User:JackyR/sandbox

Stephen Williams (artist) Stephen (Steve) Williams (17 November 1948 – 24 July 1996) was a Zimbabwean artist and director of Zimbabwe's National Gallery in Bulawayo.

He was described as "a dynamo, an enabler, a giver, a colleague".

He died in a motorcycle accident in Bulawayo in 1996.

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Background info

This is to give a general grasp of what “all books with an ISBN” means, and the expected lifespan of a book compared to the expected lifespan of Wikipedia. (Apologies for choice of national industries - this was what I could get hold of quickly.)

Worldwide

Number of new books annually (in 1996): 800 000 [1].

UK

Number of new books annually (in 2005): 206,000 [2]

US

Number of new books annually (in 2005): 172,000 [3]

In the US, paperback fiction falls into mass market or “pulp” paperbacks, and “trade” paperbacks. [4] Mass market books are intended to have a shelf-life of one to three months (similar to that of magazines). [5] [6] [7] They are then destroyed.[8] In 2003, there were 118 mass market titles which sold more than 500,000 copies.[9]

“Trade” paperbacks are published on better paper and used to have a separate distribution network.[10] These have a shelf-life of six to nine months.[11]

A popular hardback has a shelf-life measured in months. [12]

Most US books of any kind go out of print within three months; best-sellers may go out of print in two years.[13]

Canada

Number of new books annually (in 2004): 16,776 [14]

In Canada, 60% of mass market books are pulped, not sold (60% of copies, not titles) [15]

Wikipedia and the book industry

WP is already used by some small publishers to promote their authors.

Wikipedia has not yet been “discovered” by major publishers in the UK and US as a potential marketing tool. As of 2006-07-14 Wikipedia gets zero hits at The Bookseller, the UK industry magazine, and four at Publishers Weekly, the US industry magazine (only one of which is in a marketing context, and even then doesn't overtly suggest putting articles for books on WP). The Bookseller does, however, have an article on literary blogs [16] which illustrates the current lack of knowledge within the UK industry.

Other Wikipedia notability

Generally Category:Wikipedia notability criteria. Also:

• Wikipedia:Notability (music)
• Wikipedia:Notability (academics)
• Wikipedia:Notability (companies and corporations)
• Wikipedia:Notability (web)

ISBNs

An ISBN meets WP:V in verifying that a book exists, and that it was published by a particular publisher in a particular country. It does not give and information about influence, importance or notability of a book.

Small local, but non-vanity, presses may not use ISBNs, particularly if all their sales are expected to be local. Eg, a newspaper publisher might produce a local history book without an ISBN, which is then cited on WP.

What should have an article?

Some of the issues emerging in discussion:

1. Are all books with an ISBN notable (meaning "worth an article")?
2. Are all books with an ISBN notable except where WP:VANITY applies?
3. If no to the above, what other types or egs of books might be non-notable?
4. What information would an article about a book contain? Will WP end up with lots of articles containing no more information than Amazon?
5. Is en.wiki intended to be primarily about the en.world?
6. Is en.wiki intended to be primarily about parts of the world with large numbers of Wikipedia editors?
7. Are modern books without an ISBN ever notable?