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Library and Information Science
in the Middle East and North Africa
Global Studies in Libraries
and Information
Edited by Ian M. Johnson
Editorial Board
Johannes Britz (South Africa/U.S.A)
Barbara Ford (U.S.A.)
Peter Lor (South Africa)
Kay Raseroka (Botswana)
Abdus Sattar Chaudry (Pakistan/Kuwait)
Kerry Smith (Australia)
Anna Maria Tammaro (Italy)
Volume 3
Library and Information
Science in the Middle
East and North Africa
Edited by Amanda B. Click, Sumayya Ahmed,
Jacob Hill, and John D. Martin III
ISBN 978-3-11-034172-0
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-034178-2
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-039641-6
ISSN 2195-0199
www.degruyter.com
About IFLA
www.ifla.org
Amanda B. Click
Introduction XI
Christof Galli
1 Arab Book Publishing 1
Sumayya Ahmed
2 For a Morocco that Reads: The Crisis of Reading and Recent Initiatives
to Revive Libraries and Reading in Morocco 28
Samir Hachani
3 A Bird’s Eye View of Two Open Access Experiences in Algeria: CERIST’s
Webreview and Dépôt numérique de l’Université d’Alger I 46
Anaïs Salamon
4 Academic Librarianship and Coercion: A Case Study in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories 63
Janet Martin
7 Aligning Library Services to the Emerging Online Capability
of Emirati Students 138
Patricia A. Wand
8 Correlating Information Centers to Emerging Knowledge-based
Economies 156
Blake Robinson
11 Addressing Bias in the Cataloging and Classification of Arabic and
Islamic Materials: Approaches from Domain Analysis 255
Walid Ghali
13 The State of Manuscript Digitization Projects in Some Egyptian
Libraries and Their Challenges 302
Contributors 319
Index 325
List of Tables, Figures, and Appendices
Table 1.1 Number of records for books in Middle Eastern languages from
OCLC/WorldCat, –
Table 1.2 Reading habits of Arab publics
Table 1.3 National book production, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt,
–
Table 1.4 National book production, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia,
–
Table 1.5 Percentages of Dewey subject classes of legal deposit totals in
Tunisia, –
Table 1.6 Number of publishers in selected Arab countries,
Table 1.7 Book pricing ranges, selected categories
Table 1.8 Membership of Arab States in international copyright
treaties
Table 1.9 Arab states’ IDI rankings and values,
Table 1.10 IT Indicators for Arab countries
Table 3.1 World Internet usage and population statistics from Internet
World Stats
Table 3.2 Ratio of open access articles in each journal in Webreview
Table 4.1 Library, date of foundation, and location
Table 4.2 Collections, floor area, staff, and number of students
Table 4.3 Geographical mobility and job stability
Table 4.4 Gender repartition
Table 4.5 Degree(s) earned and position held
Table 4.6 Academic trajectory of Palestinian library professionals
Table 4.7 Daily tasks and duties, and position held
Table 8.1 Knowledge Economy Index (KEI) for eight Gulf countries,
comparing and
Table 8.2 Number of information centers (libraries and museums), Gulf
Countries
Table 8.3 Number of persons per information center, Gulf Countries
Table 8.4 Comparing Gulf Countries to select Western knowledge-based
economies regarding the number of people per information
center
Table 9.1 LIS programs in the Arab States offering at least a bachelor’s
degree in the field
Table 10.1 All journal titles included in the systematic review
X List of Tables, Figures, and Appendices
Daniel, Lokman Meho, and Barbara Moran, provides in-depth information about
LIS education by sub-region. The authors note that remarkable growth has
taken place since LIS education became widespread in MENA fewer than fifty
years ago. The chapter includes historical detail and a comprehensive list of the
LIS programs that offer at least a bachelor’s degree. Jordan Scepanski and Yaşar
Tonta explore library collaboration, including consortia, associations, and other
institutions and organizations that promote library cooperation. Collecting data
via literature review, personal communications, and online questionnaires, the
authors were able to compile a directory of LIS consortia, associations, and
other organizations in MENA.
Other chapters use country case studies to explore the state of LIS in the
region, including topics such as information literacy, knowledge-based economies,
manuscript digitization, and open access. Editor Sumayya Ahmed tackles the
“crisis of reading” in Morocco, and describes several organizations and programs
designed to promote reading. She points out that reading in public is not a
common activity in Moroccan culture and these inspired initiatives strive to change
this perception, focusing on populations including children in rural areas and
urban commuters on public transportation. “Information Literacy in the Middle
East: A Case Study of the American University in Cairo and the American University
of Sharjah,” by Meggan Houlihan, Christine Furno, and Jayme Spencer, outlines
the development of information literacy programs at two respected American-style
universities in the Middle East. These programs might serve as models for other
regional universities wishing to implement or improve information literacy training
in their libraries. Daphne Flanagan and Frieda Wiebe’s “American-style Academic
Libraries in the Gulf Region” provides a detailed exploration of both branch
campuses of U.S. universities, and private universities accredited by U.S. agencies.
The chapter includes information about universities and libraries in Qatar, the
United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, countries in which this education model
has become particularly popular. Patricia Wand’s chapter on information centers
and knowledge-based economies focuses on the Gulf countries as well. Following a
discussion of the foundations of knowledge-based economies, she makes the
connection to information centers and uses this framework to consider the current
situations in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates and Yemen. In “A Bird’s Eye View of Two Open Access Experiences in
Algeria: CERIST’s Webreview and Dépôt numérique de l’Université d’Alger I,”
Samir Hachani gives an overview of open access with an emphasis on issues in the
developing world. The chapter includes detailed information about two open
access initiatives in Algeria. Based on his own experiences and a survey of local
experts, Walid Ghali covers manuscript digitization projects in Egyptian libraries.
Introduction XIII
The chapter discusses bibliographic and image databases, manuscript portals, and
specific projects at institutions like Al Azhar Mosque and Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
This volume contains original research on topics as varied as the overall
state of recent LIS research in MENA, and the use of digital technologies
by Emirati students. Josiah Drewry, Mahmoud Khalifa, and I conducted a
systematic review of the LIS literature to explore the research conducted about
MENA, and by authors affiliated with institutions in the region. The study
revealed interesting issues related to language, author collaboration, and the
effects of political and social upheaval on research. Anaïs Salamon surveyed
academic library professionals working in the occupied Palestinian Territories.
