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Case Study
Dr. Karin Werner, Publisher, Head of Program, transcript
Main Challenge:
Optimization of publishing processes for modern, future-proof scientific publishing
Result:
Resource efficiency and time savings, greater flexibility, and increased control
New business models: multi-modal & multi format publishing
transcript is a successful academic publishing house with a focus on cultural studies, social sciences, history, philosophy, and cultural management. The publisher has opted for using Klopotek STREAM web apps to manage and optimize its processes.
Key deciding factors were Klopotek's data model, the ability to work in a component-based manner, and the capability to handle open access publishing precisely and reliably.
Company Size
50 employees
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Location
Bielefeld, Germany
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Implemented Solution
Klopotek STREAM web apps
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Strategic Objective
Multi Modal Publishing & Multi Format Publishing
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Main Challenge
Optimization of publishing processes for modern, future-proof scientific publishing
The client required a modern and flexible solution that enables 'multi-modal' publishing — component-based publishing of various types of data in different formats (not just texts) — as well as transparent and secure software support for open access, a field in which transcript is a pioneer and leader.
Customer / meeting pictures
Results
What are the strengths of the data structure used by the Klopotek apps, especially for a publisher in the SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities) field?
“We were convinced by the extensive features for data security, including sophisticated backup and recovery mechanisms. The powerful processing of large volumes of data, which occur in complex publishing processes, also proves to be advantageous. The scalability of the database allows us to grow with the company without compromising performance. In addition, the granular user and rights management contributes to a flexible and secure data organization."
Karin Werner, Publisher, Head of Program
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"The data structure of Klopotek is special — particularly how products are managed within the system: the ability to add metadata with and about the products while still linking them. With the STREAM app Component Manager, this is also possible at the chunk or component level. We are convinced that we now have an optimal data structure that no other service provider offers, along with application possibilities that were previously not available to us."
Karin Werner, Publisher, Head of Program
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For your publishing house, it's important to publish 'multi-modally'. What does that mean, exactly?
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“This is a buzzword in the more innovative areas of cultural studies, especially important in the humanities. Multi-modal publishing is essentially what comes after the book: the book is relativized; it is essentially broken down into its components, and analyses are supplemented by non-text elements, such as media assets and inventories, defined using identifiers. So, you first manage the data and then publish it — after adding another layer on top of the existing text. Ultimately, it's about making information as effectively usable as possible — this approach also ties into Open Access. In this field, we are a pioneering publisher. Recently, when it was last measured, we were among the 20 largest Open Access publishers in Europe — including all corporate groups. We’re very proud of that. The structure of our data is crucial here — which is directly reflected in the naturally high demands we place on the software."
Karin Werner, Publisher, Head of Program
"As an SSH publisher, we now work with more than just books and journals, whether in print or digital. In research, new impulses are coming especially from the Digital Humanities; in education, digitally supported learning media are a key driver of innovation. The spectrum of possible products is very broad. Furthermore, works — such as a traditional textbook — are increasingly being broken down into their individual parts. A modular approach now dominates, which focuses on the individual component — whether a contribution, an interactive data evaluation, or an illustration — both in terms of production and metadata management."
Kai Reinhardt, Head of Web Editorial & Media Management
"It is, therefore, important to us that we can publish multi-modally, meaning we can also manage and output media assets and interactive elements alongside text classes. The Klopotek Work Component Manager offers excellent conditions for this."
Karin Werner, Publisher, Head of Program
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What was your main focus when configuring the STREAM apps?
"We took a lot of time to tailor Klopotek’s software architecture to our specific needs as an innovative academic publisher with programmatic focus in the social sciences and humanities."
Karin Werner, Publisher, Head of Program
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"For example, in the area of Open Access publishing — both for the gold and green status — we maintain the flexibility to modify licenses throughout the entire life cycle and to handle all data outputs precisely and reliably."
Alexander Lemke, Head of IT Administration and Publishing Platforms​​​
transcript uses a variety of apps for title planning and maintenance, editorial processes, contracts, rights, and royalties. What are the main benefits of STREAM technology for you, especially compared to the custom software you previously used?
“A decisive factor, given the increasingly tight budgets on the customer side, is sound calculation that is closely linked to metadata. The Calculation Manager, which we have been able to configure deeply to our needs, has significantly refined and flexibilized our budgeting practices."
Karin Werner, Publisher, Head of Program
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"The Sales Price Manager is also very helpful: now we can define that on a specific future date a price will expire and that a new price will take effect the next day."
Karin Werner, Publisher, Head of Program
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"I remember a few years ago, when there was a change in VAT rules, a colleague had to jump into the system on New Year’s Eve to quickly modify the rates. That’s no longer necessary now.
Last but not least, as a multi-platform publisher with numerous content platforms — i.e., distribution and dissemination partnerships — we export data both to commercial platforms and to repositories and Open Access platforms. The Metadata Export Manager app allows us to work efficiently and maintain a clear overview."
Alexander Lemke, Head of IT Administration and Publishing Platforms​
The implementation of the STREAM apps at transcript was accompanied by a complete overhaul of in-house process structures. Some elements were streamlined to fit the software, while essential workflows were entirely redesigned by the project team for the publisher. After two years of intensive collaboration: What was especially important, and how did you proceed?
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"It was – and still is – important that we could continue and maintain many of our proven workflows with and within Klopotek, but also that we were able to analyze all processes and streamline many of them. This allowed us to cut outdated practices and replace them with more efficient and harmonized workflows."
Karin Werner, Publisher, Head of Program
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​"Preparation was key — including a close look at the best practices we had developed and comparing them to what Klopotek offers in this area."
Alexander Lemke, Head of IT Administration and Publishing Platforms​
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"Our publishing history and identity play a major role here.
That means we started out very creatively, sometimes hands-on, 'forging' our own path through the publishing landscape — and that’s still our approach. It’s important to us to maintain a degree of individuality — to preserve that spirit — and to have the confidence, in the years ahead, to engage creatively with Klopotek and make things our own, in our own way.
Even after all this time, that still feels possible. We’ve navigated these years together well — and I’m still very, very happy about that. The risk of ending up on opposite sides is high in a project as large as the one we’ve just completed together. But we avoided that. Organizational cultures are different, and innovations in software culture take time and mutual respect.
We’re looking forward to continuing our collaboration with Klopotek."
Karin Werner, Publisher, Head of Program
"We are very grateful for the teamwork and look forward to the years of cooperation ahead."
Barbara Bruels, Head of Domain TEP, Klopotek
Petra Steinfeld, Head of Professional Services
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