LATEST NEWS
NUJ to fight on to save Chambers in Edinburgh
See online report by Catherine Neilan in the The Bookseller of 29 October 2009
To axe the Chambers dictionary would be the definition of foolish
Robert McCrum joins the campaign to save Chambers: The Observer 25 October
Labour MEP David Martin Calls for Support for Chambers Harrap in Edinburgh
David Martin MEP recently met with Liam Rodger the NUJ representative at Chambers Harrap at the European Parliament Office in Edinburgh to hear the case for keeping the publisher and its 27 employees in Edinburgh. “I was convinced by their case” said David, “and I will be promoting their cause in London, Brussels and Paris. Chambers is one of the few remaining Scottish publishers, and is part of the fabric of the history of Edinburgh."
Early Day Motion in House of Commons 20 October
Mark Lazarowicz, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, tabled motion EDM 2109 urging Hachette UK to reconsider its decision or seek a buyer to allow the operations to continue in Edinburgh under another owner.
Reprieve for Scotland's Oldest Publisher?
The proposed closure of Edinburgh publishers Chambers Harrap, announced by parent company Hachette UK on 15 September, is to be reviewed at a high-level meeting in Paris. You can read the NUJ's press statement here.
On 15 September 2009 the closure of Chambers Harrap in Edinburgh was announced. Parent company Hachette UK said that the search for a buyer for Chambers had been unsuccessful and that the Chambers titles will be transferred to Hodder Education in London. Harrap titles will be transferred to Larousse in Paris. It is anticipated that all 27 staff members in Edinburgh will be affected.
With a presence in Edinburgh for 191 years, Chambers published its first Encyclopaedia in 1859 and its first Chambers Dictionary in 1867. The company was family owned until 1989. It is now part of Hachette which is itself part of Lagardere, an international media group, and the No 1 trade publisher in the UK and France, and No 5 in the US. It owns 150 brands, and is truly a global conglomerate.
So what lies behind the decision?
Hachette UK stated that both the Harrap and Chambers titles had been affected by the steep decline in the sales of dictionaries and reference books as people move away from print to go online where they can get their information, for the most part, free of charge.
Does the Internet signal the end for dictionary publishing?
Some forms of reference publishing are suffering as a result of the Internet but the convenience of free sources such as Wikipedia and Dictionary.com etc is no substitute for good lexicography.
High quality content can be, and is, licensed for use in all kinds of electronic formats. Chambers had a number of licences in force for their products. Several Chambers dictionaries are already available as applications or resources for PC, MAC, iPhone, mobiles, e-readers and other handheld devices. They also have many other reference titles in both epub and Adobe pdf formats for downloading to e-readers or desktops. For educational, academic and language-learning purposes, we will still need authoritative, reliable dictionaries.
There will always be a need to keep dictionaries up-to-date and that depends on the lexicographers. High quality content doesn’t create itself – it doesn’t magically appear on the Internet. That is where established companies and brand names like Chambers come in. But they do need proper investment and the chance to expand their business models.
However, it’s interesting to note that despite the wealth of free and chargeable digital resources, the Chambers Dictionary, last published in 2008, is continuing to sell well. For logophiles, a website that inserts ads all over the page just can’t match the experience of flicking through the latest, or indeed any edition of, Chambers Dictionary.
The future
Publishing Scotland strongly believes there is room for specialist, focused, independent publishing.
Chambers is a major Scottish publishing company with an instantly recognisable brand name; they employ, in Scottish publishing terms, a large number of people; and have a successful export record and an international profile. As an integral part of the fabric of Scottish publishing, the loss of jobs, publishing expertise and presence resulting from Chambers’ closure would be great. Publishing Scotland urges that all possible avenues be explored to prevent this happening.
You can read the Chambers Harrap press statement here.
The news has been widely reported and commented on. See eg: NUJ ; The Herald (front page on 16 September); The Scotsman; and The Bookseller.
For a lexicographer's view, see eg Harry Campbell at Harry Campbell's blogspot and guesting at cupblog
BooksfromScotland.com has a profile of Chambers as does the Chambers website
Other coverage includes:
NEWS ITEMS
The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday:
http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Dictionary-publishers-to-close-Edinburgh.5648164.jp
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/End-of-chapter-as-Chambers.5649605.jp
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Widow-mourns-Chambers-loss.5662863.jp
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/comment/As-good-as-their-words.5662838.jp
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8263443.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0079gb9 (piece starts about 22 mins 10 secs in)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/paulinemclean/2009/09/spelling_out_the_losses.html
The Herald
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/internet-blamed-as-chambers-hit-by-death-of-the-dictionary-1.920190
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/dictionary-publisher-chambers-to-close-edinburgh-office-1.920126
The Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6841209.ece
The Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/64eaef5c-a70f-11de-bd14-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/sep/30/robert-mcrum-on-books
The Bookseller
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/96757-hachette-calls-time-on-chambers-harraps-edinburgh-base.html
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/97244-page.html
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/97136-scotland-mourns-loss-of-chambers-harrap.html
The Daily Record
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/business-news/2009/09/15/dictionary-publishers-chambers-to-shut-edinburgh-office-86908-21675669/
The Press and Journal
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1398094?UserKey=
The News and Star
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/opinion/write_stuff/facts_come_at_a_cost_1_614723?referrerPath=opinion/ross_brewster
The Kilmarnock Standard
http://www.kilmarnockstandard.co.uk/ayrshire-news/scottish-news/2009/09/15/dictionary-publishers-shut-branch-81430-24695652/
BLOG AND OTHER COMMENTS
http://www.livreshebdo.fr/etranger/actualites/chambers-harrap-ferme-ses-portes/3456.aspx
http://scottishcomment.blogspot.com/2009/09/nuj-members-need-your-support-to-fight.html
http://www.dictionarysociety.com/2009/09/chambers-harrap-closes-edinburgh-office.html
http://publishingcupboard.blogspot.com/
http://blog.widmann.org.uk/2009/09/15/1554/
http://boards2go.com/boards/board.cgi?action=read&id=1253045551&user=dharrison
http://thesilvereelii.blogspot.com/2009/09/you-dont-know-what-youve-got-till-its.html
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/The-coo39s-goat-sluppra-in.5674836.jp