Resources

In 2017, publishers who are members of the Alliance along with academics and experts united to collectively produce some research on Public Book Policies in Latin America and in Sub-Saharan Africa. This has since been converted into a unique digital, graphic and interactive tool for informing and centralising data on the public support systems for books and reading in 22 countries.

In 2024, the International Alliance of Independent Publishers, thanks to the support of Open Society Foundation, extends this project to the Arab world for a better understanding of public authorities’ commitment to books and reading in the different countries of the Arab world. To this end, data is collected in 10 countries based on a common questionnaire. The data will then be presented on the dedicated website for each country. A cross-sectional analysis will be carried out on the basis of these data; the Alliance is looking for an author to draft this cross-sectional analysis.

Deadline to apply (equipe@alliance-editeurs.org): 13 May 2024

This unique and important work! The mapping and the analysis will be presented publicly in December 2024 or January 2025 to professionals and representatives of public authorities in the countries.

Read more here (in Arabic) / see on the right the English version for download

“It is important to understand the key role that the public procurement of books plays–similar to that of roads in a country’s development–and the related impacts of these actions on the ecosystem of books, culture, and education.

In purchasing books and socializing the processes of reading, the state’s actions may have numerous impacts. The selection of books is not only a question of quality and price, nor is it a simple technical process or an isolated action.”

This document is based on the Brevísimo manual de buenas prácticas para las compras públicas de libros (print and digital) that was included in the work of the Comisión de Compras Públicas de la Política Nacional de la Lectura y el Libro 2015-2020 (Chile), prepared by Paulo Slachevsky, coordinator of the commission. We are grateful to Germán Gacio Baquiola for his critical feedback and contributions.

Read the Manual

Read here the IPA (International Publishers Association) support, and here the manifesto published by the Brazilian actors, to defend the book in Brazil.

Analysis of data collected in 10 countries from independent publishers and public actors, by Andrés E. Fernández Vergara (University of Chile)

This article, written in Spanish, offers a regional analysis of public policies for the development of books and reading in Spanish-speaking Latin America, from the point of view of 53 actors in the book world from 10 different countries. It takes into account the similarities and differences that exist from one country to another in the region: on the one hand, there are complex networks of institutions and book promotion mechanisms; on the other hand, there is no national policy or strategic objective. The actors interviewed highlight the difficulties they encounter in their sector today: market concentration, piracy, lack of support for indigenous languages, etc. These are all dangers that threaten bibliodiversity in the region.

Contents:

• Methodology
• Censorship and content control
• Laws, public policies and regulatory mechanisms for books and reading
• Institutions and organisations working in the fields of books and reading
• Direct support and assistance for books and reading
• Copyright Legislation
• Organisation of the profession
• Conclusion

This analysis is to be found in a special issue of the Bibliodiversity Journal on “Public book policies” available in paper and digital versions (in French).

See also the analysis on “Public book policies in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar” by Luc Pinhas, published in September 2019.

To complement these analyses, see the mapping of public policies and in-country support mechanisms here: publicbookpolicies.alliance-editeurs.org

Data collection in the 11 countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar as well as in Latin America, cross-sectional data analyses and online mapping were supported by the Fondation de France and the SDC Switzerland.

Cross-sectional analysis of data collected in 12 countries, by Luc Pinhas, University of Paris 13 Villetaneuse (France)

In a comprehensive cross-sectional study that enriches our knowledge of public book policies in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, Luc Pinhas discusses the similarities and differences that exist between 12 countries in the region. While some very interesting developments for local book production and the local book chain should be acknowledged – cf. the preference given to local actors by the Ivorian law of 2015 – the legislative and regulatory frameworks would certainly benefit from being strengthened to support and strengthen the local book economy.

Contents:

• Preamble
• Methodology
• Introduction
• Legal framework
• Taxation and market regulation
• Professional organisation
• Administrative organisation
• Direct support for the book
• Conclusion

This analysis is to be found in a special issue of the Bibliodiversity Journal on “Public book policies” available in paper and digital versions (in French).
See also the analysis on “Public book policies in Latin America”, published in September 2019.

To complement these analyses, see the mapping of public policies and in-country support mechanisms here: publicbookpolicies.alliance-editeurs.org

Data collection in the 11 countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar as well as in Latin America, cross-sectional data analyses and online mapping were supported by the Fondation de France and the SDC Switzerland.

Read here the article “Au Maghreb, il y a urgence à structurer le secteur du livre”, by Kenza Sefrioui (En toutes lettres, Marocco), published by Le Monde Afrique (8 February, 2019)

Authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians and readers form what is commonly known as a “book ecosystem”, an expression that reflects the interdependence between actors in the book field. However, over the past few years, the discussions, both globally and in Europe, about re-defining the intellectual property rights, and the evolution of practices in the digital era, led to division that gradually distanced these stakeholders, with the risk of weakening the solidarity that unites them.
Fortunately, new conversations have started, more specifically about the cultural rights, opening a space where this topic can be debated and addressed from a new angle with focus on issues related to the balance of rights. Starting from the idea that fundamental rights are inseparable, it seems possible to understand author rights, cultural rights and social rights as a coherent whole. The challenge is to find an approach that would stop opposing the book professionals, to re-establish coalitions towards the conquest for new rights.
Due to their specific position, independent publishers could play an important role in framing this collective discussion in the book sector.

Lionel Maurel
A Law Degree holder, Lionel Maurel is currently a librarian at the University Paris Lumières Library. Author of the S.I.Lex blog, he specialises in Intellectual Property, Digital Law, and Cultural Law. Involved in the Commons movement, he co-founded the collective SavoirsCom1 (“Common Knowledges”) and is a member of the Strategic Orientation College of La Quadrature du Net.
Picture: thesupermath. CC-BY-SA. Source: Wikimedia Commons, remix by Guénaël Boutouillet

Read the full text!

Read here the report of the workshop on “African Book Industry”, organized by the Global Book Alliance (USAID) and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) in January 2018.
The workshop brought together 79 key stakeholders in the African Book Publishing Industry from 22 African countries.
More information here.

Publishing professionals charter and code of ethics, produced by the Organisation malienne des éditeurs de livre (OMEL), Mali, 2017.

This charter was produced by OMEL (Organisation malienne des éditeurs de livre) in April 2017, which authorized the Alliance to publish it on its website.

In partnership with the Tunis Book Fair and the Union of Tunisian Publishers, and thanks to the support of the Fondation de France and the French Institutes of Tunisia and Lebanon, the Alliance organised a day focusing on public book policies in the Arab world on Thursday 30 March 2017.

Publishers from Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia presented a panorama of book public policies in their respective countries: Chilean and French publishers spoke on what is being implemented in their countries – a dialogue and exchange between professionals and public authorities, between continents, between cultures.

This day was initiated in the context of the Bibliodiversity Observatory and the mapping of public book policies in Latin America and the Arab world, on-going at the Observatory.