Attend three-day course on textbook writing Jan. 5-7
Veteran textbook author Michael Spiegler will be presenting an intensive three-day course on writing a textbook in St. Petersburg, FL on January 5-7, 2009 (a Chautauqua Short-Course for
teachers). Click for more

Institutional repositories give professors direct way to 'get research to the right people'
Missouri University of Science & Technology (Missouri S&T) launched a digital institutional repository (IR) called "Scholars' Mine" in spring 2007 as a way to present a collection of the university's academic output. An IR gives professors and faculty an effective way to present their research work over the Internet in a controlled and scholarly manner, said Amanda Piegza, Scholars' Mine's head librarian. Click for more

McGraw-Hill seeking articles for award recognizing scholarly work on teaching, learning
McGraw-Hill and The Teaching Professor (Magna Publications, Inc.) have joined forces to create an award that recognizes exemplary scholarly work on teaching and learning. The first award with its accompanying stipend of $1,000 will be given at the 2009 Teaching Professor Conference, June 5-7 in Washington, D.C.Click for more

Chilean Ministry of Education to hold forum on language, communication textbooks
The Textbook Unit of the Chilean Ministry of Education will hold an international forum, "The International Seminar on Language and Communication Textbook" in Santiago, Chile, May 25-27, 2009. The goal of the Seminar is to share the broad array of ideas and perspectives, and to open spaces for discussion related to teaching practices with Language and Communication textbooks from a national and international approach.Click for more

Book Savvy latest company to jump into online text arena
Book Savvy, LLC (www.mybooksavvy.com) is the latest company to jump into the online text arena with the promise of making the transition to online texts "as easy and as cost-effective as possible for all parties." Click for more

Students offer top five reasons for switching to digital books
More than one third of the most popular college textbook titles (those expected to sell at least 200 copies nationwide this Fall) are now available in eTextbook versions from CourseSmart, according to data compiled by industry analysts at R.R. Bowker's PubTrack Business Intelligence Division. Click for more

University System of Ohio to reward faculty for creating affordable learning materials
The University System of Ohio has launched a competitive grant and faculty award program that recognizes and rewards its faculty efforts to make learning materials more affordable. Click for more

University System of Ohio partners with CourseSmart to offer eTextbooks to students
Through a partnership with CourseSmart, a provider of electronic textbooks from the six largest U.S. commercial publishers, students enrolled in public and private colleges and universities and adult learning programs in the University System of Ohio will receive discounts of up to 55 percent off the print price on digital textbooks purchased from CourseSmart through a special website and at participating campus bookstores. CourseSmart currently offers more than 4,000 titles. Visit the CourseSmart website at www.coursesmart.com.

2008 Publishing Industry report finds large publishers planning to digitize books, launch e-books
According to "Publishing Industry Market Review 2008, the book-publishing sector is experiencing greater change than any other sector of the publishing industry. Some of the large publishers are planning to digitise vast numbers of the books that they have published in the past (their so-called backlists). They also planning to launch thousands of e-books in 2008 and 2009. Click for more

Chilean Ministry of Education to hold 2008 International Seminar on History and Social Sciences Textbooks
Based on the success of its 2006 seminar, "Seminario Internacional de Textos Escolares -SITE 2006", which demonstrated that high-quality textbooks were one of the most important factors in making the learning experience more relevant to students and teachers, The Chilean Ministry of Education, through its Textbook Unit, will hold a second international forum in Santiago, Chile, November 11 and 12, 2008. Click for more

View news about the Copyright Clearance Center and its Beyond the Book program: Click here

Listen to recording of TAA Teleconference on how to craft winning textbook proposal
TAA members can now listen to a recording of the October 9 TAA Teleconference "How to Craft a Winning Textbook Proposal" presented by Mary Ellen Lepionka, founder of Atlantic Path Publishing: Click here

Start a TAA Chapter
TAA recently launched a new TAA Chapter system as a way to encourage TAA members to develop textbook or scholarly article writing support groups. Click for more

TAA members start first TAA chapter at MSU-Mankato
TAA is seeking applications and nominations for candidates for membership in the association's Council of Fellows. TAA's Council of Fellows members are distinguished authors who have a long record of successful and diverse publication as a textbook author, an academic author, or both. Candidates should be authors whose textbooks or academic articles or books have established their presence in their field. Click for more

