THE STATUS OF NON-STATE BOOK PUBLISHING IN THE RUSSIAN REGIONS AS AN OBSTACLE ON THE WAY TO THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (BASED ON MATERIALS FROM SIBERIA AND THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST AT THE END OF THE XX - EARLY XXI CENTURIES)
A.L. Posadskov
State Public Scientific and Technical Library SB RAS, 15, Voskhod str, Novosibirsk, 630200, Russian Federation
Keywords: information society (knowledge society), information, publishing business, private book publishing, Siberia, Russian Far East, late XX - early XXI centuries, reforms, market economy
Abstract
The information society (knowledge society) formation based on free creation, dissemination and use of information implies broad development of non-state information processes, including private book publishing practice. In the regions of Russia (Siberia and the Far East), private publishing houses, however, today face numerous objective and subjective problems of their development caused primarily by the situation in regional economy and social sphere. The most important role is played by a small density of population in the territories (and this is an obstacle to create book-publishing products’ market), as well as a low purchasing capacity of the impoverished population. The regional publishers partly compensate the lack of space for the book market by the increased flow of ordered publications and, as far as possible, involving sponsors to print certain books. Many publishers starting out as “ideological” or “cultural” foci, with a correspondingly targeted original repertoire, nowadays replicate only ordered printed products without tracking its contents. The private capital, as a rule, evades sponsorship of regional book publishing, main hopes of the local publishers are related to the authorities, territorial administration organs and legislative assemblies. They are constantly asked to help, but only few richest regions sponsor publishing initiatives regularly. The indicated obstacles to develop the regional book business become more noticeable the further a particular region is fr om the country center, wh ere resources and financial flows, and relatively high-income consumers of book products are concentrated. The current situation raises the issue on adapting the regional publishing business to the requirements of the future information environment. The market itself does not elaborate a development strategy. Without a reasonably formulated state strategy, it is a disorderly movement of the subjects of the publishing process based on the conjuncture of their current activities. It seems that there will be a long period of purposeful influence of the developing civil society in Russia aimed at raising the existing book business up to the standards of the knowledge society.
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