Litwin Books, LLC is an
academic publisher
Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or theses. The part of academic written output that is not formally publ ...
founded in 2006 under the name Library Juice Press. Library Juice Press became an imprint of the new parent company, Litwin Books, LLC in 2008. The Litwin Books imprint publishes books on
archival studies topics,
library history
Library history is a subdiscipline within library science and library and information science focusing on the history of libraries and their role in societies and cultures. Some see the field as a subset of information history. Library history i ...
,
communication studies
Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differen ...
, and related fields. The Library Juice Press imprint publishes books on
library and information science
Library and information science(s) or studies (LIS) is an interdisciplinary field of study that deals generally with organization, access, collection, and protection/regulation of information, whether in physical (e.g. art, legal proceedings, e ...
topics, usually with an emphasis on
critical theory
A critical theory is any approach to social philosophy that focuses on society and culture to reveal, critique and challenge power structures. With roots in sociology and literary criticism, it argues that social problems stem more from soci ...
or
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
aspects of the field. The company has its origins in an email news and comment distribution service called Library Juice, founded by Rory Litwin in 1998. In 2005, the Library Juice news service became a blog, which now supports the company's publishing projects and other activities. In an interview with Barbara Fister for ''Inside Higher Education'' Litwin, interested in the continuity of the knowledge base of librarianship, described the publisher's role as initiating projects and working collaboratively with authors.
In 2016, Library Juice Press was awarded the
Eli M. Oboler
Eli Martin Oboler (September 26, 1915 – June 15, 1983) was an American librarian who worked as the longtime librarian at the Idaho State University library, later renamed the Eli M. Oboler Library, from 1949 to 1980. He was also a member of th ...
Memorial Award by the Intellectual Freedom Round Table of the
American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
for its publication, ''The Library Juice Press Handbook of Intellectual Freedom: Cases, Concepts, and Theories.''.
Library Juice Academy
In 2012, the company initiated a continuing education venture called
Library Juice Academy, which offers online professional development courses for librarians and other people in library and information science fields of work.
Grants and awards
Litwin Books and Library Juice Press give a number of annual grants and awards. Litwin Books gives a $1000 award for Ongoing Doctoral Dissertation Research in the Philosophy of Information. Library Juice Press holds an annual paper contest, also with a $1000 award, honoring a published paper within the publisher's editorial scope that is not primarily an empirical study. Library Juice Academy sponsors the
ACRL
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals. It is dedicated to enhancing the ability of academi ...
University Libraries Section Outstanding Professional Award and the Frank B. Sessa Scholarships for Continuing Professional Education of
Beta Phi Mu
Beta Phi Mu (also or βφμ) is the international honor society for library & information science and information technology. Founded by a group of librarians and library educators, the society's express purpose is to recognize and encourage "su ...
Members. Library Juice Press and Library Juice Academy jointly sponsored the mid-career fellowship awarded by the
Digital Library Federation
The Digital Library Federation (DLF) is a program of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) that brings together a consortium of college and university libraries, public libraries, museums, and related institutions with the stated ...
. In 2018 the
Alexandre Vattemare
Nicolas Marie Alexandre Vattemare (1796 in Paris – 1864), also known under the stage name Monsieur Alexandre, was a French ventriloquist and philanthropist who created the first international system for the exchange of items among libraries ...
Award was established to honor contributions in the LIS field marked by originality, creative energy and novel combinations of ideas.
Other Activities
Litwin Books sponsors and organizes conferences and colloquia on topics within its scope of interest, including libraries and archives in the
anthropocene
The Anthropocene ( ) is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change.
, neither the International Commissi ...
and gender and sexuality in information studies.
References
External links
Litwin Books, LLC and Library Juice PressLibrary Juice Academy
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Publishing companies established in 2006
Academic publishing companies
Publishing companies of the United States
Book publishing companies based in California
Sacramento, California
Library science awards
Library science