ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2015: books

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4/14/2016

FREE ENTRY TO THE PARIS FAIR AT THE GRAND PALAIS ON 23 APRIL, UNESCO WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY!

The International Rare Book & Autograph Fair at the Grand Palais in Paris, now in its 28th year, is one of the most prestigious fairs in the world, attracting nearly 200 exhibitors and over 20.000 visitors who enjoy the opportunity to browse, buy and admire more than 100.000 historical documents, rare books, manuscripts, autographs, prints and ephemera from all centuries. In 2016, this international high-class event becomes even greater as the French antiquarian booksellers will join in ILAB’s celebrations on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day by granting FREE ENTRY TO THE FAIR ON SATURDAY 23 April.

Instead of paying an entry fee visitors will be invited to donate money in support of UNESCO’s Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI) – a literacy project in South Sudan, where ILAB booksellers help UNESCO to set up school libraries and thereby bring books to the people where they are really urgently needed. In South Sudan 70 % of all adults and 84 % of all women are illiterate.

By raising money for the people in South Sudan at the Paris Fair as part of ILAB’s worldwide celebrations on 23 April, the French booksellers give an impressive sign of support to ILAB’s and UNESCO’s initiative to raise funds to buy books for South Sudan and to raise the awareness of the importance of literacy for everybody in our modern world.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO THE FRENCH BOOKSELLERS FOR JOINING US!

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

4/13/2016

POP UP IN JAPAN AND KOREA

EXPLORE THE ASIAN WORLD OF BIBLIOPHILY

As the sun goes on 23 April 2016 – across the world, for 24 hours, on 5 continents, in 16 countries, 30 cities and various languages bringing the books to the people at most busy and sometimes unexpected places: this is ILAB on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day! This year the antiquarian booksellers in Asia will play a decisive role in the worldwide celebrations to promote the book and to support literacy. While the ILAB Pop Up Fairs in Sydney and Perth will be in full swing, the Asian antiquarian booksellers will prepare to join their colleagues in the great chain of events. For the first time ever, the rare book dealers of the Republic of Korea will be a part of it.

THE KOREAN BOOKSELLERS will organize Pop Up Fairs in prominent places all over the country, beginning in the capital Seoul, handing the torch over to the book dealers in the second biggest Korean city Pusan and further on to Daegu, the Korean city of books owing the most antiquarian bookshops throughout the country. Meet the booksellers in Seoul, Pusan and Daegu, and explore the fascinating world of bibliophily with books, manuscripts and works on paper which are rarely seen on the international book market! An amazing opportunity booklovers should not miss.

THE BOOKSELLERS IN JAPAN contribute in several ways to the worldwide celebrations on 23 April 2016. At their general meeting on 14 April, shortly before UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day, the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of Japan and their President are going to officially launch the ILAB Pop Up Celebrations in Japan. From Tokyo to Kyoto, Sapporo, Osaka and Kumamoto the Japanese dealers will decorate special Pop Up Book Fair Windows in their shops on 23 April. On display will be a fine selection of rare books and Empty Bookcase Posters to raise money for the UNESCO literacy projects in South Sudan. ABAJ Secretary Naoyuki Seki of Maruzen-Yushodo Co. will show around students, members of the reading circle of the Yokohama National University and other interested people in Jimbocho, the central Tokyo bookish area. He will lead them to the Jimbocho booksellers and further on to the World Antiquarian Book Plaza.

Is there a place in the world where you can browse the shelves filled with modern firsts from the United States, incunabula from Europe, woodcut books from Asia, and children’s books, first editions, illustrated books, precious bindings or rare travel accounts from Australia, the United Kingdom, the Americas, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Austria and the Netherlands? Yes, there is such a place. The World Antiquarian Book Plaza is located in Tokyo’s city centre, only five minutes away from the central station and the famous Ginza. The elegant rooms of this very special bookshop on the third floor of Maruzen is open to visitors 364 days a year. It is the ultimate destination for bibliophiles – an amazing venture which combines Western and Asian arts, culture and history through the cooperation of antiquarian booksellers from all parts of the world. This bookish paradise will be the venue for an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day. Japanese rare book dealers will welcome all who are interested in books, prints and manuscripts all over the day to browse the real bookshelves and to fill a symbolic “empty bookcase” with symbolic books by donating money for the UNESCO’s Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI).