Her chapter, “Academic Librarianship and Coercion: A Case Study in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories,” profiles Palestinian academic library staff and
explores the impact of the occupation on academic libraries and librarianship.
“Aligning Library Services to the Emerging Online Capability of Emirati
Students,” based on Janet Martin’s doctoral thesis research, looks at the extent
to which Emirati students use digital technologies and how skillful and
confident they are in the use of these technologies. Martin shares her findings
and outlines the implications for library services. Blake Robinson’s chapter
provides a thorough analysis of bias in the cataloging and classification of
Arabic and Islamic materials. He discusses Edward Said’s Orientalism and Sanford
Berman’s Prejudices and Antipathies, and offers Birger Hjørland’s theory of
domain analysis as a framework in which to address bias.
We hope that LIS educators and practitioners from an Arabic cataloger in
Toronto to a LIS professor in Tunis will find something of value in Library and
Information Science in the Middle East and North Africa, but this volume will also
provide new insights for anyone throughout the world who has an interest in
how this dynamic region is developing.
Christof Galli
1 Arab Book Publishing
Introduction
In a 1975 article in MELA Notes, David Partington, then Middle East librarian at
Harvard College, attempted to estimate the number of publications produced
in the Middle East (all the Arabic-speaking countries and Turkey, Iran, and
Afghanistan). In one of his tabulations (Partington, 1975, p. 17) he estimated
that an average of “about 30 percent of total Middle Eastern production is in
subjects outside of a liberal collecting policy. By liberal collecting policy I mean
most of the books in literature, linguistics, humanities, and the social science
works applicable to the native countries” (Partington, 1975, p. 15). He “regard[s
as] ‘non-collectable’ subjects: generalities, trade, transport, mathematics, natural
sciences, medical sciences, industries, agriculture, domestic science, commercial
techniques, games & sports” (p. 15).
Today, very few collection policies for academic libraries, especially not at a
tier – one research institution like Harvard, would systematically exclude materials
in these fields from their Middle East collections. Whereas area studies, during the
first two thirds of the twentieth century, became a way to support the “universali-
zation of the social sciences” by providing “concrete data to bear on generalization
and theory” (Mitchell, 2004, p. 85), paradigmatic shifts which occurred under the
influence of poststructuralist and postcolonial theoretical developments have
increasingly eroded these disciplinary strictures and limitations. The goal is a
reconfigured and “re-envisaged, cosmopolitan area studies that seeks to provincia-
lize universal western knowledge claims to become more inclusive of, as well
as relevant to, the concerns of people in the majority world” (Hörschelmann &
Stenning, 2008, p. 355). This approach has triggered increased demand for the
acquisition of a broader thematic palette of published materials from the Global
South, and consequently, the Arab Middle East, in order to document and make
accessible the cultural and scientific output of this region. The scope of this
endeavor clearly goes beyond the above-mentioned “liberal collecting policy” of
40 years ago to include publications covering the whole gamut of life experience
reflected in the published output. Hazen (2009) writes of today’s scholarship:
Amid these trends, which apply closely to the field of Middle Eastern studies,
librarians will have to find ways, financial restrictions notwithstanding, to
acquire materials to build research-level collections of materials from markets
such as the Arabic publishing arena, which ranges from the Arabian Peninsula
to the western reaches of North Africa. To live up to the challenge of efficiently
capturing the materials to ‘feed’ the emerging methodological trends in scholar-
ship and teaching, we have to understand the workings of the regional book
publishing and distribution sector.
Previous studies have examined Arab publishing from the perspective of
libraries with the intent to determine at which level relevant materials of the
available output from the region was to be acquired. Hopwood (1972) and Par-
tington (1975) both found that production of “collectable” materials was increas-
ing and that budgets should be increased to acquire more comprehensively from
all countries in the Middle East. Hirsch (2007) notes the emergence of varying
levels of need for core collections which address immediate curricular and
instructional requirements on the one hand and for research collections which
are geared towards long-term, primary-source-oriented faculty- and graduate-
level research on the other hand.
Reflecting sustained scholarly and policy interest in the Middle East both
pre- and post-September 11, 2001, Arabic book holdings in U.S. libraries have
doubled between 1992 and 2007 (see Table 1.1). Even so, in 2007, the number of
books from Arab countries was about half of those from regions with compar-
able populations (200–600 million): about one eighth from Western Europe
(even excluding those from the United Kingdom); 40% of Eastern Europe; and
about half of Latin America. Arabic books slightly exceeded those from South-
east Asia and their number was about twice as high as the one for books from
Sub-Saharan Africa (Kurzman, 2014).
Tab. .: Number of records for books in Middle Eastern languages from OCLC/WorldCat,
– (Kurzman, ).
1 Lewis et al. (2014) give a total of 273 million speakers. Internet World Stats (2014) gives
379 million.
4 Christof Galli
of tweets in Arabic and originating in the Arab world increased from 62.1% in 2012
to 75% in 2014 in the Arab region, and postings on Facebook and the use its
Arabic interface is on the rise (Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government
[MBRSG] 2012, 2014a). Arabic, then, continues to function as a major world lan-
guage, and the Arab book markets with their base in more than 300 million speak-
ers has enormous potential for both print and digital publications.
Reading
Awareness of socio-economic and educational indicators and behaviors help in
determining the parameters of the market which librarians have to probe in
order to cover the areas and subjects in which relevant societal discourses take
place, thereby allowing for successful documentation of cultural and scientific
output of Arab societies. Furthermore, reader behavior and attitudes are of inter-
est to publishers and help them shape their programming and marketing strate-
gies. Two such indicators are literacy, and, closely related, reading behavior.
Low literacy rates have been a scourge in the region for many years and progress
in remediating the situation has been difficult. At the beginning of the 21st
century, there were “over 70 million illiterates out of a population of 280 million”
in the Arab region, and this is the situation even after a concerted effort which
reduced illiteracy from 48.7% in 1990 to 38.5% in 2000 (UNESCO-Beirut, 2003,
p. 12). For 2015, UNESCO projects a 79.2% combined male/female literacy rate for
the Arab States, leaving an illiterate adult population (15 years+) of 47.6 million,
66.8% of which are female (UNESCO, 2013, pp. 27–28).
