NBDB 2007 Readership Survey

(As our “in-house quality control measure”, any post written by the other must be reviewed or checked by the other partner for his/her timely comments/peer review before it got published, hence the delay in some post to be published besides other “task of equal importance” in our own offices/libraries than proofreading an article. Likewise I wrote a lot of draft potentials topics and in various stage of proofreading that some are overtaken by events to be relevant. We just saved them for another day/month and today an opportunity knocks to dust off an old draft and see the light of day albeit revised to conform to the new topic.)

Not too long ago I wrote about the need to conduct a readership survey for the Filipinos as an offshoot to the published Associated Press-Ipsos poll (too bad the link is not working anymore ) regarding U.S. reading habits. I said:

Just wondering if Pulse Asia or SWS would care to do a similar survey of reading habits of Filipinos. Maybe National Bookstore, the other new bookstore chain in the country plus some local publishers could underwrite the cost of doing this timely survey. Every educational institution/stakeholder may find the result instructive in crafting timely intervention to arrest the continuing decline of our educational competitiveness and general reading competency.

It was therefore a joy to learn from the article of Queena Lee-Chua published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer last Sunday, November 25, 2006 Do Pinoys read at all? that National Book Development Board (NBDB) commissioned Social Weather Stations to do a second Readership Survey for 2007. The Readership Survey result will be presented to the public by NBDB on November 28, 2007 at 9 a.m. to 12 noon, at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Go and read Queena Lee-Chua article to gain an advance insight of the 2007 result for she is an authority being a member of the current governing board of NBDB while we await the full result to be presented to the public with bated breath.

NBDB Academic Publishing Conference

The National Book Development Board (NBDB), with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), will hold an academic publishing conference entitled “Developing Local Knowledge through Academic Publishing” on September 10, 2007 , from 8AM – 5PM, at the SEAMO-Innotech, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.

The conference aims to inform participants about the state of academic publishing in the country as well as to update on the current trends in publishing for small to medium publishing houses.

The Conference fee is P1,200.00 to cover food (lunch and 2 snacks) and a conference kit.

A concurrent exhibit of 20 exhibitors will be held in the lobby of SEAMO-Innotech to feature print-on-demand (POD) equipment, books produced with POD technology, award-winning books and latest publications by academic/university presses in the country.

For more information, call the NBDB at (02) 929-3677 or telefax (02) 928-0048. Look for Ms. Ma. Asena Galang.

Presentations

The Mission of an Academic Press : the Cambridge University Experience, and Value Chain Analysis of a Modern Academic Press

Mr. Peter Langworth
Cambridge University Press

Publishing Strategies of a University Press

Ms. Ma. Corazon Baytion
Director, Ateneo de Manila University Press

Growing from a University Printing Press to University Publishing House

University of Santo Tomas Publishing House

University Policies and Practices that Nurture Authorship

University of the Philippines Press

Print on Demand (POD) Technology

Mr. Ricky Muñoz
Fuji Xerox Philippines

Publish on Demand : Getting the Volume that you Need

Central Books Supply

The Role of an Association of Academic Publishing Houses : United, Philippine Academic Publishers Can Stand Up to the World

Dr. Isagani R. Cruz
Founding Chair, Manila Critics Circle

Micro-Financing / Cooperative Building, with Focus on Colleges and Universities

Development Bank of the Philippines