Remember: A donation of 3 US $ will send one book to a child in South Sudan, 15 US $ purchase a set of 12 school books for a classroom, and 500 US $ provide 45 school book collections for a rural community in Africa. Each symbolic book bought in Japan or Korea and across the world on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day will be turned into real books for schools in South Sudan!

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

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

3/22/2016

ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLERS CREATE A UNIQUE ILAB POP UP STREET

FOLKINGESTRAAT - GRONINGEN - NETHERLANDS
UNESCO WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY, 23 APRIL 2016

It was a big success in 2015, and they have decided to do it again on 23 April 2016: Antiquariaat Isis is the only ILAB bookseller in Groningen, Netherlands, but instead of thinking "there is only one of us and nothing can be done", Lyseth Belt and Theo Butterhof of Antiquariaat Isis, with the support of their local community, will organize the second edition of a rather special ILAB Pop Up celebration of UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day. Before the Second World War Groningen’s Folkingestraat with the beautiful Synagogue was the heart of the Jewish community. Today it is a lively and busy quarter, full of small and independent shops, full of bookish and cultural events, a must go to for every visitor in the Netherlands. And on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016 Folkingestraat will even be something unique: with the ILAB flag flying high above the street it will become the worldwide only ILAB Pop Up Book Street!

Groningen, a city located in the north of The Netherlands, is in a region long famous for its scholars. Among the better known are Rudolphus Agricola, the founder of northern Humanism and Ubbo Emmius who founded Groningen University in 1614. Continuing this scholarly tradition today the vibrant city of Groningen is home to over 50,000 students.

In the old centre of Groningen is the former Jewish neighbourhood where you will find Folkingestraat. It is surely the most surprising shopping street in the Netherlands! This most attractive small street is lined with about fifty shops and is home to a beautiful synagogue. In an inspiring example of working cooperatively Antiquariaat Isis, the only ILAB affiliate and member of the Dutch Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (NVvA) in this area, is organising a unique celebration of UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day. For eight hours this special 23 April the synagogue and every business in the street, whether they sell books or not, will work together to promote books and literacy.

In every window along Folkingestraat the business owners will create displays which celebrate the diversity and importance of books. Their windows will tell the story of what books mean to them, feature their favourite books, show books about the products they sell. Many will be very old and illustrated books. At the Halal butcher you will see, for example, books from the 18th century about cattle. In the nearby toy shop there will be an exhibition of old children’s books. And what will you be able to admire at the jeweler on UNESCO Word Book and Copyright Day 2016? Necklaces, rings and – books on jewelry.

Wandering along Folkingestraat on 23 April will be a treat for book lovers and an inspiration for those who have not had the opportunity to see such treasures before. On reaching the synagogue passers-by will be invited to see an exquisite exhibition of Jewish books documenting the history of Folkingestraat, of the Jewish people and an important part of the history and power of literacy. And finally, at the three bookstores on Folkingestraat - Antiquariaat Isis, Albert Hogeveen, De Wijde Wereld - the public will be invited to join the fight for literacy by donating to UNESCO’s Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI).

The businesses of Folkingestraat want to shine a light on the problem of illiteracy, both globally and within their own community. It is easy to take literacy for granted when you have it. On 23 April 2016, Folkingestraat in Groningen will demonstrate how diverse and beautiful books are. The community of Folkingestraat believes that the power and beauty of the written word is something everyone is entitled to enjoy.

Be there, and be a part of their celebrations on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day, 23 April 2016!

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, the Organizers, Folkingestraat.

2/23/2016

BOOKS AND HOPE FOR SOUTH SUDAN … HELP FILL THE EMPTY BOOKSHELVES ON UNESCO WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY

WHY ARE ILAB BOOKSELLERS HOLDING POP UP FAIRS ACROSS THE WORLD ON 23 APRIL 2016?

“Peace is not something that exists on a piece of paper. True peace is created in the hearts, minds, and actions of women and men. True peace will exist when all citizens of South Sudan sincerely accept each other, respect each other, and can start honest and open dialogues with one another to resolve their differences amicably. True peace will only exist when the 10,000 children and youths who participated in this conflict are given the education they deserve and helped to re-integrate into society ...”

Forest Whitaker

“I’m really full of hope because I am giving hope”, says Valentino Okongo, Youth Peace Maker, South Sudan.

South Sudan is a country that is not often associated with hope so when a young South Sudanese man, orphaned by the war, speaks of hope, how can we NOT help?

