More 2012 Headlines
NEWS FROM THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS
Journal of Democracy Honors JHU Press Editor Henry Y. K. Tom
The current issue of the Journal of Democracy includes a heartfelt tribute to Henry Tom, the longtime JHU Press executive editor who died unexpectedly in January. The Journal's editors, Marc F. Plattner and Larry Diamond, and scholars Juan J. Linz, Alfred Stepan, and Laurence Whitehead write admiringly of Henry’s 36-year career in scholarly publishing and his crucial role as editor of often-complex projects. They also describe his guiding hand in the influential publishing activity that accompanied the global resurgence of democracy over the past three and a half decades.
“During this extraordinary period,” write Plattner and Diamond, “no one in the academic book-publishing industry did more to advance, support, understand, and critically evaluate this scholarly outpouring than Henry Tom. . . . The scholarly partnership between JHUP and the Journal of Democracy was in no small measure a personal collaboration between the two of us as editors and Henry Tom. The Journal, its editorial staff (both past and present), and our diverse readers have been graced by his uncommon wisdom, professionalism, and devotion to scholarship on democracy. He will be sorely missed.”
Read the full text of the Journal's tribute to Henry Y. K. Tom, which appears courtesy of Marc F. Plattner, Larry Diamond, Juan J. Linz, Alfred Stepan, and Laurence Whitehead; copyright 2011 by the National Endowment for Democracy and The Johns Hopkins University Press. Read other comments and remembrances from Henry's friends and colleagues or the JHU Gazette's obituary.
7/28/2011
Frogs Answer Guide Featured on WAMU's Animal House
Frogs: The Animal Answer Guide was featured on the July 16th edition of The Animal House, a weekly discussion on Washington’s public radio station WAMU 88.5 that explores the latest in animal science, pet behavior, and wildlife conservation.
Host Sam Litzinger interviewed Frogs co-author Michael Dorcas, an associate professor of biology at Davidson College in North Carolina and part of the nation’s brain trust in the study of amphibians. His book, written with the well-known naturalist Whit Gibbons, offers a wealth of facts and insights about frogs and addresses increasingly urgent conservation questions. Many scientists predict that extinction rates experienced by frog species will reach levels not seen in any vertebrate animal group in millions of years.
The WAMU conversation ranged from the amazing biology of this amphibian group to the alarming notion that they may be serving as “canaries in the coal mine,” disappearing world wide for reasons that are bound to affect human health.
To hear the interview, click on the picture of Litoria chloris, right, the Orange-Eyed Tree Frog, native to Australia.
7/18/2011
New Online Home for the Society for Qing Studies
The Society for Qing Studies has unveiled a new website for China scholars and subscribers to its companion journal, Late Imperial China (LIC), at http://qing_studies.press.jhu.edu.
“We felt that the Society for Qing Studies needed an on-line home,” commented Tobie Meyer Fong, co-editor of LIC and co-coordinator of the Society along with Janet Theiss. “Our journal had its origins as a bulletin through which scholars in our field could share information about research experiences. Decades later, it really is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. The new site will provide scholars with a gathering place through which to share information about research and teaching.”
The journal is published by the Johns Hopkins University Press and began its 32nd volume this spring. The new site aims to foster greater dialogue among scholars in the field beyond the two journal issues published each year. Visitors to the site can sign up for a new listserv administered by the Society which will keep subscribers apprised of new research, awards, conferences, and other key developments.
The site contains information for authors and prospective subscribers as well as a number of research resources collected by the Society. Links to relevant sites and databases are available along with a definitive guide to Romanization for LIC submissions.
“We look forward to seeing how people use this new resource and to working with colleagues across the world to foster communication among scholars of China's Late Imperial period,” Meyer-Fong said.
7/8/2011
HFS Launches Digital Services Program
Hopkins Fulfillment Services (a division of the JHU Press also known HFS) has announced plans to offer an array of new publishing-related services that will be known as HFS Digital. As a distributor of print books for university presses and non-profit institutions, HFS is taking a necessary leap forward by expanding its service offerings to reflect the advances in digital publishing and content distribution.
HFS Digital will provide HFS clients with additional print-on-demand and digital short-run choices, and it will address the growing need for e-book services by offering digital asset distribution to 40 vendors, conversion services, and, most importantly, single-title direct-to-consumer e-book sales. The ability to offer direct-to-consumer e-book sales is the result of a partnership with Sheridan Books’ new Electronic Content Services division. The 13 clients represented by HFS will now have the option to sell scholarly works and monographs, often not suited for commercial e-book vendors, direct from their respective websites. Looking to the future, HFS hopes to soon offer e-book rentals and chapter level sales (or chunking).
“The book industry is changing rapidly,” says Davida Breier, Manager of Hopkins Fulfillment Services, “and book distributors and support industries must change with it. We feel that, as a modern book distributor, we must alter our business models (and mindsets) and focus on the overall concept of distributing content instead of focusing solely on format.”
HFS Digital began rolling out its new services in May 2011 and plans to have the completed program in place by January 2012. Since 1977 Hopkins Fulfillment Services has provided order processing, collection management, warehousing, and fulfillment for a distinguished and growing list of university presses and nonprofit institutions. HFS currently represents 13 clients, including Johns Hopkins University Press, University of Pennsylvania Press, University of Washington Press, Georgetown University Press, Brookings Institution Press, University Press of Kentucky, Catholic University of America Press, and University of Massachusetts Press.
6/29/2011
