Professional Reading Shelf
Publishing Industry–United States–Statistics
Source: American Association of Publishers
Book Publishing Industry Net Sales Totaled $23.7 Billion in 2004
“Net sales for the entire United States publishing industry are estimated to have increased by 1.3 percent from 2003 to 2004 to a grand total of $23.72 billion, according to figures just released by the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Overall, trade sales rose 1.9 percent, with sales of $5.16 billion. Adult trade hardbound gained 6.3 percent ($2.61 billion), while paperbound sales were also up 2.8 percent ($1.51 billion). Juvenile hardbound sales were down 16.7 percent ($581 million), however, paperbound sales were up 3.8 percent with sales of $465.6 million.”
Additional sales data (PDF; 177 KB)
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Public Libraries–United States
Three Items in this Roundup
Source: Quad-City Times
Library will not display warning
“Bettendorf Public Library Director Faye Clow faced what she called a ‘terrible choice’ when asked by the Quad-City chapter of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union to put up warning signs near library materials.”
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Source: Ft. Bragg Advocate-News
Banned from thought: Public libraries protect citizens intellectual freedom
“Public libraries play a unique role in the preservation of democracy. They were established to provide an open, non-judgmental institution where individuals can pursue personal interests and gain an understanding of diverse opinions.” (via DrWeb)
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Source: Berkeley Daily Planet
The Library Defends its Principles: Privacy, Freedom, Access
A commentary by Laura Anderson, president of the Berkeley Public Library Board of Trustees. From the commentary, “Public libraries in the United States stand on three principles: The first is patron confidentiality, the idea that every one may use the library in privacy, that everything you read is personal and private. The second is intellectual freedom, the idea that you may read, view and listen broadly: that all ideas should be available to discuss and to learn from, even those which are repugnant to society as a whole. The third principle is equal access to information.”

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