South Sudan has a great deal of potential – just have a look at UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Forest Whitaker’s work in South Sudan … Inspiring isn’t it? The Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI) is building a network of youth peace workers across South Sudan which is stunning in its simplicity, power and inspiration. Literacy is a central part of what he and his passionate team are building. When you learn the South Sudanese literacy rates – 70 % of all adults are illiterate and 84 % of women – it doesn’t take much convincing to know that literacy is a vital part of their initiative.

“Can we write a new story for South Sudan?” asks Brian Williams WPDI Conflict Resolution Expert in a video on WPDI’s work. When you watch him working, when you listen to the Youth Peace Makers, when you see Forest Whitaker in the video it is difficult to think anything but YES!

So how can we, antiquarian booksellers, collectors or librarians in a world so very, very different from the one experienced by South Sudanese help?

Just a little money goes a long way in South Sudan. ILAB booksellers raised over 10,000 Euros at the ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day in 2015. What good did this do? 500 South Sudanese young people were given a prized notebook and pen (because these items are prized there) and 1,930 books were placed in 10 centres of the Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative. That’s a lot of young people who were helped in their journey of hope. The following chapter on “Promoting Connectivity and Education” from the official 2015 WPDI Report shows where this journey shall lead to:

“Education opens doors to new worlds of knowledge and opportunities. But in communities impacted by violence and poverty, young people often do not have access to the educational resources they need to lift themselves out of these vicious cycles. WPDI is constructing a network of Community Learning Centers (CLCs) in EES to serve as hubs for education, technology, and civic engagement where all are welcome. In 2015 - in coordination with our partners and local authorities - we opened two CLCs in Torit and Nimule, and renovated three additional sites for CLCs in Kapoeta North, South, and East, scheduled to open in January 2016. WPDI plans to renovate and open four more CLCs in 2016, so community members in every county of EES will have access to these resources.

Thanks to Ericsson and Zain, all of the CLCs are equipped with hardware and connectivity, so community members throughout EES are able to access the Internet. ICTs have transformed how humans communicate and access information. But, while 82 percent of individuals in developed countries use the Internet, in South Sudan, only 15 percent do. In fragile communities like those in EES, we believe that ICTs can be tremendous assets that empower women and men to tap into the world’s entire collection of knowledge, to connect with others in their communities and around the world, and to participate in conversations as informed global citizens. WPDI staff offers daily computer trainings for community members to provide them with valuable job skills and allow them to explore and interact with the online world, giving these individuals access to a vast array of knowledge and educational resources.

The CLCs also house small libraries, where community members can check out books and develop their literacy skills. In South Sudan, illiteracy among both adults and youths is still widespread - 73 percent of the population over the age of 15 cannot read or write. There is also a significant literacy gap between men and women because of cultural pressures that sometimes force girls out of school at an early age. Our CLCs are committed to spreading a love of reading. Each center houses a library and, in collaboration with UNESCO, holds regular literacy classes, many of which are targeted specifically toward women.

On April 23, 2015 - World Book and Copyright Day - UNESCO and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) partnered to support WPDI’s efforts to promote literacy in South Sudan. ILAB members held 30 pop-up book fairs in twelve countries to raise money for CLC libraries. These fairs - held around the world in schools, train stations, restaurants, pubs, schools, museums, and skyscrapers - raised more than 10,000 Euros. As of January 2016, ILAB and UNESCO have provided more than 1500 books and hundreds of pieces of scholarly materials to CLCs in South Sudan. These books fill the shelves of the centers’ libraries and are used during literacy classes.

The two CLCs established in Torit and Nimule are proving to be incredibly popular - each center is routinely visited by more than 200 people every month. The ToTs and other YPN members are using the centers as headquarters for their recruitment and community-building projects. In a field adjacent to our center in Nimule, a girls’ soccer team has been established and holds weekly practices. Our vision for these centers is that they not only serve as locations for literacy classes and computer access, but also as vibrant hubs of community life where individuals can gather to participate in a wide range of activities and civic discourse.”

10,000 Euros from ILAB booksellers and book collectors worldwide for 500 notebooks and pens and 1,930 books in 10 WPDI centres was a good start in 2015 – and it is far from being enough. That’s why ILAB booksellers will stand up again on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day, 23 April 2016, to raise even more money for this entirely important project. The children in South Sudan need our help, they deserve to learn, to read and to lead a better life in the future. So, there is still a lot more to do. Let us give our vital support to the UNESCO, the Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative and most of all to the children in South Sudan with another giant chain of books presented on ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs from Australia, to Korea, Japan, South Africa, all over Europe and to the United States.