The reading habits of literate populations have only been studied scantily
(see Table 1.2). The unprovable claim (Caldwell, 2012) that Arabs read “6 minutes
a year,” spread by, among others, the Arab Thought Foundation (Arab Thought
Foundation, 2011, p. 500) is hardly a ‘real’ measure for the reading habits of a
300-million-people public. A recent survey by the NextPage Foundation presents
a more detailed and richer (but not an entirely reliable or clear) picture of the
reading public in Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Morocco (NextPage,
2007a) and Algeria, Jordan, Palestine, and Syria (NextPage, 2007b). Both surveys
focus on literate adults aged 15–65 in a variety of socio-economic groups. The
survey has found that, with the exception of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, a larger
share than expected of literate people do not read (Harabi, 2007, p. 14). In addi-
tion, any readers read for only an hour a day or less, reading is limited to school
without aiming to turn pupils into life-long readers, and once they complete
school, adults stop reading at age 19 or earlier and often do not read significantly
again (Harabi, 2007, p. 14).
1 Arab Book Publishing 5
The findings indicate that solid portions of surveyed readers read books,
albeit to a lesser degree than newspapers and magazines which serve as source
for information on current events, politics, and news (NextPage, 2007a, 2007b).
The preferred reading language is Arabic for books and serials. Saudi and Egyp-
tian readers indicated that they equally liked Arabic for reading books and
reading online; Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian readers indicated their pre-
ference for French when reading online whereas Lebanese readers preferred
English for online reading. English is the second most read language in Syria,
Jordan and Palestine, an activity mostly undertaken with the goal of improving
language competency. Readers in Lebanon, Tunisia, and Morocco indicated a
higher incidence of reading French books than other countries. The majority of
book-readers are interested in (Islamic) devotional literature (Qur’an, tafsir,
sirah, etc.), but also in literature. Responses indicate that a majority of readers
who bought books during the 12 months preceding the survey did not purchase
translated titles. Surprisingly, a relatively small portion of surveyed readers
attend book fairs. One cannot help but note the rather narrow spectrum of
reading preferences mentioned by survey participants. One commentator of the
survey attributes this paucity of topics to a poor variety in the supply of titles
from other Arab countries caused by lack of trade in publishing rights between
Arab publishers, high tariffs, and distribution problems (Habeeb n.d.). A second
commentator notes the same narrow range of interests and similarly attributes
it, on the one hand, to insufficient variety in the supply and marketing strategies
of Arab publishers, but also, on the other hand, to lack in broad-based literacy
(Wile n.d., p. 16).
No single source validates these figures independently. The ISBN system might
constitute one way of gathering more precise publishing statistics. The legal
deposit registries in several countries are another possible source of information.
Unfortunately, the implementation of and adherence to the ISBN numbering
system varies widely from country to country. Although acquiring ISBN numbers
is free in most Arab countries, the limited scope for distribution and high shares
of direct sales cause many publishers to see ISBNs as superfluous because they
do not produce any significant advantage for the publisher. The absence of an
ISBN, which would help with large-scale categorization and market assessment,
also makes cross-border book distribution difficult. Furthermore, the lack of sys-
tematic ISBN numbering impedes the creation of a unified, functioning book dis-
tribution system (Eschweiler & Goehler, 2010, pp. 196–197). Some publishers shun
1 Arab Book Publishing 7
ISBNs because they fear that increased market transparency could “facilitate the
control of official entities over the flow of books and the publishing business in
the Arab world” (Eschweiler & Goehler, 2010, p. 197). Especially in countries with
strict censorship regimes, ISBN numbers are often only issued after the books
have been scrutinized and approved (Al Qasimi, 2011, p. 339). Some local book
distributors have developed their own, often competing and incoherent, coding
systems, but overall these attempts have created additional complications and
cannot serve as a trusted basis for the intra- and inter-country trade of Arabic
books (Eschweiler & Goehler, 2010, p. 197) or the creation of a supra-national or
regional book tracking system.
National Depositories
Several countries in the region have legal deposit regulations which could serve
as a source for data on publishing in the respective country. While only a small
number of countries have consistently collected deposited materials and pub-
lished the bibliographies, they do provide a source of reliable statistical informa-
tion for parts of the Arab World. Tab. 1.3 summarizes figures which were obtained
directly from the countries’ culture ministries’ agencies which monitor publishing
or oversee the legal deposit organizations.
Tab. .: National book production, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, –.²
Three North African countries, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco have legal deposit
regulations (Lajeunesse & Sène, 2004). Morocco and Tunisia have published
their national bibliographies consistently and have made them accessible, albeit
in different form and to a different extent, on the Web portals of their national
2 Figures collected by Salah Chebaro, CEO of neelwafurat, obtained from Dr. Ruediger Wischen-
bart in personal communication, 9 September 2014
3 U.A.E. numbers (Wischenbart, 2012a)
8 Christof Galli
Tab. .: National book production, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, – (DKWT ,
a, f, ; Algerian National Library, N.D.; BNRM ).
Algeria–Arabic – , –
Algeria–Other – –
Morocco–Arabic , ,
Morocco–Other
Tunisia–Arabic ,
Tunisia–Other
4 Morocco ; searches were conducted in the Bibliographie nationale segment of the database
using ‘year-of-publication’ AND Fascicule=tout AND Langue (‘Arabe’ and combined ‘Français/
Anglais/Espagnol’): http://opac.bnrm.ma:8000/cgi-bin/gw_2011_1_4_4/chameleon?sessionid=
2014090800350518409&skin=bnrm&lng=fr&inst=consortium&function=EXTERNAL_CONTENT&
externalurl=http%3a%2f%2fopac.bnrm.ma%3a8000%2fgw_2011_1_4_4%2fhtml%2fbnrm%2ffr%
2fsearch_screens%2fsearch_screen_bibliography_form.html
5 Tunisia: http://www.bibliotheque.nat.tn/channels/espace-professionnel/bibliographie-natio-
nale/27/0.html ; individual files for annual national bibliography compilations contain summary
tables.
