Abstract
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt in all industries including the book value chain. This chapter documents the opportunities and challenges offered by the COVID-19 pandemic in the book industry. Those affected include writers, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and readers. A structured literature review was done, and interviews were conducted with five librarians, five readers, five publishers, five booksellers, and five writers chosen using purposive sampling to establish how they have been dealing with challenges and opportunities that were offered by the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe. Personal experiences were also used as a writer and librarian to point out the impact of COVID-19. The data was analysed using content analysis and thematically presented. The findings showed that all the stakeholders were affected during this period. The adoption of the e-publishing model is recommended to ensure the survival of all the stakeholders of the publishing industry in the new normal.
TopIntroduction
The book sector, similar to some other industry, was extraordinarily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus crisis affected not just the entire value chain from writers to bookshops but in addition the readers. The creation, production, distribution, promotion and sales of books went on standstill while readers were at home with more opportunity to peruse yet less access to books during the lockdown time frame (Federation of European Publishers, 2020). Many countries imposed lockdown measures leading to the closure of non-essential shops and activities which included book shops, book publishers and libraries of all types. This study documents the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the book publishing process and how stakeholders responded to the crisis. It has been noted that digital is not any add on service anymore but there is a digital transformation which is customer driven and central to the agenda. In order for stakeholders of the book industry to survive and grow post COVID-19, there is need for a digital mindset (Brinton, 2020). The objectives of the chapter are:
- a)
To examine the book value chain in the ‘new normal’.
- b)
To examine the opportunities offered by the COVID-19 pandemic to the book industry.
- c)
To discuss the challenges offered by the COVID-19 pandemic to the book industry.
- d)
To proffer solutions to the challenges that are faced by stakeholders in the book value chain in the ‘new normal’.
TopProblem Statement
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of schools and other services including the publishing industry worldwide. The closure of schools and libraries automatically stops the sale of physical books and bookshops were also closed thus terminating the possibility of selling books (African Publishers Network, 2020). Mashava (2017) pointed out that accessibility of Zimbabwean local content is erratic online since publishers are still concentrating on producing print publications as opposed to the global trends in the book production process. In 2015 stakeholders in the book industry were encouraged to migrate to digital platforms to curb the high production costs and ensure affordability (Samukange 2015). This was necessitated by globalization and the emergence of digital citizenship which is digital literate. Libraries are also said to hold limited numbers of local books as they depend solely on donations from outside the country (Mashava 2017). In Zimbabwe, there is also lack of financial and institutional support for the formal book publishing and distribution industry leading to few books being published (Samukange, 2015). The question that should be answered is how the COVID-19 affected the book publishing industry since the e-book publishing model is not well developed in Zimbabwe.
Key Terms in this Chapter
E-books: It is a book in electronic format that can be read using a computer or a handheld device.
Open Access: It is a set of principles where the research output is distributed online without any access barriers.
Self-Publishing: It is the act of publishing information resources without the use of a publishing house or company.
Publishing Process: The process where authors take their ideas and put them into viewable forms.
New Normal: This is a situation that is different from previous experiences and is expected to be the usual.
Book Value Chain: It is model that is used to examine the activities involved in taking a book from idea to a sellable item.
Paywall: Restricting access to users who have paid or subscribed to that particular site.
Publisher: It is a service provider that prepares and issues information resources for sale.
Bookseller: A person responsible for selling books and can be an owner or manager of a bookshop.
Reader: A person who reads or is fond of reading.
Publishing Industry: Those responsible for the production and distribution of books, magazines, newspapers etc. to make the information available to the public.
Book Production: It is the process required to turn a raw manuscript into a final printed product or e-book.