[CARD NEWS: Opinion] Excuse me? These books are to be sold, not to be read.
1) Visitors freely sit on the floor and read books from shelves.
Tables are filled with casual readers who seek quality time on their own.
These are the scenes you can easily see at bookstores.
2) Reading books at bookstores seems like an ordinary thing to do. However, casual readers are not always welcomed. Some other people sigh in concern when watching the readers.
3) The people who glare at the readers are neither the bookstores workers nor the other visitors. They are people from the publishing industry.
4) “Books stocked in bookstores are to be sold, not to be read.”
- a publisher speaking on the condition of anonymity
Books previously read by visitors usually get dirty, thus later are frequently returned by other customers. This loss is all up to the publishing company.
5) “I don’t like the bookstores acting as if they provide good quality service to readers using the books that are not theirs.” - a publisher speaking on the condition of anonymity
While the bookstores take all the credit for offering a quality reading experience, they do not cover the financial losses caused by the damage to the books. The publishers do.
6) Children’s book publishers are even more distressed, because their books are highly likely to be damaged by children.
7) Recently, local bookstores have been transforming from mere bookselling spots to cultural spaces. The latest trend, however, is worrisome to the publishing industry.
8) When you step into a large bookstore, people having tea time at a café are seen first. Just a minute away from the cafeteria area, there is an overwhelming reading space. Alongside the space is a stationary section. This is the common interior trend of bookstores these days.
9) The major problem of this interior layout is that it reduces space for book displays. So the bookstores usually display the best-selling books, which expands the gap between successful publishers and those that are struggling.
10) People engaged in the bookstore industry speak out as well.
11) They insist they use the damaged books as reading samples, so all the burden is not shifted to the publishers.
12) In addition, the transforming of bookstores to cultural spaces is a means of survival for the industry, as fewer and fewer people read books today.
13) “Go to a library if you want to read a book.”
“It is as if you’re eating a whole meal at a free sample booth.”
“Conditions of the books in the children’s section are very poor. It is serious.”
vs.
“It is not a matter of reading spaces, but the high prices of books.”
“Aren’t they blaming bookstores for the recession in book selling?”
“How can you just buy a book without reading it?”
14) The controversy between bookstores and publishers has recently sparked a heated dispute on internet, and the debate is still ongoing.
What is your opinion?
Directed by Lee Jeong-bong
Constructed by Kim Min-pyo
Designed by Bae Seok-yeong
Translated by Son Min-young
Edited by James Constant
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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