Latest Press Releases
May 3, 2012
De Gruyter Appoints Renowned Academics to the New Editorial Board of the AKL Dictionary of Artists
The Allgemeine Künstlerlexikon (AKL) is an indispensable reference work in the field of art history. De Gruyter is proud to announce the appointment of several internationally renowned academics to the publication's new editorial board: Prof. Andreas Beyer, director of the German Forum for Art History in Paris; Prof. Wolf Tegethoff, director of the Central Institute for Art History in Munich; and Prof. Bénédicte Savoy of the Technical University of Berlin.
"We're pleased to have the opportunity to actively shape the future direction of this publication, which is an extremely important reference work in the field of art history, in accordance with the requirements of the field," Prof. Savoy said. "And we look forward to working with De Gruyter, a publishing house with an extremely rich tradition."
The new editorial board has been appointed as part of the publication's reorganization, which began last year. Alongside the continuation of the print edition in its traditional high quality, De Gruyter is working to expand the dictionary's online version, which spotlights current issues and trends in the field of art history.
“We have sought out the very best editors in order to fulfill our quality expectations for the diction-ary: namely, to address all time periods, cultures, and genres as they pertain to the visual arts, as well as to more specifically serve the needs of users," said Dr. Alexander Grossmann, Vice President of Publishing at De Gruyter. "The AKL will be a dynamic component of De Gruyter’s publication portfolio in the fields of art and architecture," Grossmann added.
"A key element of the new editorial approach is to open up the editorial process to an international circle of experts who will be invited to actively contribute," Prof. Beyer said during the first meeting of the editorial board in Berlin.
April 26, 2012
De Gruyter Goes Green - Interns and Trainees Organize a Green Day Event
De Gruyter is holding an environmental awareness event titled "Green Day" on 25 April. In a cooperative one-year project, sixteen De Gruyter interns and trainees investigated how to make the activities of the company and its employees more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Based on results of this project, called "De Gruyter Goes Green," a series of guidelines for all employees have been produced. The aim of the Green Day event is to share additional recommendations on how to make day-to-day activities more environmentally friendly.
The interns and trainees investigated all departments and the entire infrastructure of the publishing house. In the process, they identified and implemented numerous strategies for reducing the company's environmental impact, including the switch to a green-electricity service plan; the use of environmentally friendly paper and ink produced by the company Ecofont; the purchase of eco-friendly dishwashing soap and energy-efficient products; the implementation of a shared-use bicycle fleet in Berlin and Munich; the introduction of a "veggie day" in the cafeteria; and the appointment of a company officer for environmental issues. Since the beginning of 2012 the company has been using FSC certified paper for all printed products. Furthermore, as part of the project, the interns and trainees developed guidelines to help employees conserve electricity, heat, and paper while at work.
"Our colleagues undertook this project with a great deal of dedication and expertise. All of the company's employees were astounded at how much we have been able to change and at how easy it is to become more environmentally friendly," De Gruyter CEO Sven Fund said. "Environmental protection and the conservation of resources are of importance to everyone, and the De Gruyter Goes Green project has shown that this can be done without high costs or compromising quality."
At the Green Day event, presentations will be given titled "Fair Trade and the Fair Trade Seal" and "Why Climate Protection Has Nothing to Do With Political Correctness." Furthermore, cell-phone recycling boxes will be set up, a "Bike Doctor" will repair minor damage to bicycles, and – last but not least – the first vegetarian day will be held at the cafeteria.
The Green Day event comes just three days after Earth Day, which is celebrated in 150 countries on 22 April. During the current year, the interns and trainees will explore social responsibility and the company's obligations to the larger community. The results of this project will be presented at the beginning of 2013.
April 24, 2012
De Gruyter Acquires Birkhäuser
The Berlin-based academic publisher De Gruyter signed a contract today sealing its takeover of the publishing house Birkhäuser. Alongside the acquisition of Birkhäuser's architecture and design publishing division, the takeover includes the Birkhäuser brand name, which is also recognized for its first-class STM publications.
