"The first part [...] deals with [...] topics as copyright protection, desktop advances, the role of the editor, multinational publishers, scholarly publishing, best-sellers, and more. Major essays explore the nature and impact of the new technologies, changing patterns of readership, scientific publishing, developments in textbooks, encouraging literacy, economics, and other important issues. The second part of the Encyclopedia focuses on international aspects of publishing. It surveys the industry in the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan, and examines how developments in the evolving economies of Eastern Europe, the European Community, Southeast Asia, and other parts of the world have an impact on publishing worldwide. The Encyclopedia also offers insights into Africa's drastic book shortage and how the publishing community might reach this market." (Publisher description)