The pavilions, which offered attractive prices, were a magnet at the Sharjah International Book Fair at its 37th session, which ended yesterday, 11 days after the celebration of culture and knowledge at Expo Sharjah.
The pillars that offered big rebates to the books were crowded with visitors who were keen to get a lot of headlines and to take advantage of the exhibition, where they competed for publishing books at low prices. % On all editions »..« Do not pay more than 20 dirhams book ».
It stimulated children's novels and poetry stories for beginners in English, and books that were issued several years ago, sold cheaply, hundreds of visitors to the exhibition to buy them. Mohammed Sulaiman, one of the sellers at an Egyptian publishing house, attributed the reason for selling the books at a discounted price to the devaluation of the currency in his country compared to the UAE currency. He added: "The raising of signs of discounts on books attracts different categories of readers, increases sales, "The pavilion enjoys a look at the titles in various fields to choose what satisfies his interests and attracts him," and believes that most of the leaders of the books of lower prices, often from the families that the exhibition intended to establish a culture of reading in the hearts of its children.
Focus on children
"Every year, children's books are the bestsellers at the fair and the Sharjah Book Fair finds young people and school students to be their most important guests every year," said Abbas Khalifa, a representative of one of the UAE publishing houses. For children in all kinds of educational, entertainment and stories, at the expense of other books of all kinds, and to take into account the prices offered and reduced significantly, so this type of books ranked first in the sales of the exhibition last year ». He added: "It is noticeable that the wings of the hall (7), dedicated to the corner of the child, does not calm down the movement of sale and purchase, and emptied of the pioneers who roam all around, especially with the reduction of prices to reach between five and 20 dirhams».
To meet the need
Sultan Abdul Aziz, one of the visitors to the exhibition, who was pushing a cart filled with books, said that the banners that raised the 40% discount plates had met the needs of his entire family of books, especially with the state of obsession with electronic devices that hit most of the children. So he buys his books from his children at a large amount annually, and the discounts offered by some of the participating pavilions helped him to double the number of books he acquired this year.
Sultan said: "It is noticeable that most of the pillars that carry the banners of five dirhams, written in English," and wondered why the few Arab wings that offer the same reduction offered by Indian and foreign wings.
Umniah Mujahid, a school supervisor at a Sharjah school, points out that some publishing houses have resorted to discounting and selling editions at low prices starting from five dirhams, as a result of their awareness that the paper culture is threatened by other means of finding information easily. In a dangerous competitive situation, especially with satellite TV and the Internet, as the book is no longer the only educational tool in our world. It also draws attention to the fact that the role also recognizes that a large number of visitors to the exhibition, especially in the morning, of school students, who do not exceed the daily expenses of a few dirhams.
Censorship for commitment
"The exhibition management has committed all participating publishing houses to give discounts between 20 and 25 percent on books. These sanctions sometimes lead to closure of the wing, and also to the denial of participation in future sessions. "
He stressed that the provision of books at reasonable prices is one of the main objectives that the Authority is keen to follow up continuously during the exhibition to ensure continuity of the publishing industry and the desire to read in a way that takes into account the needs and rights of all parties.