"Our purchase of Birkhäuser has considerably expanded our range of exclusive publications in art history and neighboring fields," De Gruyter CEO Sven Fund said. "Birkhäuser's catalog, which features some 50 front-list and 2,500 back-list titles, lends a new international profile to the Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, a general dictionary of artists published by De Gruyter."
Birkhäuser, a Swiss-based German-language publisher for design and architecture, declared insolvency in March of this year. Originally founded in 1879, Birkhäuser is one of the world's most renowned publishers for design and architecture, and is home to such influential authors and architects as Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Herzog & de Meuron, and Peter Zumthor.
April 23, 2012
The German Association for Religious Studies Selects De Gruyter as the Publisher for its Academic Journal
The German Association for Religious Studies (Deutsche Vereinigung für Religionswissenschaft), which is the German branch of the International Association for the History of Religion, has concluded an exclusive contract with De Gruyter for the publication of its academic journal, titled Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft. The journal, which has appeared bi-annually in print since 1993, has made a significant contribution to the reputation enjoyed by German scholarship in religious studies. Beginning this year, the journal will be published by De Gruyter in print and electronic form.
"This contract to publish the Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft is an important step in the expansion of De Gruyter's religious studies portfolio," Dr. Anke Beck, Vice President of Publishing at De Gruyter, said. Dr. Albrecht Döhnert, Editorial Director for Religious Studies, added: "The journal, which will be supervised in part by our Boston office, adds the German voice in religious studies to our internationally oriented collection of publications."
The Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft is a forum for the discussion of important methodological and theoretical topics and theories across the entire spectrum of religious studies as well as in neighboring subfields of the humanities and social sciences. The journal presents articles that undertake a comparative assessment of historical and contemporary issues, both European and non-European, in religious history and contemporary culture. The journal is edited by Christoph Auffarth (Bremen), Max Deeg (Cardiff), Bärbel Beinhauer-Köhler (Marburg), Christel Gärtner (Münster), and Jörg Rüpke (Erfurt).
"We are pleased for numerous reasons to cooperate with the German Association for Religious Studies. The collaboration represents a solid confirmation of our strategy to build partnerships with the most important academic journals in the humanities and social sciences," Dr. Anke Beck concluded.
February 20, 2012
Expansion of the Jewish Studies Program at De Gruyter: Co-operations with Magnes Press and the Moses Mendelssohn Zentrum
De Gruyter is expanding its focus on Jewish Studies within the publisher’s Humanities program and to this end has signed two contracts with important cooperation partners.
The Hebrew University Magnes Press in Jerusalem and De Gruyter have signed an agreement to co-publish titles in Jewish Studies in print and electronically. The partnership joins Magnes Press unique position as Israel’s premier academic press and its strong tradition in publishing fine Judaica scholarship from Israel with De Gruyter’s strengths in marketing and distributing to the international market.
According to Hai Tsabar, CEO of Magnes Press, the new cooperation will open new opportunities for Israeli scholars to reach the English speaking audience utilizing Magnes Press’ strong academic super-vision on the one hand and De Gruyter’s efficient marketing abilities on the other hand.
In cooperation with the Moses Mendelssohn Zentrum in Potsdam, the series “European-Jewish Studies” will be published from 2012 onwards. This series comprises three subseries: “Contributions”, “Controversies” and “Editions”. The first volume, to be published in April, will be Hannah-Lotte Lund’s “Der Berliner jüdische Salon um 1800” [“The Berlin Jewish Salon around 1800”], a title that has been eagerly awaited by many ‘salon researchers’.
The Moses Mendelssohn Zentrum recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and thus underlined its importance as a first-class non-university research institute.
“We are delighted with the cooperation with Magnes Press and the Moses Mendelssohn Zentrum, because these partnerships will provide our strong Jewish Studies program with new, top-quality con-tent”, comments Dr. Anke Beck, Vice President Humanities at De Gruyter. “This content, which we will be integrating into our new online platform and also disseminating globally through our international sales channels, makes our program even more attractive to authors and academics all over the world.”
