VIHC Phase-Out Publication Program Plan
Overview
Over the last ten years, the development and dissemination of materials relating to the history and cultural heritage of the Virgin Islands has been one of the major objectives of the VIHC Program. The Council has achieved its objective by encouraging the development of culturally relevant material for strengthening humanities education in the schools, by providing important new source materials for incorporation in teacher institutes and workshops, and by making source materials available to the public to promote general humanities education in the territory.
The Council has supported publications through special projects—funded by NEH grants, NEH matches, and third party gifts and by VIHC regrants. At present, 13 titles are included in the Publications Program. The Council has been involved with funding, production, printing, marketing and distributing these titles. It has not entered any new arrangements of this sort since 2000.
- A Translation and Publication Project with multiple funding sources, initiated in 1993, supported four titles. (The last title in that project, Hans West’s Account of St. Croix in the West Indies, was printed in 2004, and is available for sale.)
- An Exemplary Award Grant from NEH for a summer institute supported two titles.
- VIHC regrants funded seven titles.
Six other titles received VIHC funding, but since there was no Council involvement with copyright, printing, distribution, or marketing, they are not considered as part of the Publication Program.
After a long and careful review of a number of issues associated with the Publications Program, including the initial agreements with the authors/editors, joint copyrights, and administrative capabilities, the Council approved the following phase-out plan, which resolves these issues and yet enables the Council to continue its support of publications.
Phase-out Publication Program Plan
- VIHC will not enter into new arrangements with authors/editors, which involve the Council in printing, distribution and marketing.
- VIHC will provide authors/editors of existing titles in the Publications Program with a royalty payment of 10%-12.5% on all future sales on an annual basis.
- VIHC will continue to market and distribute the current inventory, once NEH has approved the process and the author/editors have reached an agreement with the Council.
- The author/editor may purchase copies of books at the standard vendor’s rate.
- The authors/editors will handle all aspects relating to reprints directly—printing, handling, storage, distribution and marketing.