ABSTRACT
The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) describes the publishing industry as a whole as one that produces a variety of publications, including magazines, books, newspapers and directories. It also produces greeting cards, databases, calendars and other publishing material, excluding software. The production of printed material continues to dominate the industry, although the marketplace reflects the emergence of material in other formats, such as audio, CD-ROM, or other electronic media. Book publishing is the process of commissioning, producing and distributing books for sale. Traditional publishing markets have expanded to include opportunities in niche and specialist areas, such as those involving professional, educational and scholarly communities. The most visible technologies in book publishing over the past decade have been the internet and the World Wide Web. The traditional command and control structures and classic bureaucracies are giving way to decentralized structures and to the employment of more flexible, fluid and integrated business processes.
