Publisher’s Print Catalogues – Who needs ’em?

It is that time of year again. The leaves are dropping and SBL is fast approaching. That means that my mailbox is full of catalogues from various academic and religious book publishers trying to get me to consider their texts, purchase their books, or come by their booths in Atlanta. With all of the discussion regarding sustainability and electronic publishing (not to mention the current economic situation) you would think that publishers would have moved from pulped trees to bits and bytes.

So here is my call and plea: Publishers, save yourselves money and make searching your catalogues easer for me, email me a relevant announcement with links to a good, searchable website. If I decide to delete your email, fine, but it saves me having to recycle your waste and I am far more likely to actually consider its contents. Call it stewardship or good business practice, but I think it is about time.