3 pm, Sydney, Australia - BOOKLOVERS IN SYDNEY FILL THE EMPTY BOOKCASES!

The first of around 30 ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs is coming to an end, while the ILAB booksellers in  Seoul, Cape Town, Budapest and Vienna are going to open up their Pop Ups to the public soon. And so, the great wave of bookish events will be proceeding from Australia and Japan to South Korea, South Africa and Europe, before it will finalize in New York, Chicago, Portland and Seattle in the United States. This will be many hours, many blog posts, many pictures, many symbolic book spines and many donations later ...

Have a look at what is going on right now in Sydney!

April 2016 – For immediate release. Pictures: ILAB, UNESCO, the organizers

AUSTRALIA THE FIRST LINK IN THE CHAIN OF WORLD POP UPS ON UNESCO WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY 2016

SYDNEY GOES SHAKESPEAREAN

Being the first in the world chain of rare book fairs is a pleasure and a responsibility. This year, being the 400th anniversary of both Shakespeare’s and Cervantes death, there is no better place for East Coast Australian booksellers to Pop Up than The State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW). The State Library, justifiably proud of their collections of both Shakespeare and Cervantes – including 1,100 different editions of Don Quixote in many different languages – will  be celebrating all things Shakespearean on Saturday 23 April 2016. They will be inviting children and adults to come into the library for, dare we say, a dramatic day. There will be balloons, wandering players, a Sonnet Slam, the beautiful Shakespeare room will be open, and their first folios will be on display – and that’s just some of what is happening!

As the The State Library of New South Wales “goes Shakespearean” on April 23 the Sydney Pop Up Book Fair will fit in beautifully. At 11 am Dr Alex Byrne, State Librarian and a former President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), will launch the 24 hours of rare book activities around the world. ANZAAB’s Rare Book Pop Up Fair will be open from 11 am to 4 pm on Saturday 23 April. That gives Sydney book people just five hours to come and see the highlights from the stock of booksellers many of whom will have come from a great distance. This is 5 hours not to be missed by any book lover!

The Pop Up Fair will display large posters showing an Empty Bookcase. We hope all visitors will buy a symbolic spine and place it on the bookcase. Each spine sold symbolises another world opening for children who need this help so badly.  Across the world book lovers will be filling book cases just like these in an effort to make a change in South Sudan, a country where literacy rates are shockingly low.  We think Shakespeare would definitely have approved.

DUNKELD BOOKSHOPS FEATURES EMPTY BOOKCASE POSTERS

In the beautiful country Victoria the desire to improve literacy rates in South Sudan is very strong indeed. Last year the owners of Roz Greenwood Old & Rare Books organized a great ILAB Pop Up Fair in a woolshed nearby, this year the Empty Bookcase posters will be prominently displayed at Roz and Marg’s lovely bookshop in Dunkeld. They are asking their customers, friends and neighbours to help turn around the life of many in South Sudan by purchasing a symbolic spine. In South Sudan 84 % of women are illiterate – and 70 % of the adult population as a whole. Something unimaginable to most of us, fortunately, but this is reality for South Sudanese and something that we can and will change.  Join Roz and Marg as book spine by spine they affect a change!  And as if this were not enough, they will pack their boxes with beautiful books right in time to travel the long way to Sydney to exhibit at the ILAB Pop Up Fair at The State Library of New South Wales. Bravo!

PERTH BOOKSELLERS POP UP UNDER THE BEAUTIFUL PERTH SKY

Perth, in Western Australia, is the most remote capital city in the world – and one of the loveliest. In 1962 Perth became world famous as the "City of Light" when the inhabitants lit their house lights and streetlights as American astronaut John Glenn passed overhead while orbiting the earth in his spaceship. This year Perth booksellers will shine a light on literacy. They will be joining the world celebrations and popping up together in the very large courtyard in front of the beautiful two story heritage listed stables where Muir Books is located. Here, in walking distance from the State Library, the Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia Robert and Janet Muir, Tara Surry and their colleagues will show an abundance of rare and fine books, maps and prints from all centuries, while raising funds for UNESCO’s literacy projects in South Sudan. Perth has enviably wonderful weather – so be prepared to enjoy an amazing bookish event as part of the great chain of worldwide ILAB Pop Ups on 23 April 2016. And just in case it should rain (or be too hot), Janet, Robbie and Tara from Muir Books have hired a marquee for the day.


Perth booksellers are a very collegiate group and a number of Muir Books bookseller friends are bringing their best books and coming along for the day to sell books and raise money for South Sudan, too, and – I have no doubt – have a lot of fun.  I just wish it wasn’t on the other side of the continent as I know that this would definitely be a great place to visit on UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day. 

JOIN US ... ORGANIZE IT ... ILAB POP UP BOOK FAIRS ... ACROSS THE WORLD ... ON UNESCO WORLD BOOK & COPYRIGHT DAY ... 23 APRIL 2016!

