"Bookshops are cultural assets. They launch and build the careers of authors, they champion reading for pleasure, and they bring vitality to the high street at a time the high street is under constant threat. Every high street is rich if it has got a bookshop.... Booksellers bring both community value and cultural value to their towns, at a heroic level."
--Nic Bottomley, Booksellers Association president and owner of Mr. B's Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath, speaking at the House of Commons during a World Book Day launch reception yesterday (via the Bookseller)