6 Algeria: http://www.biblionat.dz/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=143:
2011-03-01-18-47-48&Itemid=126
1 Arab Book Publishing 9
Tab. .: Percentages of Dewey subject classes of legal deposit totals in Tunisia, –
(DKWT , a, f, ).
Studies have shown that, throughout the Arab world, religious books constitute
17% of all books published in Arab countries, compared to about 5% worldwide.
This has been attributed to subsidies from mosques and pious foundations that
may promote their production and make them more affordable for low-income
readers (Schwartz et al. 2009, p. 8).
The second-highest sellers are novels, with original titles selling better than
translations. Third-best are children’s books with educational, non-fiction content.
Lebanese children’s books sell well in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, but
not in North Africa where, at an average price of $4 per copy, children’s books are
too expensive for most residents. Largest sales are to educational institutions
(e.g., schools, ministries), and original publications are preferred over transla-
tions. Cookbooks and original astrology sell well also. Numbers for translated self-
help books are on the rise (Abou-Zeid, 2014, pp. 100–101).
Translations
The dearth of statistics makes it difficult to provide a clear picture of the current
state of Arabic translation activities in the Arab world. However, the statistics
which exist indicate that Arabic translations of foreign language books consti-
tute a small portion of the publishing output in the region. A 2007 mostly attitudi-
nal survey of publishers and translators in five Arab countries (Egypt, Lebanon,
Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria) examined the production of, and demand for,
translations in the countries in the survey as well as the industries and corporate
and public strategies and policies related to translation activities (Harabi, 2007,
p. 6). A lack of qualified translators in four of the surveyed countries is one main
reason for a sparse output of translations. Of the five countries, only Lebanon has
institutions of higher learning which offer translation degrees, among them
St. Joseph University and the Lebanese University which have separate schools for
translation studies (Harabi, 2007, p. 52). Morocco is home to the École Supérieure
Roi Fahd de Traduction in Tangier which offers complete translation training.
In addition, some professional associations have started to address the formation
of specialized translators (Harabi, 2007, 75, p. 84). On the other hand, Morocco
lacks up-to-date publishing equipment, and public financial support and private
funding are sparse (Harabi, 2009, p. 210). In Egypt, there is no scarcity of transla-
tors, but there is a significant lack of quality and absence of specialization (Harabi,
2007, pp. 29–30). Deterioration of Egypt’s system of higher and professional educa-
tion has led to a situation where the profession of translator has become “a job
without clear criteria” (Harabi, 2007, p. 32). Translations produced in Lebanon are
generally considered as being of superior quality (Harabi, 2007, p. 42).
In most countries, private publishers decide what translations get marketed.
The weak state of the Arabic translation industry is also attributed to weak
domestic demand in all the surveyed countries except Saudi Arabia (Harabi,
2009, p. 211). In Saudi Arabia, many institutions of the public sector as well as
financial, commercial and health-related entities produce documentation in
English but need to translate it into Arabic to be able to maintain effective com-
munication with the public. Since the language of instruction in Saudi universi-
ties for the natural sciences, medicine, and engineering is English, these sub-
jects need very little Arabic translation. Subjects like accounting, economics, law,
and agriculture are taught in Arabic and thus require more Arabic translation
(Harabi, 2007, p. 103). In Lebanon, the government does not have a program to
foster or promote the translation of foreign works. In several countries, cultural
centers of foreign countries fund translations of works by authors from their coun-
tries. In Lebanon, for instance, the French Cultural Center promotes translations
as part of its Programme d’Aide à la Publication (PAP) (Harabi, 2007, p. 48). In
Morocco, French, German, and American and other cultural centers promote and
sponsor novels and other books from their respective countries for translation into
Arabic, a practice, which according to experts interviewed for the survey, might
be considered a “form of post-colonialism” [sic] as the decision about what to
1 Arab Book Publishing 11
publish is not sufficiently democratic (Harabi, 2007, p. 81). The French Cultural
Center also subsidizes 6–7 translations per year in Syria (Harabi, 2007, p. 148),
empirically selecting titles designated by local publishers and educational institu-
tions⁸ (Harabi, 2007, p. 154). In Morocco, the decision about what to translate is
often taken by researchers and authors (Harabi, 2007, p. 81). It is noteworthy
that in Morocco, during the period for which the researchers gathered data
(1980–2002), about one third of all translations are of works written by authors of
Moroccan origin. This is attributed to the fact that many Moroccan writers writing
in French live in France and, if successful, target the readership in their country of
origin with an Arabic translation (Harabi, 2007, p. 77). In Saudi Arabia, commer-
cial publishers as well as public institutions and non-profits produce translations.
The publishing of Arabic translations in Saudi Arabia is highly concentrated
among private publishers (Obeikan Bookshop, Mars Publishing House, Jarir, and
Knowledge for Humanities Development) with 600 books between 1992–2004;
and two public sector publishers, King Saud University and the Institute of Public
Administration with 157 books during the same period (Harabi, 2007, p. 124).
Whereas Arabic translation activities are often geared towards the domestic market,
publishers in Egypt or Lebanon especially target foreign markets, particularly the
Gulf economies. In all countries, the highest share of translations occurs in subjects
like history, politics, and religion (Islam). Only in Morocco does the highest number
(about 25%) of translations falls to literary works (Harabi, 2007, p. 78).
In Lebanon, publishers usually acquire world Arabic rights for a title together
with the digital rights. Royalties for translated titles are between 5–8% of the local
retail price (children’s books 5%–6%). The seller of the rights obtains the royalties
of the first print run as an advance. E-book rights for the translation are 25% of the
retail price (Abou-Zeid, 2014, p. 102).
Scientific Publishing
The establishment of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
(KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, Education City in Qatar with campuses of several major
US universities, and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Initiative have changed the context for
science research in the Arab Middle East. A research report by Thomson Reuters
(Adams et al. 2011) studies a group of countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Iran,
Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, UAE,
8 Since this survey was conducted before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, this practice may
no longer be applied today. Ay data cited here about Syria may just serve historical purposes.
