anslated works most were literary, followed by works dealing with the
social sciences, the applied sciences, the arts, geography and history,
the so-called hard sciences, philosophy, philology, and religion.

A 1971 study illustrates the fact that--in terms of titles alone--books
are more popular than pamphlets by a ratio of approximately three to one
(see table 13). The greatest number of book titles in 1971 were in the
areas of artistic and folkloric literature, technology and industry, and
scientific and educational texts. The smallest number of book titles
were in the areas of general handbooks, community affairs, and atheism
and religion. The greatest number of pamphlet titles, on the other hand,
were in juvenile literature, communist party literature, and science and
education. The fewest pamphlet titles dealt with atheism and religion,
Marxism-Leninism, languages, and labor and trade unions.

Because the Bulgarian publishing industry has emphasized the quantity of
books available in terms of copies rather than variety or number of
titles, there has been some serious criticism of policy, particularly
from the newspapers. In fact, among the Balkan countries, Bulgaria ranks
below Yugoslavia, Romania, and Turkey in the number of titles published
annually. One newspaper claimed that of the total number of books
published in 1972, only approximately one-third were so-called real
books, meaning that they were not simply textbooks or brochures. This
newspaper claimed that foreign literature was not well known in Bulgaria
and pointed out that the literature of Asia, Africa, and South America
had increased by only 470 titles since 1939.

The state not only is in charge of the publishing houses themselves but
also supervises the distribution of books throughout the country.
Editorial councils are the final authorities in determining the output
of individual publishing houses. The one exception to the general
administration of publishing houses is the publication of textbooks. In
this case the Committee on Art and Culture is responsible for the
printing of textbooks, and the Ministry of National Education is, in
turn, responsible for their distribution.

_Table 13. Bulgaria, Book and Pamphlet Publication, 1971_

-------------------------------------+--------------+--------+----------
| Total Number | Book | Pamphlet
Subject of Publication | of Titles | Titles | T