Cairo, January 29th: Al Manhal, the first aggregator of full-text searchable electronic content from the Arab World, participated in Cairo’s 43rd International Book Fair in which it aimed at ensuring close ties with well-renowned publishers around the Middle East. During the International Book Fair, Al Manhal met with several significant publishers in order to expand its online publications even further. Al Manhal team took part in grand discussions with several leading publishing houses and signed electronic publishing agreements.
Al Atrash Academy specialized in law, Dar Sahar, as well as Al Dar Al Tunisia, from Tunisia have signed with Al Manhal. Seven reputable publishing houses from Syria have joined the Al Manhal team: Dar Al Takween, Dar Al Zaman, Dar Al Safahat, Dar Kiwan, Dar Mahabba, Dar Ward and Dar Hewar. While from Jordan, Dar Al Athayra as well as Al Zaytouna Centre for studies and consulting in Lebanon have also partnered with Al Manhal to expand their publications to the online platform.
Along the sidelines of the book fair, Al Manhal held a workshop about ePublishing and Al Manhal payout model which took place alongside the Tunisian Publishers Union.
The workshop, which was launched by Mr. Nouri Obaid the head of the Tunisian Publishers Union, covered a concise overview about e-publishing, Al Manhal's pricing model, profit distribution techniques, and a discussion about the latest developments and prospects in the e-publishing sector.
Both sides openly discussed the importance of building an online publishing network in order to help expand Arabic publications regionally; and globally. Building an online platform with such a diverse range of publication will be of great assistance and a much needed tool to Arab universities, scientific institutions, and research centers. Both sides agreed that the aim of high quality online publications using the latest technologies is to facilitate and help the learning and research process in the Arab world.