12 Christof Galli
and Yemen. These countries increased their scientific publication output from less
than 2% to more than 4% of the Thomson Reuters-indexed output between 2000
and 2009. Total world output indexed in the same source increased from 760,000
to 1.16m publications in the same period. During this period the output of the
Middle Eastern group was growing faster than the one of the Asia-Pacific group. A
more recent tally which examined the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
shows that Qatar has increased its output from 41 articles in 2000 to 576 in 2012
(The Royal Society, 2014). By comparison, Iran published 1,343 articles in 2000
and 23,885 in 2012; Turkey netted 24,562 publications in 2012. In comparison,
global output indexed by Thomson Reuters increased from 931,000 in 2000 to
1.27 million. Within the OIC, Iran, Turkey, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and
Pakistan account for 77% of articles published in this group.
If we compare the impact of the region’s publications in all fields as mea-
sured by Thomson Reuters’ calculations⁹ we find that none of them reaches
parity with what would be considered the global top 1% for 2000–2009: Iran
reaches .48%, Turkey .37%, Jordan .28%, Egypt .26% and Saudi Arabia .25%. Only
in the field of mathematics do Iran (1.7%), Saudi Arabia (1.5%), Jordan (1.5%), and
Egypt (1%) reach or surpass this threshold. In engineering, Turkey (1.5%) and Iran
(1.3%) produced significantly cited output. The recent Royal Society study indi-
cates that in 2012, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia had impact factors of 1.05% and
.95% respectively, thus leading the way in OIC before Indonesia with .91% but
below the world average of 1.23% (The Royal Society, 2014). Lebanon’s score may
be reflective of the fact that smaller countries engage in more internationally colla-
borative research ventures whose output gets cited more frequently.
Distribution
Most titles are produced in print runs of 1,000–3,000 copies (Abou-Zeid, 2013,
p. 2). In Jordan, publishers release between 10–20 titles per year with runs of
1,000 copies. About 3,000 new trade titles are released in Lebanon every year
with print runs of 1,000–3,000 copies, rarely 5,000 for some expected best-
sellers. In the Lebanese book industry, local sales represent only 10% of the
total production. Lebanon and Egypt produce together about 80% of the total of
Arabic books published annually in the Arab world.
9 Publications which rank in the top 1% by citations for their field and year of publication are
considered ‘highly cited’ (Adams et al. 2011)
1 Arab Book Publishing 13
Tab. .: Number of publishers in selected Arab countries, (Ittihad al-Nashirin al-Arab, ).
Small print runs are the result of one of the Arab publishing arena’s greatest
challenges: the lack of a uniform book distribution system. A 2005 study ana-
lyzed the reach and size of 150 print titles on various topics by well-known and
little known authors in the Egyptian book market. This study found that the top
10% of the titles got distributed widely and could be located at most points-of-
sale; the bottom 10% of the titles could not be located anywhere in the market;
the remaining 80% were only available within a 5 kilometer radius of the pub-
lisher’s domicile or the author’s home (Al Qasimi, 2011).
International book distribution in the Arab Middle East takes place in a
highly fractured commercial environment, and has none of the advantages of a
unified market. Different tax codes in each country, varying shipping methods,
and widely differing demand in the regions of this wide-ranging market make it
impossible to develop an infrastructure which would allow for the effective dif-
fusion of books through one distributor. Rather, there are publishers and distri-
butors operating in every national market. Publishers who sell their books in
several countries have to employ individual distributors in every market. This
lack of distribution infrastructure also has disadvantageous effects for authors
who publish their books in their own country. These books often do not reach
other markets. (Schwartz et al. 2009, pp. 11–15). This continuing lack of an effec-
tive distribution system is seen as a result of the poor performance of the Arab
book market. Since book prices remain low, they are offered with little “retailing
finesse” and often arrive in poor condition. Due to low prices, authors’ incomes
are low and publishers’ profit margin is slim. Low prices also reflect limited
buying power. Publishers have little room for capturing margins and re-investing
in retailing value added. As a result, book industry participants tend to use short-
cuts where possible to save transaction costs. Publishers form mutual agreements
14 Christof Galli
for distribution of their titles, taking over, in many cases, assortments from part-
nering publishers. Small retailers buy directly from publishers or authors from
whom they can obtain better discounts (Eschweiler & Goehler, 2010, p. 196).
Drawing a distinction between publishers, distributors and retailers becomes
impossible. The only publishers with strong export connections to other countries
in the region are from the Levant, with those from Lebanon in the lead, followed
by those from Syria and Jordan (Eschweiler & Goehler, 2010, p. 199).
Distribution to end-users is equally problematic. Largely limited to urban
areas, bookstores are scarce and unevenly distributed in the Arab world. There
is no “reasonable relationship between the degree of urbanization and rural
book sales: Even in countries where large portions of the population still live
outside big cities, the availability of books is limited to metro areas” (Eschweiler
& Goehler, 2010, p. 197). Although telecommunications infrastructures in many
Arab countries are equipped for online retailing, book sales over the Internet are
very low. Credit cards are not widely available and the public’s resistance to
e-commerce hinder significant developments of online distribution. Neelwafurat,
one of the leading e-commerce bookshops, handles only about 6,000 orders per
year which do not add up to a critical mass (Escheweiler & Goehler, 2010, p. 200).
Bookstores in urban areas can be divided into three main categories:
– International retail chains (e.g. Virgin, W.H. Smith): Type I
– National chain store (e.g. Jarir, Mutanabbi): Type II
– Small, family-owned bookstores: Type III (Eschweiler & Goehler, 2010, p. 198)
In Type I stores, books are only one of many types of products sold as part of
a whole spectrum of entertainment products. Many books for sale in chain
stores are in English. A limited assortment of Arabic books in the categories of
self-help, political literature, fiction, and children’s books are also available.
The market-leader Type II bookstore, Jarir in Saudi Arabia, evolved from a
stand-alone store to a chain with multiple sales outlets. Jarir also publishes its
own titles and, if successful, exports them. However, other Type II bookstores,
according to a recent study, often carry relative high debt (Eschweiler & Goehler,
2010, p. 198). Type III, family-owned and operated bookstores, typically suffer
most from inadequate book distribution because they end up with large stocks of
unsold books and cannot get access to new and trendy issues in a timely manner
because distribution channels are non-existent (Eschweiler & Goehler, 2010,
p. 198). The only market with a relatively satisfactory bookstore network is
Lebanon. One study finds 40 point-of-sales in Lebanon which specialize in
books or cultural goods and about 100 point-of-sales with a separate book
department. A second study counts 321, however this figure includes stores
which, besides books, also sell stationary, electronics, etc. (Abou-Zeid, 2014,
1 Arab Book Publishing 15
p. 96). In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Bahrain has five book-
stores, Saudi Arabia about 100 small point-of-sales and three chain stores, Kuwait
seven bookshops, Oman three, Qatar five, and UAE about 60 small units and 3
chain stores (Abou-Zeid, 2013). Many of these stores also offer foreign-language
books, often in much larger numbers than Arabic books (Abou-Zeid, 2013).
