The National Book Count is running from January 10-16. Ugh, I’m a day behind.
Here’s the Press Release:
Vancouver, January 10, 2011
Canadians like to think we are a nation of readers. This week we’re going to test this cherished belief. We are counting how many books are purchased in stores and checked out from public libraries — both adult and children’s book in French and English. How many books do we buy and borrow on a typical week in January?
For the next seven days (January 10-16) The National Reading Campaign in partnership with BookNet Canada, BookManager, la Societe de gestion de la Banque de titres de langue francaise (BTLF) and The Canadian Urban Libraries Council is going to count the total books sold in Canadian retail outlets or checked out from eighteen major public library systems across Canada.*
Never before have these organizations worked together to tabulate one number for the acquisition of total books in Canada. We estimate we will capture more than 80% of book retail sales and the circulation habits of ten million Canadians. What will the number reveal?
On January 19th on the eve of TD National Reading Summit II: Toward a Nation of Readers we will announce the results. The National Book Count will shed new light on how central reading is in Canadians’ lives today and will serve as a baseline number for Book Counts in years to come and for comparative Book Counts with other countries.
It all begins this week.
About the National Reading Campaign
In 2008 a group of concerned librarians, parent activists, authors, booksellers, teachers, publishers and corporate leaders came together with a common goal — developing a national reading strategy for Canada and Quebec.~ Out of this initiative the TD National Reading Summits were born. Summit I was held in Toronto in 2009, Summit II will be in Montreal and Summit III is planned for Vancouver.~ For more information on the program, speakers, accommodations or information on last year’s summit visit www.nationalreadingcampaign.ca
*The combined aggregators will reach an estimated 80% of the total retail market and The Canadian Urban Libraries Council will track circulation figures for the public libraries in Halifax, Gatineau, Brampton, Burlington, Hamilton, Kitchener, Markham, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Whitby, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Burnaby, Greater Victoria, Richmond, Surrey and The Vancouver Island Regional Library system.