For 20 years, your publishing partner for the social sciences: In 2024, Verlag Barbara Budrich celebrates its 20th year anniversary! Here, we will share stories about what has shaped and moved the publishing house in early and in later years, featuring contributions from our partners and celebrating with you here on our blog and across our social media channels. In this post, Bob Reinalda is the first to share about our longstanding collaboration – and the great number of books and journals we published.
Dear Bob Reinalda, could you please introduce yourself briefly to our readers?
I am a Dutch political scientist who met Barbara in the beginning of this century in the context of a European network of political scientists, named epsNet, and at international conferences. As a result, Ewa Kulesza and I have published a book about the Bologna Process (2005).
How long have you known Verlag Barbara Budrich? How did the first contact come about?
During the 2003 IPSA conference in Durban, South Africa, the hotel did not inform us that the streets between the hotel and the conference site were a no-go area. While some of us were still shocked about the effects, Barbara decided we’d take a taxi to the restaurant in the harbour area near the river. This had a calming effect on us, and created the habit of visiting a restaurant, located on the local river, every time we’d meet at international conferences.
Is there anything you particularly remember about working with us?
Coming from a publishers’ family, I have enjoyed seeing how Barbara set up her own company, also publishing books in English in a country still rather conservative in this respect. She has the trade in her fingers, and understood the internationalization trend going on and, for instance, created a series in which young PhD students could publish or organized workshops to facilitate them in their international publications. Furthermore, she defends the interests of small publishers in her country, given the increasing power of international giants, e.g., regarding publishing in open access. Looking at the number of books and journals published leaves only one conclusion: impressive!
How would you summarise the collaboration with us in one sentence?
Significant and pleasant: to be continued!
Learn more about the Budrich anniversary on our blog!
