Sharp drop in imports of books, printed material

Imports of books and other printed material totalled Lm3.2 million in 2002, a decrease of 36 per cent over the previous year, the National Statistics Office said.

Ten years ago, the equivalent value of imports was Lm1.9 million.

On the occasion of the 8th World Book and Copyright Day, which was celebrated yesterday in more than 80 countries worldwide, the NSO surveyed the Maltese book scene.

The public sector, comprising the government, its departments and parastatal organisations, is the most prolific publisher in the Maltese islands, the NSO said.

Its percentage share of the total books published stood at 39 per cent in 2002, while the runner-up is the commercial sector, with 37 per cent.

The Catholic Church, together with religious organisations, accounted for 12 per cent of the published book output.

Book loans from the Central Public Library in 2001 exceeded 746,000, while regional libraries alone lent out over 194,000 books.

Books loaned by the local branch libraries in Malta amounted to nearly 216,000, while those from the branch libraries in Gozo totalled 36,000.

New library members amounted to 6,218 in 2001 - fewer than in the two previous years.

The concept of a World Book Day had originally been launched by the International Publishers Association (IPA) and was translated into reality on the initiative of Unesco. Eventually, it was expanded to include the concept of copyright. April 23 was universally chosen to mark the event because a good number of famous authors, including William Shakespeare and Vladimir Nabokov were either born or died on this day.