or Templeton Foundation Press publisher Joanna Hill, the international Frankfurt book fair provides a fascinating window to observe different book trends. “You have ten appointments a day for four straight days and you really get a chance to see what people around the world are interested in,” says Hill. “The Russians like really big books, the Italians are excited about science and religion, and in Latin America they like inspirational titles.”
Click here for popular Templeton Foundation Press titles
In recent years, the Press has expanded its range to include new technologies (see Google Book Search program) as well as new audiences. “We’ve discovered some really interesting work in Italian, German and French and we’re actively translating them into English,” says Hill. The flow of information goes the other way, too. The Press’s books have been translated into Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Croatian, Slovenian, Bulgarian, Korean, Japanese and Czech. “The foreign rights are a big part of our global outreach,” she says.
In some ways the Press is similar to a university press in that its purpose is to advance knowledge and support scholarship. It offers books aimed at serious scholars, but also at a general audience that includes young adults and children.
Some of the Press’s success stories come from the pens of Templeton Prize winners such as Paul Davies and John Polkinghorne, but they also include The Hand of God, edited by Michael Reagan and Faith and Mental Health by Dr. Harold Koenig.
Another important component is the Press’s online website, where the Science & Religion bookstore offers over 1,000 science and religion books from publishers around the world. The site is specially designed for bibliographic research by scholars, libraries and the general public.
“Sir John has asked us to make the books we publish available in as many formats as possible, so we’re turning many of them into e-books, as well as audio downloads,” says Hill. “It’s all about reaching a wider audience.”
GOOGLE PARTNERSHIP
Joining the partner program of one of the world’s most popular search engines is just one of the innovative efforts the Templeton Foundation Press has initiated. Currently, more than 100 of the Press’s books have been enrolled in the Google Book Search program, which allows anyone in the world with an Internet connection to search the full text of books, in effect searching inside what has previously been out of reach. Once a book has been located, users can buy the book, look for other titles within the original search perimeters and find reviews.
To search the Templeton Foundation Press books that are part of the Google Book Search program, visit http://books.google.com.
GIFFORD LECTURES
The Templeton Foundation Press is pleased to announce a partnership with the highly-regarded Gifford Lectures to provide a website where visitors can search a database with a comprehensive collection of books derived from the lectures, as well as biographical information and summaries.
Given the variety of disciplines represented by the lectures and the renown of the lecturers, the information contained in this database is invaluable for scholars around the world. Students and researchers will be able to access a vast array of material dealing with religion, philosophy, physics, biology, psychology and history.
The Gifford Lectures, which focus on natural theology, have been sponsored for over one hundred years by four Scottish universities—the University of Aberdeen, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow and University of St. Andrews.
Since the first lecture in 1888, Gifford lecturers have been recognized as preeminent thinkers in their respective fields. Among the many gifted lecturers are people such as: Albert Schweitzer, Iris Murdoch, William James, Etienne Gilson, Werner Heisenberg, Niels Bohr, Hannah Arendt, Max Mueller, Reinhold Niebuhr and Alfred North Whitehead.
www.giffordlectures.org
www.templetonpress.org
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