February 15, 2012
De Gruyter in another important blow against internet piracy
Participating in an international alliance of publishers and publishers’ associations De Gruyter yesterday achieved an important success in the combat against internet piracy. Overcoming significant technical and legal obstacles, the publishers were able to locate the alleged operators of the sharehoster service “www.ifile.it” and the link library “www.library.nu“, and to serve judicial cease-and-desist orders to these operators.
The two entities created and operated an "internet library" which made available illegally more than 400,000 e-books, in very good quality, for immediate, free and anonymous download, including various famous titles from De Gruyter. The operators made an estimated turnover of € 8 million ($10,602,400 US) from advertising buys on the sites, donations and sales of premium-level accounts, making it one of the most significant piracy websites in the world.
„Publishers like De Gruyter interested in transparent, honest and fair trade of digital content on the Internet must not be frightened by illegal activities on copyright crime“, says Dr. Sven Fund, CEO of De Gruyter.
The particularly dangerousness of the services lies in the close interconnection of a sharehoster service and a link resource. With this interconnection it has been possible to make all copyrighted works which have been uploaded illegally accessible to the public, without limitations. Extensive claims by the international publishers were able to be asserted against the service providers who had partially concealed their identities.
Here, De Gruyter and all participating publishers continue to follow the route of not simply accepting copyright infringements, but rather taking all available legal measures against the large illegal platforms.
February 2, 2012
De Gruyter renews Kant and Nietzsche edition projects
The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences have concluded contracts with De Gruyter which will provide a major impetus for the publication of the complete editions of Nietzsche and Kant.
De Gruyter’s agreement with the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences provides for the reissue and the completion of the critical edition of Kant's Collected Works. This 26-volume edition will be published in four sections up until 2022. As each printed volume appears, its digital version will become available as well. The four sections cover Kant’s works, letters and documents, his legacy and lecture notes.
The contract with the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences provides for the publication of seven new commentary volumes on the work of Friedrich Nietzsche. These commentary volumes are all integrated into De Gruyter’s Nietzsche Online database.“This collaboration with the two academies shows that De Gruyter upholds a longstanding tradition that is combined with a high level of product innovation and content standards,” comments Dr. Anke Beck, Vice President Publishing Humanities at De Gruyter. “We are delighted with this further important addition to our renowned philosophy program.”
The Works of Friedrich Nietzsche - Critical Edition (KGW) has been published by De Gruyter since 1967, while the Nietzsche Online database with over 100,000 pages by and about Nietzsche was first created in 2010. From 1900 onwards, the Georg Reimer publishing company – one of the five founding publishers of De Gruyter – issued the ‘Large Academy Edition’ of the works of Immanuel Kant. Apart from one outstanding volume section, this edition is now complete.
January 20, 2012
Publisher De Gruyter collaborates with the American Library Association (ALA) on publishing and distributing the new standard RDA: Resource Description and Access
De Gruyter and the ALA have signed an agreement, according to which the publisher will be responsible for the publication and global distribution of the German-language version of the new set of cataloguing standards for print and digital media in libraries and beyond, RDA: Resource Description and Access. The publisher will also sell licenses for the multilingual online version RDA Toolkit in German-speaking countries.
RDA is a flexible tool for recording bibliographic metadata and, as a new library standard, has the potential to serve as a basis for the international exchange of bibliographic metadata across global networks. RDA’s content has been developed in a collaborative process led by the international Joint Steering Committee (JSC). The project is overseen by the Committee of Principals representing the American Library Association (ALA), Canadian Library Association (CLA), Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, UK), Library of Congress (US), Library and Archives Canada, British Library, and National Library of Australia. RDA Toolkit is co-published by the ALA, CLA, and CILIP—through its imprint Facet Publishing.
In Germany the German National Library advised the JSC in the initial development of RDA and has recently accepted an invitation to permanently join the JSC so they may participate in the ongoing development of RDA. The German National Library has taken a leading role in producing a German version of RDA. Major international libraries and library associations in the USA, Canada, Australia and Great Britain have been pushing for the introduction of RDA, which is expected to be recognised internationally as the successor of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2) and meet the demands for a much more tightly networked information landscape.