TAA seeks applications for Council of Fellows
TAA is seeking applications and nominations for candidates for membership in the association's Council of Fellows. TAA's Council of Fellows members are distinguished authors who have a long record of successful and diverse publication as a textbook author, an academic author, or both. Candidates should be authors whose textbooks or academic articles or books have established their presence in their field. Click for more

BTAA People:
A. Jane Birch, Tara Gray
A. Jane Birch, Brigham Young University, and Tara Gray, New Mexico State University, will be presenting two sessions at the Professional and Organizational Development Network (POD Network) Conference, October 22-25 in Reno, Nevada. "Ten Ways to Let Your Database Do Your Work For You", will demonstrate the ten ways a database can be used by faculty developers -- and will help participants identify and clarify the data needs and solutions of their own centers. "Facilitating Scholarly Writing Circles That Work," will present proven strategies that help scholars improve their writing and increase their productivity by a factor of four. Click for more

Listen to recording of TAA Teleconference on online feedback tools for authors
TAA members can now listen to a recording of the September 25th TAA Teleconference "Make Your Book Better and Sales Bigger With Online Feedback Tools" presented by David Brake, founder and CEO of Content Connections: Click here

TAA Council appoints two At-Large members
The TAA Council has appointed Angela Jackson, president and CEO of Culturally Competent Consulting, and Claudia Sanchez, an assistant professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Texas Women's University, as At-Large members. At-Large Council members serve for one year. Click for more

TAA to hold teleconference on how to strengthen a literature review
Dr. Sonja Foss, a professor of communication at the University of Colorado, and Dr. William Waters, coordinator of composition, director of the Writing Center, and assistant professor in the English Department at Northwest Missouri State University, will present a TAA teleconference on Friday, October 17 from 12-1 p.m. central time entitled "Scholarly Writing: Strengthening Your Literature Review": Click here

TAA debunks the top 7 myths regarding textbook costs
By Kim Pawlak
Students' purchase of used textbooks, and more recently, the theft of new textbooks via downloads at file sharing websites, is based on misinformation about how textbook publishing works, how professors choose textbooks, the business practices of book resellers, and the motivations of authors who write textbooks, said Richard Hull, executive director of the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA).
TAA recently interviewed publishers, professors and authors as a way to set straight the top myths regarding textbook costs: Click here

New TAA teleconference on how to market your textbook
Robert Christopherson, professor emeritus of geography at American River College and author of the leading physical geography textbooks in the U.S. and Canada, will present a TAA teleconference entitled "Tips & Strategies for Successfully Marketing Your Textbook" on Thursday, November 20 from 12 to 1 p.m. central time. Learn more about this teleconference or to sign up: Click here

TAA accepting session proposals for 2009 Conference
TAA is accepting session proposals for its 2009 Conference on Text and Academic Authoring, which will be held in San Antonio, TX, June 25-27 at the El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel. TAA is seeking proposals for 30-minute or 60-minute sessions that would appeal to textbook and other instructional materials authors, academic authors (authors of journal articles, dissertations, grants, scholarly books, etc), or both groups. Deadline for proposals is November 15, 2008. Click here

‘Textbook piracy’ not the solution to rising textbook costs
Students’ latest reaction to the increasing costs of textbooks, referred to as ‘textbook piracy’, the unauthorized scanning of textbooks made available for free download on file sharing websites, will most likely only result in another rise in textbook costs, said TAA Executive Director Richard Hull. Click here

TAA to hold teleconference on how to form a scholarly writing group
Linda Searby, an assistant professor of education in the School of Education at the University of Alabama Birmingham, will present a TAA Teleconference on Thursday, November 13 at 1-2 p.m. central time entitled "Scholarly Publishing: Finding Support Through Peer Mentoring." Click for more

TAA seeking judges for 2009 Texty, McGuffey Awards
TAA is seeking judges for its 2009 Texty and McGuffey Awards. Judges must be published authors in one of the eight award categories: math, stats; communication / education / performing arts / visual arts; language / literature; computer science / engineering; physical sciences; life sciences; humanities / social sciences; and accounting / business / economic / management. Click for more

Ask your publisher to nominate your text for a 2009 Texty or McGuffey Award
Ask your publisher to nominate your textbook or other learning materials for a 2009 Textbook Excellence Award or McGuffey Longevity Award. Textbook Excellence Awards (or "Textys") recognize current textbooks and learning materials that demonstrate excellence based on four criteria: interesting and informative; well organized and well prepared; up to date and appealing; and teachability. McGuffey Longevity Awards (or "McGuffeys") recognize textbooks and learning materials whose excellence has been demonstrated over time. Click for more