Confronted with a fractured regional legal environment, the absence of a “pan-
Arab distribution infrastructure,” and insufficient retail outlets, publishers are
hard-pressed to identify different distribution channels in every national market if
they want to sell their books outside their home country. Book fairs have proved to
be the only efficient way to distribute and market books in the Arab world (Eschwei-
ler & Goehler, 2010, p. 197). The fairs constitute a market place where publishers
can meet local booksellers, collect their orders, and, in addition, directly sell their
books to schools, libraries, and the public. For individual buyers, book fairs repre-
sent the most efficient way to buy books in the absence of bookshops in their local
settings. In addition, publishers may offer a broader set of titles because books can
reach the fairs without passing through the hands of the censor (e.g., in the GCC).
Pricing
Book prices in all Arab markets are below the average for more developed markets
(see Table 1.7 for selected pricing ranges). Publishers will multiply their production
costs by 6 or 7 to determine the selling price. Books in more developed markets sell
at 8–10 times the production costs (Abou-Zeid, 2013). Market studies attribute low
Arab book prices to three factors:
– Low-interest commodity status: “Due to inefficient and high-cost distribu-
tion structures books are doomed to become low-interest items,” often
delivered in “poor product condition” and “with little retailing finesse”
(Eschweiler & Goehler, 2010, p. 195). Prices are 60%–70% lower than in
more developed economies where the average price is estimated at $17
(Eschweiler & Goehler, 2010, p. 195).
– Low purchasing power: Low prices also reflect low purchasing power;
higher-priced books would exceed affordability in even larger segments of
the regional population.
– Piracy: Piracy affects book prices because if book prices are too high, pirat-
ing becomes more likely.
Low prices and attempts to keep production costs low lead to economize on
editorial expenses. Arab publishers in general cannot afford the salaries for
qualified book editors and traditionally have not reviewed submitted texts to
16 Christof Galli
Tab. .: Book pricing ranges, selected categories (Abou-Zeid, , p. ).
Type Price
Censorship
Censorship is exercised for moral, religious and political reasons throughout the
Arab World. Arab censors can impact the trajectory of a publication at its origin
by impeding its printing, by banning it and preventing its distribution, or by
blocking it from entering a country. In many countries, books have to be sub-
mitted to the censorship authority before they are printed (Abou-Zeid, 2013).
Sexual impropriety is a frequent reason for banning a book. In the case of Salwa
Nu’aymi’s Burhan al-asal,¹⁰ an advance review in the press caused it to be
banned from several Middle Eastern book fairs without the censors having seen
it (Schwartz et al. 2009, p. 4). Religious authorities, such as al-Azhar in Egypt,
sometimes recommends books to be banned (Schwartz et al. 2009, p. 4). Saudi
Arabia and Kuwait implement strict censorship regimes, and on various occa-
sions have banned significant portions of publishers’ output from being exhib-
ited at the Riyadh and Kuwait book fairs (Schwartz et al. 2009, p. 5).
10 The narrator of the novel (translated into English as The Proof of the Honey) interweaves folk-
tales, personal memories, and stories from friends into an exploration of female sexuality,
desire, and love in the context of Arab culture and society.
1 Arab Book Publishing 17
Coping with censorship can take three forms: the publisher accepts that a
work is banned in certain markets; the publishers attempt to modify sensitive
details in the book; or the publisher rejects publication of the work outright.
Lebanese publishers tend to take the risk of censorship with works of famous
authors, knowing that if the book is banned in one market it will sell more copies
in another. With less-known or new authors, and with common titles, they might
suggest modifications but give the author the final say. Lebanese publishers
also cannot ignore the strict censorship regimes imposed in their major markets,
especially in Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries. The existence of different
censorship regulations forces Lebanese publishers to heed a variety of criteria
if they want to introduce their publications in other Arab countries. Further com-
plicating this issue is the fact that censorship criteria are rarely clearly set. A
special case is children’s literature. With its 28 million people, Saudi Arabia
represents one of the most important markets for this genre. To avoid losing this
market, publishers exclude from their publications any content that could lead to
a ban in Saudi Arabia, even if the content is allowed or relevant in Lebanon
(Abou-Zeid 2013).
Lebanese publishers do not submit to censorship review before publishing,
but printed books with sensitive political content that is perceived to potentially
raise sectarian tensions may subsequently be banned.
Algeria Signed April , August , April , Observer –
Bahrain Signed March , – January , January , December ,
Egypt – June , – – June , –
Iraq Signed n/a – – Observer –
Jordan Signed July , – – April , April ,
Kuwait Signed December , – – January , –
(continued)
18 Christof Galli
Most Arab countries have signed the Arab Convention for the Protection of
Copyright, which was ratified by the conference of Arab Ministers of Cultural
Affairs in Baghdad in 1981. The Convention’s goal was to create a “unified Arab
system of copyright protection” (Houissa, 2014, p. 295). Granting a general copy-
right protection over the duration of the author’s life plus 50 years after the
author’s death, the Arab Convention contains commonly stipulated principles
and rules found in international treaties, but leaves three major determinants
to the member states’ national laws:
– The copyright registration rules;
– the criminal penalties for infringement; and
– the protection of the rights of national authors against infringement in their
own countries.
Many Arab states have a viable legal framework in place to effectively prosecute
copyright infringement (for a detailed listing of national copyright legislation,
see Houissa, 2014, p. 305), a fact borne out by an increasing number of cases
and precedents (Houissa, 2014, p. 297). See Table 1.8 for summary of copyright
legislation in Arab countries.
