At the request of the Polish Chamber of Books , we prepared the content of the campaign “Bookstores are important!” , addressed to the presidents and mayors of the largest cities in Poland. The aim of the action is to involve local governments in supporting local bookstores.
Local bookstores play a significant role in the development of culture in any community. Unfortunately, the pandemic put a strain on the local booksellers. In the current market reality, it will be difficult for them to survive without increased turnover, i.e. increased sales of books, and without the help of the local community and local governments. Every support matters! The Polish Chamber of Books hopes that the participation of city mayors in the campaign will direct public attention to this problem, which in turn will result in greater involvement of residents in helping “neighbors from behind the corner”.
We do not need to convince us that reading is the basis for the development of every human being, and that books broaden our horizons and develop our imagination. The role of literature in shaping the community cannot be overestimated, and local bookstores are unique places on the cultural map of each city. These are not book stores – they are important spaces gathering the local community and influencing its development. These are places where, among thousands of books, emotional discussions on all possible topics take place, and everyone who wishes will find something valuable for themselves. Whoever has a favorite local bookstore knows that an on-line meeting, no matter how well prepared, no e-bookstore, even well-stocked, will replace a moment of conversation with a bookseller, the smell of printed pages, the excitement of communing with so many stories to choose the only one.
And it should be noted that these are often small points run with passion and determination, usually with family or by small groups of friends. It is all the more important to remember that they too have been badly affected by the pandemic. Too many bookstores have closed in the last two years, and among those that still exist, many are on the verge of profitability, which means that these unique spaces may soon be missing in the fabric of the city. Caring for the bookstores of city hosts – presidents and mayors – is of great importance.
The action was based on :
- video statements by city mayors supporting local booksellers,
- photos of city mayors,
- “Book biographies” of city mayors.
Organizer of the campaign: Polish Chamber of Books
The Polish Chamber of Books (PIK) is the economic self-government of publishers and booksellers established in 1990, which represents the book market in Poland.
