writing – is not formally offered in academic training. When I have asked productive scholars to describe their method, they typically articulate a singular strategy rather than a process: scheduling a set time, locking yourself in a room until the work is done, or working when you are fresh. In search of ways to increase my own output, I began to read what others had written about academic writing, and noticed that all but of one of the books in my growing collection had something in common: they cited Robert Boice. So, when the opportunity came to review Boice’s Professors as Writers, I jumped at the chance. But I also wondered – had more recent books rendered Professors as Writers obsolete?
Boice has clearly thought a lot about professors as writers. Not surprisingly, the themes in Professors as Writers appear in the books which have followed it: write regularly to avoid binge writing, keep track of your writing time, revise a lot, find a writing buddy, and accept that writing is hard work. But Professors as Writers uniquely helps willing readers self-identify and eliminate poor, typically unintended, work habits. In spite of its unattractive cover, thin margins, and lack of an index, Professors as Writers offers readers the gift of Boice’s wisdom and experience.
Professors as Writers provides strategies to correct writing problems and to prevent relapse. It includes a fully-annotated bibliography of “hindrances” to productivity. I appreciated Boice’s guide for avoiding excessive and unchecked spontaneous writing, which leads not only to “emotional upheavals” but also to a physical “disarray” of writing copy. I laughed out loud while brainstorming possibilities for contingency management to facilitate regular writing. My favorite contingency: sending a check “to a despised organization.”
The Appendix contains the gem: “The Blocking Questionnaire: An Instrument for Assessing Writing Problems.” This tool enables readers to quickly identify specific problem areas. You may find, as I did, that you are blocked in areas you did not want to recognize. As you uncover areas to specifically address, Professors as Writers can help your individual needs.
Boice offers a means to “make life feel less harried.” For me, the power of Professors as Writers grew with each re-reading. Though brief, it is not a quick read: Boice offers readers an individualized process to iteratively explore. He explains, “You’ll have to see what works most reasonably and reliably for you. And, you’ll need to use good sense. Writing made too high a priority – so that it excludes a social life or proper attention to teaching is doomed to failure.” Professors as Writers should be required reading for anyone involved in academic writing – writer, teacher, or mentor.
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Reviewed by Anna Adachi-Mejia
Anna Adachi-Mejia is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School, and Assistant Director of the Community Health Research Program at the Hood Center for Children and Families at Dartmouth Medical School in Lebanon, New Hampshire. She received both her M.S. and her Ph.D. from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at Dartmouth Medical School. Dr. Adachi-Mejia has extensive experience in survey research methods. As a behavioral health scientist, her primary areas of investigation include obesity and tobacco prevention in rural youth, promotion of physical activity in rural mothers, and promotion of healthful eating in the workplace. As an editor and writing coach, she reviews and edits manuscripts and grants, supports graduate students navigating the challenges of academia, and helps motivate blocked writers. She can be reached at mywritingpartner@gmail.com.
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