1 Arab Book Publishing 19
Most Arab states have become parties of the Berne Convention for the Pro-
tection of Literary and Artistic Works (Berne Convention). In addition, many
countries in the region have joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) and
consequently are under obligation to shape their copyright laws such that they
conform to international standards (Harabi, 2009, p. 213). Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which introduced intellectual property
rights into the international trading system in 1994, integrates all aspects of the
Berne Convention and adds enforcement mechanisms through trade sanctions
if national laws fail to address intellectual property and copyright protection
adequately or if they vary too much from the minimum standards laid down by
the Berne Convention and TRIPS (Kevin Smith, email to author, 12 September
2014).¹¹ The Universal Copyright Convention (UCC) was developed by UNESCO
in 1952 (revised 1971, effective 1974) as an alternative to the Berne Convention.
The Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phono-
grams and Broadcasting Organizations (effective 1961) aims to protect works
produced with new audiovisual technologies. Lastly, the World Intellectual
Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WIPO) (adopted 1996, effective 2002)
provides additional protections for works involving information technologies
such as computer code, databases, etc. (Houissa, 2014, pp. 295–296).
Despite this evolving judicial framework, piracy remains an endemic problem
affecting the viability and development of the Arab book publishing sector.
Although the loss of revenue because of piracy is not clearly and systematically
documented, existing estimates indicate that it is significant. Smith (1996, p. 566)
puts the loss to the book publishing industry in the Middle East and the Mediter-
ranean (including Turkey) at $65.7 million. The International Intellectual Property
Alliance (IIPA) has compiled estimates of losses caused by piracy. For 2007,
Egypt reported an estimated loss of $32 million due to book piracy, Lebanon’s
estimate for 2005 was $4 million, and KSA’s loss for the same year was put at $10
million (The International Intellectual Property Alliance, 2014).
Piracy harms publishers twofold: Firstly, when books are pirated in a differ-
ent regional market as a result of the absence of a functioning international
distribution system. A network of pirated publications and academic texts,
which brings these items into other markets in the Arab world, profits from the
absence of legal distribution channels. Secondly, local publishers suffer when
foreign publishers with whom they enter into partnerships regard the region,
because of excessive piracy, with mistrust and consequently impose harsh con-
11 The author would like to thank Kevin Smith, J.D., Scholarly Communications Officer at Duke
University Libraries, for his clarifications.
20 Christof Galli
ditions on local partners (Abou-Zeid, 2014, p. 98). Often, piracy not only affects
the external markets. Pirated works are also present in the original markets. This
occurs frequently in Egypt and may reflect the public’s low purchasing power.
Arabic e-Publishing
Driven by an impressive demographic and a rapidly evolving communication
infrastructure, Arab e-publishing is perceived as an emerging economic oppor-
tunity. Kulesz (2011b) points out that:
In the Arab World digital publishing is highly incipient. The Arabic language represents a very
powerful cohesive force, which may give rise to electronic platforms with transnational reach,
but which at the same time […] involves numerous challenges. Of course, none of these chal-
lenges is unsurmountable; in fact, the proliferation of blogs and the eagerness of digital
content demonstrated by a section of the population indicate the potential that exists (p. 58).
Tab. .: Arab states’ IDI rankings and values, (ITU, , p. ).
Bahrain .
UAE .
Qatar .
Saudi Arabia .
Oman .
Lebanon .
12 The Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Development Index (IDI) is designed to
create a globally valid measure for “the level and evolution over time of ICT developments in countries
and relative to other countries” as well as the digital divide between countries with different levels of
ICT development (ITU, 2013, p. 17). It is composed of three sub-indexes, the access sub-index, the use
sub-index (both weighted at 40%) and the skills index (weighted at 20%) (ITU, 2013, p. 21).
1 Arab Book Publishing 21
Jordan .
Egypt .
Morocco .
Tunisia .
Palestine .
Syria .
Algeria .
Sudan .
Yemen .
Djibouti .
Mauritania .
The intra-regional ranking of Arab states reflects the income disparities in the
region. The top-ranking country of the 166 countries for which the IDI has been
calculated is Denmark with an IDI value, in 2013, of 8.86, closely followed by
the Republic of Korea with 8.85 (ITU, 2014, p. 42). In the country rankings of the
Arab countries, Bahrain is at the top with an IDI of 7.4 (see Tab. 1.9), followed
by UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman, all oil-rich, high-income economies,
and UAE (+14 ranks), Qatar (+8 ranks) and Oman (+9 ranks) recorded the largest
improvements in global rankings (ITU, 2014, p. 88).
The ITU states that “affordability remains the main barrier to Internet access
at home in many developing countries” (ITU, 2014, p. 107) Both fixed and mobile
broadband services are essential for delivering access to today’s information offer-
ings. Fixed broadband remains a critical service for high-capacity, high-speed,
reliable Internet access. Only 3% of global IP traffic was on mobile networks at
the end of 2013 (ITU, 2014, p. 114). Prices of fixed-broadband plans fell from an
average of 94.5% of gross national income per capita (GNI p. c.) in 2008 to 18.2%
of GNI p.c. in 2013. In the Arab States region, the average price for entry-level fixed
broadband amounts to 4.1% of GNI p.c., compared to 1.4% in Europe and 135.8%
in Africa (ITU, 2014, pp. 114–116). The differences inside the region are wide,
however, with the GCC countries and Tunisia (1.68% of GNI p.c.) having the most
affordable fixed-broadband prices. Kuwait has the most affordable plan with
0.37% of GNI p.c. and Mauritania has the highest, corresponding to 23.7% of GNI
p.c in 2013 (Tab. 1.10). Mobile-broadband prices are on average below the 5% of
GNI p.c. in the Arab States (ITU, 2014, p. 129). This makes this service relatively
affordable and an expected 25% expected penetration rate for the Arab States by
the end of 2014 is not surprising (ITU, 2014, p. 129).
Tab. .: IT Indicators for Arab countries (ITU, ).
GNI p.c. Adult Fixed Prepaid Mobile % households % households % using % Wired
literacy rate Broadband Broadband Internet 2013 computer 2013 Internet Broadband
Prices as % (500MB/1GB) as Subs
of GNI p.c. % of GNI p.c.ᵃ
widely used platform seems to be the iPad, followed by Android, then PC. E-
readers such as Kindle and Nook do not support ePub3 for Arabic which means
that only Arabic books in pdf format can be read on these devices (Abou Zeid,
2013, p. 99). Kindle may apply the Unicode, which is compatible with the Arabic
script starting in 2014.
