Reflections through Cyberspace

If you are an avid reader, and enjoy reading and collecting books, then a visit to a book town is surely an ideal day out! Being a bookaholic myself, I think I would spend hours browsing around the various shops and book stalls, and would end up buying loads of books! The only problem would be carrying them back home!

International Organisation of Book Towns

Did you know that there is also an International Organisation of Book Towns?

The aims of this International Organisation are to:

1. raise public awareness of book towns and stimulate interest by giving information via internet and by organising a International Book Town Festival every second year;
2. enhance the quality of book towns by exchanging knowledge, skills and know-how between the book towns and their individual book sellers and other businesses;
3. strengthen the rural economy by making propaganda for the existing book towns and by offering a medium (e-commerce) to the book sellers, by which they can offer their books to an universal public, also or specially in the quiet season (”winter economy”);
4. undertake other activities which can serve the interests of book towns and strengthen independent businesses in book towns, e.g. stimulating the use of information technology;
5. help in these ways maintaining regional and national cultural heritage and to stimulate the international public to get acquainted with it.

International Book Town Festival

Here is a list of International Book Town Festivals, which took place throughout the years:

1. Bredevoort,The Netherlands, 1998
2. Mühlbeck-Friedersdorf, Germany,July 2000
3. Sysmä, Finland, July 2002
4. Wigtown, Scotland, May 2004
5. Fjaerland, Norway, June 2006
6. Montereggio, Italy, May 2008

List of Book Towns

If you’re interested, here is a list of book towns

* Hay-on-Wye, Wales (1961)
* Redu, Belgium (1984)
* Bécherel, France (1988)
* Montolieu, France (1989)
* Bredevoort, Netherlands (1993)
* Stillwater, Minnesota, (1993)
* St. Pierre de Clages, Switzerland (1993)
* Fontenoy-la-Joûte, France (1993)
* Mundal, Fjærland, Norway (1995)
* Wigtown, Scotland (1997)
* Zossen-Wünsdorf, Germany (1997)
* Damme, Belgium (1997)
* Dalmellington, Scotland (1997)
* Sysmä, Finland (4th July 1997)
* Mühlbeck-Friedersdorf, Germany (1997)
* Kampung Buku Langkawi, Malaysia (3rd December 1997)
* Southern Highlands, Australia (2000)
* Torup, Denmark (2006)
* Tvedestrand, Norway (2003)
* Sedbergh, England (2003)
* Brownville, Nebraska,USA (2004)
* Atherstone, Warwickshire (2005)
* Kampung Buku Melaka, Malaysia (17 April 2007)
* Clunes, Victoria, Australia (2007)
* St. Martins, New Brunswick, Canada (2007)
* Sidney, British Columbia
* Gold Cities BookTown, Grass Valley, Nevada City, California
* Hobart, NY - Book Village of the Catskills
* Jinb?ch?, Tokyo, Japan