We want to welcome to Book-a the publishing group Recolectores Urbanos. We are very excited about this participation.

Recolectores Urbanos was created in Seville by three young entrepreneurs whose names are Enriqueta Molina Segura (physicist), Daniel Ayala Serrano (architect and social media) and Ferrán Ventura Blanch (architect and teacher). This initiative aims to create a 2.0 online platform that connects people and knowledge from the same field of study, to facilitate the production work of researchers, and give their work greater quality and rigor.

Its researching inquisitiveness has led them to develop other projects related to innovative tools in the generation, management and dissemination of knowledge. One example of this is the portfolio of advanced editorial services where Realidad Aumentada has a leading role, working in a proprietary format of interactive books: the COOlbOOk.

Parallel to his research, RU addresses the dissemination of knowledge through his own publishing firm. RU Publisher focuses on the editing and publication of unpublished research for the purpose of promoting this kind of texts outside the academic groups. These fall into four collections: Texts [TXT] Thesis [TSS], Master [TFM] and [DLG] and that shape the publishing universe of Recolectores Urbanos.

RU's work has received several awards and recognition from institutions such as the Young Entrepreneurs Association (AJE), the Confederation of Employers of Seville (CES), the City and Social Council of the University of Seville. It has also undergone major awards in national enterprise platforms such as Big Bang Challenge.

We have conducted the following interview to learn more about their work.

When do you study the division of the works in four collections and what are the characteristics that define each of them?

Our editorial concentrates two of his collections, Thesis [TSS] and Final Master Works [TFM] on the publication of unpublished research of young researchers. Therefore, in most cases their characteristics are very noticeable from the beginning. In them our job is to provide our experience and accompany the authors in the transition from an academic exercise to an informative and accessible book while maintaining the essence of the work. The other two collections, Texts [TXT] and Dialogues [DLG] have the transdisciplinarity and the conversation as the main character. Texts [TXT] is a collection that includes reflections on research which hybridize two or more fields of knowledge. Thus we find, for example, mathematician thinking about architecture, architects writing about art, etc.. Dialogues [DLG], in the other hand, involves the compilation and dissemination of open investigations that are worth by the feedback generated by them in the process of disclosure.

What are the guidelines that lead you to the selection of the contents?

Our criteria are completely personal. They have a lot to do with the ability to 'hooked' that the publication may have but also with the idea of service that research give to society. Once we decide, are the guidelines that deal with the rigor, innovation, knowledge diffusion capacity and thematic analysis the things that direct our editorial work. We seek those texts reflect on each of its pages the researcher working years, and the author as the first person who must be able to transmit the knowledge to us.

What are the first approximations to believe with researchers?

From RU Publisher we think that is so important to know the author, his career, concerns and aspirations as the author to know us, what our team is and our methodology. We understand that researchers offer us something important about themselves and therefore we pursue that the publication of this project is disclosed in the most professional and neat way as possible, and at the same time turns into a qualitative leap in the career of the researcher. For this reason, it is essential a personal contact with the author to let them additionally benefit from innovative outreach tools we use from RU Publisher for their work to have a greater impact among readers and institutions.

How and when you consider an editorial group should get involved with the work handled?

In RU Publisher, for our educational training, we know very well the research career and we are very aware of the enormous dedication behind each text. That is way we take care of the entire publishing process so that the end result is a quality work that accomplishes the author’s expectations. Meanwhile our commitment is to offer the reader an informative-scientist document able to understand beyond the academic field. So we take care of aesthetic, design and of course we make a great effort in the tone and character of the content. We look for attractive books, both for its outside as for its inside. Our desire is to connect the author and readers for what we use the channels and appropriate dissemination tools that allow us to catch up with this objective.

What sector of society would you like to reach with the publishing of researches with which you work and what communication strategies do you use?

Because of working with specialized texts and with a very specific topic it might be thought that our target audience is one that is within academia. But as mentioned above our aim is to overflow this area and bring research to the citizens through affordable texts, agile and informative. Arguably the target of RU Publisher is all the people with concerns that are driven by the desire to know more about their environment, and who are committed to ideas and innovative viewpoints. How important do you think the association of the research content is to the realization of the work (aesthetics of publication, edition style, formalization of the organization)?

For us the design and aesthetics of the book was a very important point. We wanted to make quality books at an affordable price that would allow any reader to access a quality publication for less than 15 €. We made therefore great efforts in designing each collection that allowed us to eliminate the superfluous and let our publications on three basic pillars: good paper, careful layout and quality content.

How do you imagine the production work that offers you the Book-a platform?

Book-a platform offers us a collaborative environment, an ideal space to publicize RU Publisher’s texts and a skip to go beyond for addressing our books. Crowdfunding is a concept that has been on the table since we started and that matters much to us from the point of view in which we understand there is a relationship between author, readers and publisher. In Book-a it is encouraged the contact between people with common interests and an environment of mutual cooperation is created, and we find it especially enlightening.

Seville, July 2013.

We are glad to invite you to check out "Collage and Architecture", the first title in Urban Collectors Book-a.