The aim is to investigate how digitisation and in particular e-books have changed relations between private players and public institutions within the Danish book world through a case study of eReolen, a private-public partnership functioning as common platform for public libraries’ lending of e-books in Denmark. Traditional and new models of the book world are discussed as the basis of understanding relations between the players. A new way of analysing the field outlined by literary sociologist, Professor Johan Svedjedal, is adopted. The main conclusions are that the lending of e-books has disrupted the traditional understanding and interaction between the public library system and the commercial book market. In addition, the Danish library system through the partnership has taken on a new function in relation to the commercial market, namely acting as the engine in building a market for Danish e-books.
ANMELDELSE: Helle Hvenegaard-Lassen: Et andet hjem. KvindeligLæseforenings historie 1872-1962. Museum Tusculanums Forlag og Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Serie:Danish Humanist Text and Studies. Kbh. 2008. 480sider, rigt illustreret.
Traditionelly, since Robert Escarpit (1958), sociology of literature has analysed the book world as a book communications circuit. Typically, these models function as flow charts showing the transformation of a manuscript to a book within a print culture. The question is, however, if this approach is still suitable for analysing and understanding current changes within the book world. The aim of this article is to step behind the institutional flow charts by examining two distinct phenomena emerged as result of digitization and liberalisation of the Danish book market, NewPub and Mofibo, by means of Johan Svedjedal’s analysis of functions in combination with core concepts in Raymond Williams’ cultural theory. In addition, the concepts of mediation and mediatization are discussed. The main conclusions are that the circuit model reproduces the dominant culture and its omissions, especially communication, while analysis of functions coupled with Williams' concepts is well suited for analysing changes within the book world and, in addition, qualifies the difference between mediation and mediatization. Mofibo may be seen as a new institution within the dominant culture, while NewPub rather is an alternative, emergent formation.
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