New Listserv for Textbook and Academic Authors

[PatMcK155 <patmck155 -at- AOL -dot- COM>]

My name is Patrick McKeown and I am pleased to be able to act as moderator
to initiate a new
listserv called TAA-L. I am a professor of  Management Information Systems
at the University of
Georgia in Athens, GA. First, let me introduce you to the organization
which is
sponsoring this list, the Textbook and Academic Authors Association,
Inc. (TAA for short). TAA was estabished in 1987 as an association
of all individuals that are involved in the development and
publication of materials that are used in education. Such materials
includes (but is not limited to) textbooks, software, manuals,
videos, monographs, references books, newsletters, and multimedia CD-
ROM discs. In this role, the TAAA seeks to represent text and
academic authors in matters involving them including taxes,
copyrights, and better appreciation of their work within academe.
Current TAA projects include:
* holding workshops on authoring textbooks and other educational
materials
* drafting a model contract that will help members improve their
negotiating posture with publishers
* seeking a distribution of monies received by the Copyright
Clearance Center from European countries

TAA holds an annual convention in June of each year at which members
get together to share their experiences and to learn from expert
speakers. Two sets of awards are made at the yearly Convention.
First, the "Texty" Textbook Excellence Awards are given to the best
current textbooks in eight categories at both the college and high
school level. Second, a William Holmes McGuffey award is given to the
TAAA member whose textbook's excellence has been demonstrated over
time (copyright 1980 or earlier).  This year, the TAA Convention will
be held June 8-10 in Savannah, GA at the Desoto Hilton Hotel. If you
are interested in joining TAA, please contact Norma Hood, Acting
Executive Director, TAA, P.O. Box 535, Orange Springs, FL 32182 or
call 904-546-5419.

While this list is sponsored by TAA and we hope that you are a member
(or soon will become one), there are not restrictions on who may
subscribe. We welcome participation from anyone that is interested in
the development and publication of educational materials. I encourage
those of you
looking for ideas, facing problems, or just curious about something
involving textbooks or other educational materials to post a message
to this list asking for help.  I am confident that such requests will
generate responses that are both thoughtful and helpful.

You may subscribe to this list by sending the message

SUBSCRIBE TAA-L first-name last-name

to LISTSERV -at- UGA -dot- CC -dot- UGA -dot- EDU

You may unsubscribe the same way.

The subscribe and unsuscribe messages should be the only line in the
e-mail message with no subject or signature.

Messages to the list should be sent to

TAA-L -at- UGA -dot- CC -dot- UGA -dot- EDU

My role as moderator is to try to bring interesting issues to the
list and to provoke discussion of emerging issues. Now for those who
are new to lists, I offer a couple of general suggestions for list use
that can help us achieve the list goals of better communication
and sharing of ideas.

Please do not use the list for personal messages - for example
deciding where you and a colleague plan to meet for dinner at an
upcoming conference.

Personal e-mail addressed directly to your colleague will be more
effective and conserve band width.  (Hint:  Your message is probably
personal if it starts with a person's name in the greeting.)

When you respond to a item posted by another on the list, please e-
mail your thoughts to the message originator if your response would
be of little interest to others.  Your response should be posted to
the list if it is of general interest.  Be sure to give your e-mail
address when posting so others know how to respond to you personally
when appropriate.  A good idea here is the use of a signature file if
your system permits.

Please turn off your automatic e-mail response systems.  Since the
list postings will come to you via e-mail, an automatic response
system will e-mail your response back to the list where it is e-
mailed in turn to the entire list membership.

During the next few months, I will post items to the list to
illustrate the type of material that we are asking people to
contribute.  However, I am only doing this to kick things off, so
please join in.

I look forward to hearing from you and getting a chance to share your
ideas. I would like to thank Mark Asman at Bowling Green State for
his help in creating this announcement.

Sincerely,

My name is Patrick McKeown and I am pleased to be able to help get
this list (TAA-L) started as a moderator. I am a professor of
Management Information Systems at the University of Georgia in
Athens, GA. First, let me introduce you to the organization which is
sponsoring this list, the Textbook and Academic Authors Association,
Inc. (TAA for short). TAA was estabished in 1987 as an association
of all individuals that are involved in the development and
publication of materials that are used in education. Such materials
includes (but is not limited to) textbooks, software, manuals,
videos, monographs, references books, newsletters, and multimedia CD-
ROM discs. In this role, the TAAA seeks to represent text and
academic authors in matters involving them including taxes,
copyrights, and better appreciation of their work within academe.
Current TAA projects include:
* holding workshops on authoring textbooks and other educational
materials
* drafting a model contract that will help members improve their
negotiating posture with publishers
* seeking a distribution of monies received by the Copyright
Clearance Center from European countries

TAA holds an annual convention in June of each year at which members
get together to share their experiences and to learn from expert
speakers. Two sets of awards are made at the yearly Convention.
First, the "Texty" Textbook Excellence Awards are given to the best
current textbooks in eight categories at both the college and high
school level. Second, a William Holmes McGuffey award is given to the
TAAA member whose textbook's excellence has been demonstrated over
time (copyright 1980 or earlier).  This year, the TAA Convention will
be held June 8-10 in Savannah, GA at the Desoto Hilton Hotel. If you
are interested in joining TAA, please contact Norma Hood, Acting
Executive Director, TAA, P.O. Box 535, Orange Springs, FL 32182 or
call 904-546-5419.

While this list is sponsored by TAA and we hope that you are a member
(or soon will become one), there are not restrictions on who may
subscribe. We welcome participation from anyone that is interested in
the development and publication of educational materials. I encourage
those of you
looking for ideas, facing problems, or just curious about something
involving textbooks or other educational materials to post a message
to this list asking for help.  I am confident that such requests will
generate responses that are both thoughtful and helpful.

You may subscribe to this list by sending the message

SUBSCRIBE TAA-L first-name last-name

to LISTSERV -at- UGA -dot- CC -dot- UGA -dot- EDU

You may unsubscribe the same way.

The subscribe and unsuscribe messages should be the only line in the
e-mail message with no subject or signature.

Messages to the list should be sent to

TAA-L -at- UGA -dot- CC -dot- UGA -dot- EDU

My role as moderator is to try to bring interesting issues to the
list and to provoke discussion of emerging issues. Now for those who
are new to lists, I offer a couple of general suggestions for list use
that can help us achieve the list goals of better communication
and sharing of ideas.

Please do not use the list for personal messages - for example
deciding where you and a colleague plan to meet for dinner at an
upcoming conference.

Personal e-mail addressed directly to your colleague will be more
effective and conserve band width.  (Hint:  Your message is probably
personal if it starts with a person's name in the greeting.)

When you respond to a item posted by another on the list, please e-
mail your thoughts to the message originator if your response would
be of little interest to others.  Your response should be posted to
the list if it is of general interest.  Be sure to give your e-mail
address when posting so others know how to respond to you personally
when appropriate.  A good idea here is the use of a signature file if
your system permits.

Please turn off your automatic e-mail response systems.  Since the
list postings will come to you via e-mail, an automatic response
system will e-mail your response back to the list where it is e-
mailed in turn to the entire list membership.

During the next few months, I will post items to the list to
illustrate the type of material that we are asking people to
contribute.  However, I am only doing this to kick things off, so
please join in.

I look forward to hearing from you and getting a chance to share your
ideas. I would like to thank Mark Asman at Bowling Green State for
his help in creating this announcement.

Sincerely,