Editing Publishers Weekly (section)

===Twentieth century===
[[Image:Pw06.jpg|right|thumb|Cover of the November 6, 2006 issue]]
In 1912, ''Publishers Weekly'' began to publish [[Publishers Weekly lists of bestselling novels in the United States|its own bestseller lists]], patterned after the lists in ''The Bookman''. These were not separated into fiction and non-fiction until 1917, when [[World War I]] brought an increased interest in non-fiction by the reading public.<ref name=baker/><ref>{{cite book|author=Hackett, Alice P. |title=50 Years of Best Sellers and How They Grew: 1895–1945|publisher= R. R. Bowker|date= 1945}}</ref>

For much of the twentieth century, ''Publishers Weekly'' was guided and developed by [[Frederic G. Melcher|Frederic Gershom Melcher]] (1879–1963), who was editor and co-editor of ''Publishers' Weekly'' and chairman of the magazine's publisher, [[R. R. Bowker]], over four decades. Born April 12, 1879, in [[Malden, Massachusetts|Malden]], Massachusetts, Melcher began at age 16 in [[Boston]]'s Estes & Lauriat Bookstore, where he developed an interest in children's books.<ref name=Miller>{{cite book|author=Miller, Marilyn Lea |date=2003|title=Pioneers and Leaders in Library Services to Youth: a Biographical Dictionary|publisher= Libraries Unlimited}}</ref> He moved to [[Indianapolis]] in 1913 for another bookstore job. In 1918, he read in ''Publishers' Weekly'' that the magazine's editorship was vacant. He applied to Richard Rogers Bowker for the job, was hired, and moved with his family to [[Montclair, New Jersey|Montclair]], New Jersey. He remained with R. R. Bowker for 45 years.<ref name=Miller/>

While at ''Publishers Weekly'', Melcher began creating space in the publication and a number of issues dedicated solely to books for children.<ref>{{cite news|author=Hansen, Harry |date=1945|title=On the Best Definition of an Editor's Usefulness|editor-first= Mildred |editor-last= Smith |work=Frederic G. Melcher: Friendly Reminiscences of a Half Century Among Books and Bookmen|pages= 24–28|location= New York|publisher= The Book Publishers' Bureau}}</ref> In 1919, he teamed with Franklin K. Mathiews, librarian for the [[Boy Scouts of America]], and [[Anne Carroll Moore]], a librarian at the [[New York Public Library]], to create [[Children's Book Week]].<ref name=Miller/>

When Bowker died in 1933, Melcher succeeded him as president of the company; he resigned in 1959 to become chairman of the board of directors.<ref name=baker/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/melcher.html|title=Frederic G. Melcher|work=Library Journal|date=April 1, 1963|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821121853/http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/melcher.html|archive-date=August 21, 2009}}</ref>

In 1943, ''Publishers Weekly'' created the Carey–Thomas Award for creative publishing, naming it in honor of [[Mathew Carey]] and [[Isaiah Thomas (publisher)|Isaiah Thomas]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774310,00.html|title=Publishers' Oscar|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=February 15, 1943|access-date=December 2, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207220540/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774310,00.html|archive-date=December 7, 2012}}</ref>

For most of its history, ''Publishers Weekly,'' along with the ''[[Library Journal]]''-related titles, were owned by founding publisher R. R. Bowker. When [[Reed Business Information|Reed Publishing]] purchased Bowker from [[Xerox]] in 1985, it placed ''Publishers Weekly'' under the management of its Boston-based Cahners Publishing Company, the trade publishing empire founded by Norman Cahners, which Reed Publishing had purchased in 1977.

The merger of Reed with the [[Netherlands]]-based Elsevier in 1993 led to many Cahners cutbacks amid takeover turmoil. Nora Rawlinson, who once headed a $4 million book selection budget at the [[Baltimore County, Maryland|Baltimore County]] Library System, edited ''Library Journal'' for four years prior to becoming editor-in-chief of ''Publishers Weekly'' in 1992, where he served until 2005.