Antonio Rodríguez-Buckingham

Dear Sir:

While I realize that you personally might not deal with the discipline of the history of the book, I am writing on the recommendation of several scholars who have suggested that you might help me to identify several scholars who might help with the project described below.

In late 2004, The Greenwood Publishing Group of Westport, Connecticut, will publish a three-volume reference book, >From Cave Paintings to the Internet: An Encyclopedia of the Written and Printed Word. The name of the individual that form the Advisory Board and the editorial staff are listed at the end of this letter.

We envision the work as probably the last collective statement reflecting the state-of knowledge of graphic communication in general and of the book in particular by a group of selected experts as we enter the "Age of Information." Since the Encyclopedia is largely about the history of the book and writing, the focus of the articles should be on the technologies associated with the book and with writing. Our target is the English-speaking, educated, non-expert population. We have a tentative August 1, 2002 deadline set for the entries, though we can agree on a more convenient deadline. We are, unfortunately, unable to reward authors with a monetary stipends, though they will receive a copy of the work when published.

Included in the Encyclopedia will be articles on the history of the book in every major country of the world and many smaller countries of the world. (Sample entry enclosed.) We are specifically interested in adding to the Encyclopedia an article of about 5,000 words on the history of the book of the nations of the Balkan Peninsula. I am aware of the different languages spoken in the area and of the diversity of print history. Not being an expert, I can only suggest that it may be more manageable to treat the various groups separately by language--Serbian, Croatian, Albanian, and Bulgarian, with a general article on Yugoslavia. We would, however, follow your suggestions on this and all other matters regarding this entry. Classical Greek is being treated by another scholar, though, if you could include a modern Greece we would be grateful.

I look forward to your answer as this is a very important topic, and it is essential that we find a competent author to deal with this very complex subject.

Cordially,

Antonio Rodríguez-Buckingham
Professor of Library and Information Science
Director, Humanities Program
University of Southern Mississippi