Association of Book Distributors of Independent States

Transcription

1 Association of Book Distributors of Independent States "The best things my Booksellers Association has done Nadezhda Mikhaylova, President, General Director of The Moscow Book House Frankfurt, October 12, 2017

2 SERVING THE NATION 50 Years in Business The Moscow Book House celebrated its 50 year anniversary on September 25, 2017

3 Some facts about The Moscow Book House (1) The Moscow Book House is a chain of 24 bookstores, though both in Russia and all over the world, when people talk or hear about the Moscow Book House, they mean our largest book store in this chain, located on Novy Arbat street in Moscow. 3

4 Some facts about The Moscow Book House (2) This store is the largest member in the Association of Book Distributors of Independent States, which celebrated its 50 years anniversary on September 25, 2017.

5 Some facts about The Moscow Book House (3) I have the honor to have been General Director of the Moscow Book House for almost 20 years.

6 Other large bookstores in the Moscow Book House chain of bookstores The Foreign Book House The most popular bookstore among the foreigners

7 Other large bookstores in the Moscow Book House chain of bookstores The Foreign Book House The most popular bookstore among the foreigners

8 Other large bookstores in the Moscow Book House chain of bookstores The House of Pedagogical Books

9 Other large bookstores in the Moscow Book House chain of bookstores The House of Technical Books

10 The Moscow Book House chain of bookstores has more than 200,000 book titles on the shelves in its largest bookstore. has its daily sales of the whole chain are about $ 137,000.00, and the bookstore on Novy Arbat street generates more than $62, daily. Many world famous persons have visited The Moscow Book House. One of them, U.S. President Bill Clinton visited this bookstore during his 1998 visit to Moscow 10

11 Reading Russia

12 Bookstore ownership and book sales in Russia (1) All the book stores in Russia are private, except for the Moscow Book House, which is a state-owned enterprise that works under the supervision of the Moscow City Council. All the Russian bookstores deal with publishers directly, they earn money to pay taxes, to pay their rent fees, and to cover other expenses by selling books and stationeries. 12

13 The best things the Association has done: some problems the booksellers have faced have been solved Problems that the Association has faced and continues to face fall into two categories: systems problems societal problems

14 Systems Problems (1) Historically, these problems started about 25 years ago as a consequence of so-called perestrojka in the former USSR. Today, the rent fee is extremely high since all the bookstores have been thrown into the general free market of trade. All the expenses that the bookstores bear are such that selling a copy of a copy of a book by Dostoevsky or Pushkin cannot cover the expenses that the bookstores carrying this book have!!!!!!

15 Systems Problems (2) The absence of a government support causes the absence of discounts for rents of places for bookstores As trade organizations, bookstores cannot compete with standard trade stores and are ousted from their locations. The authorities explain this approach by the rapid development of digital forms of the books.

16 Systems Problems (3) What does the Association do to affect this approach? We bend every effort to include the notion of book in the Law on Culture in Russia 16

17 Systems Problems (4) What does the Association do to affect this approach? We have managed to include the mentioning about a book in the text of the State Cultural Policy Strategy up to the year 2030 and the request that the number of book stores in Russia must be no smaller than a particular one.

18 Systems Problems (5) What does the Association do to affect this approach? We strongly believe that a book in a library and the same book in a bookstore are part of the country s cultural space and books are not ordinary goods as, say, shoes or cosmetics. Do you agree with this?

19 We organize and support a wide discussion on the digitalization in bookselling

20 5. We advise about current tendencies of the bookselling digitalization in the world.

21 6. We organize and hold book festivals in Russian cities

22 Societal Problems A group of problems associated with promoting the acquaintance of people with classic and modern literature and with the role of the literature in education of people in general and in that of children in particular. What does the Association do in this sphere? 1. We hold meetings with scientists and teachers to explain the role of literature in education, which affect the values of different world-recognized indices reflecting the level of understanding of the written text read by children (PISA) 2. We hold meetings with writers, literature critics, and literature researchers about literature and its role in public life. 22

23 Current Problems of the Association s Concern (1) Two problems that the Association has been working on, and where we expect some support from the European Book Association, i.e. from all of you, since this is what should concern all of us. I. Digitalization of the book format 1. Does reading books in a digital format makes a person more dispersed, diminishes her/his memory and interest a) to the substance of the read text, and b) to the cogitation on the read text? Our answer (hypothesis): Yes, it does this quite strongly. 2. Can one assert that a) in reading imaginative (nonfiction) literature, all the reader s attention is focused on the plot of the book though in classics, the plot is no more than a means for artistic reflection of the author s reasoning, and b) thus the reading of one book is, in fact, substituted by the reading of another one with the same plot? Our answer (hypothesis): Yes, this looks at least plausible. 23

24 Current Problems of the Association s Concern (2) 3. Has the medicine noticed and confirmed a particular harmful impact on the reader of a) the fact of reading books in digital forms, and b) the process of reading these books with the use of technical devices? Our answer (hypothesis): We do not know about this. 4. Is it correct that a reader gets tired from reading books in a digital format more than from reading them in a paper format? Can one assert that if a reader uses a technical device connected to the Internet, for instance, a smart phone, the focus of the reader on the subject of a book is lower than in reading the same book in a paper format? Our answer (hypothesis): Yes, it is correct. Yes, one can assert this.

25 Current Problems of the Association s Concern (3) 5. Is it correct to assert that reading nonfiction books in a digital format happens, most of the time, in transport, in waiting lines, etc., rather than during the reader s leisure, specially allocated time, where she/he experiences an interest in reading, which affects her/his emotional perception of lucubrations? Our answer (hypothesis): Yes, it is correct. 6. Has a repertoire of reading has changed or has been being changed as the reading books in a digital form (and how has it changed if so). Can one assert that the interest in reading classics is being lost, especially, in children and in youth. Our answer (hypothesis): Yes, it has. Yes, one can.

26 Current Problems of the Association s Concern (4) II. Reading books and the preservation of cultural traditions: Cinematography, Music, Theatres, Museums Art (classic and contemporary), Book Stores

27 Current Problems of the Association s Concern (5) III. Reading books and developing the intellect and creativity OXFORD SCIENTISTS PROVED THAT THE PROCESS OF READING TRAINS COGNITIVE ABILITIES OF THE BRAIN

28 Thank you for your attention!