They went over their goal, turning in 32 CDs by the end of December.

This success represents the joint efforts of the supporters organized by the Pathfinder Reprint Project--more than 200 volunteers in nine countries--and the editors of Pathfinder Press. Unlike many book publishers, Pathfinder strives to keep most of its titles permanently in print. These titles contain the history, lessons, and line of march of the world working-class movement. The Pathfinder Reprint Project was started in 1998 to digitize these titles, to convert them from the old system based on paper galleys and photo negatives to a completely computer-based system.

Of Pathfinder's roughly 350 titles, around 41 percent are now in digital form. This greatly simplifies--and internationalizes--the process of keeping the books and pamphlets in print and available to today's working-class militants. All that is necessary is to mail a CD to a printing company with computer-to-plate equipment, in any country, and the desired title can be produced in the quantity needed.

This gain is all the more substantial because at the same time the Reprint Project volunteers were preparing the 32 books, they took on greatly expanded responsibilities for the production of Pathfinder's new books. In this sense it could be said that the Reprint Project is now slightly misnamed--its volunteers now also handle the text formatting and proofreading of new books as well as other tasks involved in keeping books in print. This has meant putting in place additional quality checks to make sure Pathfinder's high standards of quality are not compromised.

One of the project's new responsibilities is preparing books on CDs that are complete and ready to print from. Janice Prescott, who now heads up this new team, commented on the fact that this was the first month the project had burned 10 CDs in one month.

"Believe it or not, this was the easiest month so far for me, because at last we have a CD-burning team," said Prescott. Referring to other volunteers in different cities, she added, "Bob Braxton learned the ropes of the assignment this month, and we began collaborating with Barb Graham, who burns CDs that involve only graphics. Having a team means the person who burns the CD is not the person who checks it, so we can feel confident that we are giving Pathfinder a better product." The project volunteers' long-term goal is to turn in 10 completed CDs each month.  
 
Increased work in several languages
The Reprint Project has also become increasingly international in the languages it works in. Volunteers are currently preparing books in Spanish, French, and Icelandic, as well as English. Because of the substantial number of working people in the United States who are Spanish-speaking, titles in Spanish have been a part of Pathfinder's arsenal for many years and a part of the Project's work from the beginning.

The French-language titles are a newer component of the Reprint Project's work. Their production has been spurred in part by a step-up of sales in France. Volunteers are currently digitizing the text for a new edition of the French-language version of Che Guevara: Economics and Politics in the Transition to Socialism by Carlos Tablada and a reprint of the French-language Capitalism's World Disorder by Jack Barnes.

Through a recent sales effort, Pathfinder supporters in France placed more than 200 books in Paris bookshops. Five supporters of the publishing house worked together with Michel Prairie, Pathfinder's French-language publications editor in Montreal, who spent the week of the sales campaign in Paris. The retail value of the orders placed in that sales effort totaled $2,900.

Among the 83 titles sold in French were 33 copies of the French-language edition of Capitalism's World Disorder. In addition, three copies of the English edition of this book were sold along with one in Spanish. Along with anticipated sales, these placements so depleted the French-language stock on hand of this title that it has moved to the number one spot on the Reprint Project's priority list. The volunteers plan to have the title ready to reprint in one month.

An Icelandic title being prepared is The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning: The Fraud of Education Reform under Capitalism by Jack Barnes. Working in Icelandic has presented special challenges in hyphenation and proofreading.

The bulk of the work by the volunteers, however, remains digitizing Pathfinder's books that have been in print. The successful production campaign significantly increased the rate of converting Pathfinder's books into digital form. Understanding History by George Novack was the 32nd book turned in, representing a rate increase from 4.25 digitized books per month–in the months leading up to August 1--to 6.4 per month. At the Active Workers Conference, where the goal of 30 by January 1 was set, Reprint Project volunteers also decided on a goal beginning with the new year: more than 50 percent in print by May Day. That's the next challenge.

For more information about the Reprint Project or to volunteer to work on it, contact Ruth Cheney at ruthchen@pacbell.net.
 
 
Related article:
Volunteers advance Pathfinder distribution  
 
 
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