March 2016 – For immediate release. Pictures: ILAB, UNESCO. Shakespeare Room, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Roz Greenwood Old and Rare Books, Dunkeld, Victoria, Muir Books, Perth. Courtesy: Sally Burdon and the organizers.

Meanwhile, in Dunkeld - Drinks and books in a woolshed

After organizing two ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs far away in the Australian Bush, Roz Greenwood and her colleagues are enjoying drinks and books at the final ILAB Pop Up Book Fair held in Australia on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day, 2015!

Thank you very much for making "The Tale of Two Towns - From Library to Woolshed on UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day" possible!

For all booklovers worldwide: Stay tuned, ILAB booksellers will continue showing great rare books and raising money for UNESCO all day long, in a Mexican Wave from Australia to the Northwest Pacific coast of the United States.

8 pm, Sydney - As the sun goes down on Sydney the first Pop Up Book Fair disappears ...

By Sally Burdon

As the sun goes down on Sydney, 14 happy ILAB affifiates are enjoying the last hour of the Pop Up Book Fair at the State Library of NSW. Over $1000 of spines have filled two Empty Bookcase Posters and booksellers report some high value sales.

The day began with a special whirlwind preview for 20 Sydney librarians invited for a special preview.  The 14 dealers present were given 2 minutes to speak to the group. We wanted to connect with librarians of all levels of experience on World Book and Copyright Day of all days! The world of ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs was officially opened by Richard Neville, Mitchell Librarian and Professor Dame Marie Bashir with the public present at 12 noon.

Retired ANZAAB member Susan Tompkins has worked successfully throughout the afternoon in the library halls, handing out colourful invitation cards to students and passers by inviting them to see the Pop Up, handle the books, chat to the booksellers and, of course, buy a symbolic spine for South Sudan.

The State Library of New South Wales held a special display of Shakespeare's First Folios in their collection giving the public a chance to have a real "up close and personal" moment with these beautiful volumes.

What a day! A few quiet spells over the 7 hours, far fewer than expected, but given that it is Thursday, a couple of days before the 100th Anniversary of the landing of the ANZAACs at Gallipoli and following huge storms - we have been delighted with the attendance, interest and support for antiquarian books and for UNESCO's literacy work in South Sudan.

1.30 pm, Sydney - Hordern House highlights of the ILAB Pop Up Fair

11.30 pm, Hamilton, Country Victoria – The second Australian ILAB Pop Up Fair opens its doors down under!

The Australian rare booksellers are amazing. Learning that their colleagues in Sydney and across the world are holding POP Up Fairs on April 23, UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day, Roz Greenwood and Guy Stephens decided that distance from large population centres was no reason for not joining in, and so together with local booksellers, Brian and Betty Lacy, they have organized not one, but two, Pop Up Book fairs. The first ILAB Pop Up started at the public library in Hamilton, Country Victoria, at 11.30, local time.
Here are the pictures:

 

 

1 pm, Sydney, Australia – A virtual visit at the State Library of New South Wales

The Australian booksellers are doing great in Sydney! I know, because I have been there via Skype. Sally Burdon took me with her through the rooms, showed me the most exciting books, and introduced me to some colleagues and visitors. Sure, one may blame the internet for being anonymous and not the real thing. And of course, it IS not the real thing, but meeting the booksellers down under, while half asleep sitting in front of your computer screen, is indeed a kind of experience I would not like to have missed!

ANZAAB President Jörn Harbeck told me that the preview for librarians from 11 am to 12 noon was a big success. And despite of the weather outside – thunderstorm in Sydney – the visitors are coming in. The sales are good, says Jörn Harbeck. Sally Burdon introduces me to the exhibitors. I meet Kay Craddock, Louella Kerr, Paul Feain, Nicholas Pounder, Peter Tinslay and many others.

The Empty Bookcase Posters – 10 at a big wall – are filling with spines. Tory Norton of Hordern House is collecting the money for the UNESCO literacy projects in South Sudan. Congratulations! The Australian Pop Up has been open for an hour, and there are already 850 Australian dollars for the school children in South Sudan!

An excellent start!

12 noon, Sydney, Australia – The Mexican wave of ILAB Pop Up Fairs begins!

24 hours of ILAB Pop Up Fairs across the world on April 23, 2015! This is how the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) will celebrate UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2015. It’s amazing! From Sydney to Portland, Oregon, there will be over 30 bookish flashmobs across the world! Books in abundance!

At 12 noon, local time Sydney, the worldwide series of ILAB Pop Ups was officially opened at the State Library of New South Wales by Professor Dame Marie Bashir, former Governor of New South Wales, book collector and much loved Australian, together with ANZAAB President Jörn Harbeck and Sally Burdon, ILAB Committee and  co-convenor of the ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs.

 

 

23 April 2015! POP UP down under!