Debrett's adds database to its line
Publishing company installs online database
Publishing house Debrett’s is installing an online database to modernise its reference source about the British aristocracy, reduce production costs and exploit its brand.
Production of its famous title Debrett’s Peerage & Baronetage, which lists the genealogical details of the aristocracy and the male living members of their families, will be overhauled with deployment of Concrete Group’s MediaWall, an online database and software tools.
In the run-up to publication, Debrett’s has traditionally sent hand-typed notes to an external publisher who works from a basic, custom-built database, which was proving restrictive.
Debrett’s publishing director Ian Castello-Cortes says the firm wanted a new database to capitalise on the intellectual property of its data and generate more publishing opportunities, while reducing publication costs.
‘The old parent company did not have a passionate interest in exploiting the database,’ he said.
‘Speed has not been a burning concern as the book has traditionally been published once every three to five years.
‘But we are going to use the database to increase the frequency of publication, provide online access, extend the brand and open up new publication opportunities.’
Castello-Cortes says the £20,000 database cost should be recouped within a year.
Benefits for Debrett’s include quicker production, remote working for staff and workflow tools that allow tracking of production schedules.
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