medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
As a librarian, I have had to deal with the Mellen question on
occasion. They go to conventions with a big sign asking whether you
have a manuscript for them. That tends to reinforce the perception of
them as a vanity press. They do seem to produce books no one else, at
least among the university presses, will take. That is not entirely a
bad thing. I have seem books from Mellen I would not buy, but I have
some in my own collection that are worth having. US university presses
have pushed certain types of publications to the margins or overseas.
That is not entirely their fault either. Universities have tended to
withdraw subsidies from their presses. Few university presses have
journal lists, as Johns Hopkins does, to keep them afloat. The vice
president of one press told me years ago his outfit tried to find titles
with enough sales potential to float those academic titles they thought
worthy but hard to sell.
Tom Izbicki
John Briggs wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> Christopher Crockett wrote:
>> From: Tom Izbicki <[log in to unmask]>
>>>
>>> You might consult:
>>>
>>> A Translation of the "Chronicle" of the Abbey of Morigny, France, c.
>>> 1100-1150/. Edited and translated by Richard Cusimano. [Mediaeval
>>> Studies, Vol. 22.] (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. 2003.
>>> Pp. ix, 233.)
>>
>> quite unreliable in its notes and, i think you may find, in the
>> precision of its translation, as well.
>>
>> a terribly overpriced, ugly little book, cheaply produced by a kind of
>> academical Vanity Press.
>>
>> don't get me started on That One.
>
> At the risk of doing just that, I could add that I have always been
> perplexed by the business model of the Edwin Mellen Press. They go out
> of their way to say that the are *not* a Vanity Press, which only
> reinforces the point that everyone thinks that they are! I suppose
> they survive by producing cheaply, and selling expensively to academic
> libraries. There is a suspicion that they publish books that no-one
> else will.
>
> John Briggs
>
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