Conclusion
The persistence of print publishing means that librarians must continue to collect
and pay attention to publishing developments in this type of material. The frac-
tured environment and lack of unified distribution mechanisms, a situation that is
only exacerbated by ongoing turmoil in the region will require libraries to main-
tain a presence in several markets to capture relevant output. Relationships with
local vendors and publication houses will continue to be necessary for the fore-
seeable future. On the other hand, improvements to infrastructure in parts of the
Arab world, and interest among Arab publishing houses in developing their
e-publication divisions suggest that there may be significant changes to the pub-
lishing industry in the years to come.
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in five major cities (Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, and Oujda) and benefited
an estimated 50,000 people. By the 1990s literacy was being connected to gender
inequalities and rural–urban disparities in the country. In 1997, the Adult Literacy
Directorate was established as a body “responsible for the execution of the gov-
ernment’s adult literacy policy” (Agnaou, 2004, pp. 49–52).
In 2004 Morocco adopted what was termed a “literacy and non-formal edu-
cation strategy” that aimed “to integrate literacy programs within all poverty
reduction interventions” (Bougroum et al. 2007, p. 5). Seven years later, a royal
decree, Dahir 1-11-142, brought into creation the National Agency for the Battle
against Illiteracy (l’Agence nationale de lutte contre l’analphabétisme) (Kingdom
of Morocco, 2011). Some of its most recent initiatives have included carrying out
literacy programs in workplaces with illiterate employees of notable Moroccan
companies (Sakhi, 2012). In 2013 the Directorate highlighted the accomplishments
of literacy work in Morocco stating that six million Moroccans have benefitted
from literacy programs in the country, with approximately 735,000 having bene-
fited between 2011 and 2012 alone. The Moroccan government’s literacy efforts
have been supported by technical and financial assistance from UNESCO, the Eur-
opean Union and numerous non-governmental organizations (Binoual, 2013).
Yet, with only an estimated 56 to 62% of its population being literate (United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2014), illiteracy is a sig-
nificant challenge to the ability of Morocco to make serious strides towards being
a knowledge economy. Significantly, UNESCO’s 2014 Education for All Global
Monitoring Report listed Morocco as one of 21 countries in the world with a “learn-
ing crisis,” whereby less than half of children attending school do not progress
enough to learn the requisite basic skills. This is rendered even more significant
in light of the fact that Wagner (1993) has shown that in the context of Morocco,
early reading had a positive effect on “subsequent reading achievement and on
staying in school” (p. 137).
Among Bougroum et al.’s (2007) suggestions for improving literacy out-
comes in Morocco was “the strengthening of post-literacy environments that
encourage the use of reading and writing skills in daily life” (p. 22), i.e. creating
a culture of reading and writing whereby skills could be utilized and further
developed, or at the very least, not lost. In order for this to happen, literacy cam-
paigns would have to encourage “pleasure” reading by weakening reading’s
tight coupling with practical everyday life matters as currently happens in
literacy campaigns. For example, Bougroum et al. (2007) note that literacy
manuals in Morocco are developed for very specific populations with the goal of
providing know-how relevant to daily chores and occupations. These have
included literacy manuals that focus on agriculture, dairy farming, and fishing.
2 For a Morocco that Reads 31
In some literacy programs literacy is also tightly coupled with religious instruc-
tion (Dardour, 2000).
The tight coupling of reading with the practical, or with school work, is one
aspect of the Moroccan crisis of reading. In a survey done by El Yazami (1998) in
order to develop a better understanding of Moroccan readers, the author called
students, teachers, and others who read by necessity of their social situations,
“readers of the State.” El Yazami’s (1998) Enquête sur la lecture au Maroc [Survey
of reading in Morocco] was carried out in several cities across Morocco (Fes, Casa-
blanca, Tangier, Oujda, Tetouan, Taza, Marrakech, Agadir, and Meknes), with a
sample population of people ranging from age fifteen years and older who could
read and understand French. It excluded monolingual Arabic speakers, although
97% of the sample spoke Arabic at home amongst their families. 50% of them said
that they preferred to read in French (as opposed to Arabic) and it should be noted
that 60.5% of the sample were males. El Yazami’s (1998) survey offered early
insight into the problem of reading in Morocco and highlighted certain trends that
still reverberate in discussions about the reading crisis today, among them:
– The weakness at the state level to address the problem; specifically the small
budget allotted to the Ministry of Culture for this purpose, which leads to an
inability to take a leading role in promoting reading at a national level.
– The fierce “competition” between reading and television viewing in Moroc-
can daily life.
– A frail circulation chain (from publisher to bookstore and library) for books
which contributes to reduced availability.
– The existence of an informal network (family and friends) by which Moroc-
cans learn about and procure reading materials.
– The lack of reading resources for children, from children’s literature to chil-
dren’s space in existing libraries.
– The near absence of a culture of Moroccans giving or receiving books as
gifts.
– The relative high cost of books: Only 14% of the sample found the price of
the book to be “acceptable” (convenable) with 82% calling the price either
“expensive” or “very expensive” (p. 67).
– The absence or weak state of public libraries across the country.
– The importance of Moroccan literature in attracting Moroccan readers.
– The lack of places to read in public (81% of the sample read at home fol-
lowed by 6% who read in the library or in a café) (p. 64).
The lack of public places for reading is intimately linked to the absence or impo-
tence of public libraries in Morocco. Although there are a multitude of archives
and private libraries for historical and academic research in the country, especially
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FACTORS INFLUENCING DIGESTION
As before stated, it is not the food eaten, but that which the body
digests and assimilates, or appropriates to its needs, which counts;
many factors influence such nourishment. The principal ones are the
forceful circulation, the breathing of plenty of oxygen, and the
resultant free elimination of waste.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] Editor’s Note.—Measurements of eighteen thousand women
show that sixty-two per cent of women use only about one-half of
their lung capacity and less than nine per cent use their full
capacity.
CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS
In the previous chapters, we have given the classification of the
elements in foods which supply the body needs. Below we classify
the foods commonly used, according to the predominance of these
elements.
Carbonaceous Foods
While all foods contain a combination of elements, the foods
described below contain a greater proportion of carbohydrates and
fats, and are classed as carbonaceous.