“By publishing these standards, De Gruyter is making a major contribution towards the desired internationalisation of German libraries”, said Dr Alice Keller, Editorial Director of Library Reference & History at De Gruyter. “Thanks to our long-standing cooperation with national libraries and library associations worldwide, De Gruyter Saur is one of the leading publishers for global library standards, which is why this work fits in extremely well with our programme.”
The German Standards Committee decided to internationalise German standards back in late 2004, including switching over to MARC 21 and actively participating in developing RDA’s genesis process. The German National Library is currently working on a German translation for German-speaking countries. The decision to implement RDA in the USA has been recommended for 2013.
January 9, 2012
De Gruyter acquires Versita and becomes third-biggest international Open Access publisher
De Gruyter, the Berlin-based academic publishing company, is acquiring the publisher Versita. As a service provider to academic organizations and bodies, Versita publishes over 230 journals on Open Access basis, i.e. outside the traditional subscription model. With this acquisition De Gruyter is substantially increasing its presence in an important future market of academic publishing. The complete staff of Versita is being retained in this take-over.
“The purchase of Versita is a logical continuation of our publishing strategy of recent years, which involves giving both our authors and our customers an optimum range of publishing options”, says Dr. Sven Fund, the Managing Director of De Gruyter. “For us, the most important issue is that our publications have high-quality content, and not how they are financed.”
As of 2012 De Gruyter will be merging the newly acquired Open Access journals with its traditional subscription-based and freely sold content on one electronic platform, thus providing researchers with an outstanding service: users will have a powerful search interface for searching all academic articles from journals, books and databanks in which the articles have been published, independently of the various business models.
“For some time now, Open Access has been an important element of academic publishing. With the integration of all Versita content under a joint publishing administration on the new De Gruyter platform, we are now realizing the principle in our program,” continues Fund.
In the future, De Gruyter’s Open Access activities will be managed by Jacek Ciesielski as Vice President Open Access. Ciesielski founded Versita in 2001 and has been expanding the enterprise ever since. “Now that we have joined forces with De Gruyter, I look forward to further developing and internationalizing my activities together with De Gruyter”, comments Ciesielski.
January 5, 2012
De Gruyter Chosen by Harvard University Press as Sales Partner for its Electronic Content. Transatlantic Agreement Will Extend both Organizations’ International Reach
Beginning in January, 2012, Harvard University Press will market its entire range of electronic products, including both new books and a back catalogue of more than 10,000 titles, through the Berlin-based independent publishing house De Gruyter, Harvard University Press and De Gruyter announced today.
William P. Sisler, Director of University Press (HUP), said the partnership furthers HUP’s commitment to ensuring its serious nonfiction of the highest quality reaches a diverse and global audience.
“The international reach of De Gruyter’s electronic marketing will enable us to share vital ideas with a widening audience of scholars, students, and general readers across the globe — our mission for nearly 100 years,” Sisler said.
Katrin Siems, Vice President Marketing and Sales at De Gruyter, noted that the partnership with HUP comes at the same time De Gruyter is introducing a new platform featuring an integrated interface for e-books, journals, and databanks.
“For De Gruyter, this partnership brings two enormous benefits. Firstly it confirms our long-term in-vestment policy in electronic publishing. Secondly, the inclusion of Harvard’s newly published and backlist books in our product range will significantly increase the attractiveness of our content for libraries in the international markets.” on scholarly communications by dedicating ourselves to enabling library-led publishing and research dissemination programs with Digital Commons."
De Gruyter will take on the journals with immediate effect. They will be integrated into the existing editorial offices, and personnel will be added as needed. The subject area Business/Economics, which was previously not part of the De Gruyter portfolio, will be under the publishing supervision of the Law Department.
"The acquisition of Berkeley Electronic Press’ journals is an important milestone in De Gruyter's internationalization efforts," according to Dr. Sven Fund, Managing Director. "Not only will we gain the highest quality English-speaking authors and their content for our program, but we will also be able to add a prestigious community of subscribers to the De Gruyter family."
De Gruyter's portfolio increases from 173 to 235 journals through the acquisition.