Canadian Independent Bookstore Day 2024 will be supported with a new online resource "that aims to bolster interest in indie bookstores on April 27--and throughout the year," Quill & Quire reported. Indiebookstores.ca was launched earlier this year by the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association to help readers find specific titles at their local bookstores. It also features a directory that allows users to look for indies near them and to filter the results by specific amenities, such as those with cafes or that sell CDs and records.
CIBA started work on the project with market research in January 2023, using funding from the Support for Booksellers program of the Canada Book Fund, according to CIBA executive director Laura Carter. The idea for the site grew from the success of Bookmanager's Shop Local API.
"We quickly saw the value in creating a collective website that would serve this function and more--crucially [including] the directory and map of indie bookstores in Canada," Carter said, adding that CIBA hopes CIBD will have a more lasting impact thanks to the new resource.
The annual campaign has grown each year since CIBA relaunched it in 2021. "Part of that is greater engagement across the board from our partners," Carter noted. "Publishers are doing more, they're creating swag and exclusives and contributing cash sponsorships, our bookseller membership is growing, and booksellers are seeing the impact of the campaign and getting more involved."
CIBA's initiatives for this year's CIBD include love notes from authors and a CIBA-led contest for readers, which encourages book lovers to buy books at indie bookstores on April 27 and submit details of their purchase online for a chance to win a gift card to their favorite indie.
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The European and International Booksellers Federation has released its 2024-2029 Manifesto for the upcoming European legislative term. "In a time of growing political polarization and increased cultural censorship, we outline six priority topics that will steer our work for the booksellers we represent in the years to come," EIBF noted.
EIBF co-president Jean-Luc Treutenaere said, "Not only are bookshops local businesses that benefit the local economy, they are also cultural hubs and meeting points for people and ideas, simultaneously upholding the fundamental right to freedom of expression and fostering empathy and tolerance through books and stories."
The Manifesto's six priorities are:
- Standing up for freedom of expression
- Standing up for literacy
- Embracing digital technologies
- Embracing the green economy
- Maintaining freedom for small businesses
- Maintaining bookselling as a viable and desirable career path
"With these six priorities at the heart of our work, we continue tirelessly to amplify the voice of booksellers," EIBF noted, "so that bookshops all over the globe can keep doing what they do best: provide welcoming spaces where people meet, exchange and rejoice in our cultural diversity through stories and literature."
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Catalonia leads the overall number of stores in Spain, according to figures from the Spanish Confederation of Guilds and Associations of Booksellers (CEGAL), but it has a ratio below the national average, Catalan News reported.
The Catalan Guild of Bookshops has 324 members and continues to gain new members (30% more than in 2008), with the majority located in the Barcelona area. The rate of bookshops in Catalonia is 5.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, which falls below the rate of 5.8 of Spain as a whole. It also falls behind other autonomous communities, including Madrid (5.7) and the Basque Country (6.1), but ahead of the Valencian region (4.9) and Andalusia (4.5).
CEGAL's figures show that Catalonia has more overall bookshops than any other territory in Spain, with 460, which represents 14.7% of all such stores in Spain, Catalan News wrote, noting that comparing the figures with those of the Catalan Guild shows that three in four bookshops are affiliated with the association.
Catalan Guild president Eric del Arco said, "Sometimes I meet booksellers from all over Spain and they look at us with great envy." He added that Catalan bookstores have "a lot of character and professionalism," and the sector's "cultural role" stands out. --Robert Gray