When? On UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day, 23 April 2016.

Where? Across the world.

Join Us!

Booksellers take part in a Pop Up event – collectors and librarians visit these events.
In just a few hours or with just a little money you can give so much hope.

Look at the video. Read even more about The Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative in their report just released.

And say YES!

Help us to help the children in South Sudan. Get inspired! Organize an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair wherever you are, and be a part of it.

February 2016 – For immediate release. Pictures: ILAB, UNESCO, WPDI

2/11/2016

ILAB POP UP BOOK FAIRS ON UNESCO WORLD BOOK & COPYRIGHT DAY, APRIL 23, 2016

CELEBRATE BOOKS AND LITERACY WORLDWIDE

Last year on April 23rd hundreds of antiquarian booksellers worked together in one big celebration. Antiquarian booksellers across the world decided to Think Global and Act Local and celebrate UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day with events within their communities - thinking local and thinking globally by coordinating their efforts. These local celebrations made a global impact. Rare books found new homes and over 10,000 Euros were raised to provide literacy aids to the children of South Sudan.

In 2016 we will do this again…. And we want you to join us!

AUSTRALIA - JAPAN – KOREA – SOUTH AFRICA – SPAIN – FRANCE – RUSSIA – HUNGARY – AUSTRIA – GERMANY – SWITZERLAND – NETHERLANDS – DENMARK – SWEDEN – UNITED KINGDOM – UNITED STATES ...

... and anywhere else in the world where you decide to be a part of it!

AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY: “Books: Still So Much to Learn and Discover” - The first ILAB Pop Up Fair on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016 will be the final event of a most remarkable international conference for librarians, booksellers and anyone interested in rare books and their history held from 21 to 22 April at the State Library of New South Wales, and organized by the Australian and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers (ANZAAB). The day after the conference Australian booksellers will offer for sale rare, fine and extraordinary books, maps, ephemera and other associated materials on paperat the State Library of New South Wales. Be there!

DUNKELD and HAMILTON: There are three booksellers far away in the Australian bush who decided not only to join their colleagues at the ILAB Pop Up Fair in Sydney, but also to raise funds for the UNESCO literacy projects in their bookshops at home in the weeks leading up to UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016. So, if you come across an empty bookshelf poster in Dunkeld and Hamilton, Country Victoria, help Roz Greenwood and Marg Phillips of Roz Greenwood Old And Rare Books and Guy Hamilton of Bellcourt Books raise funds to support literacy in South Sudan. 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 on 23 April 2016 at the State Library of New South Wales. Bravo!

JAPAN

TOKYO: At their general meeting in April, shortly before UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 23 April 2016, the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of Japan and their President will officially launch the ILAB Pop Up Celebrations in Japan.

ALL ACROSS JAPAN: From Tokyo to Kyoto, Sapporo, Osaka and Kumamoto the Japanese rare book dealers will join the great chain of worldwide bookish events on 23 April 2016 by decorating special Pop Up Book Fair Windows with a fine selection of rare books and Empty Bookshelf Posters in their shops to raise money for the UNESCO literacy projects in South Sudan.

TOKYO: The World Antiquarian Book Plaza is located in Tokyo’s city centre, five minutes away from the famous Ginza. The Plaza is a joint venture of Yushodo Ltd. and Michael Steinbach Rare Books and unites the exquisite offers of rare book dealers from Japan, the United States, Australia and Europe. On 23 April 2016, the Plaza will once again be the elegant venue for an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair, organized by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of Japan (ABAJ).

KOREA

SEOUL, PUSAN, DAEGU: Find rare and fine books, get in contact with antiquarian booksellers in Seoul, Pusan and Daegu! For the first time ever, the ILAB dealers in the Republic of Korea will join their colleagues worldwide on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 23 April 2016. Korean booksellers will organize Pop Up Fairs in prominent places in their capital Seoul as well as in the second biggest Korean city Pusan and in the city of Daegu, which owes the most antiquarian bookshops over there.

RUSSIA

MOSCOW: Free Appraisal Day at the Moscow State University of the Printing Arts: bring your books, maps, prints and autographs and learn about their value! And even more: Enjoy a special exhibition and auction of books about books, organized by the Russian antiquarian booksellers at one of the beautiful bookshops in Moscow.

SOUTH AFRICA

CAPE TOWN: After the successful launch in 2015, AntiquarianAuctions.com, the online rare book auction platform run by Paul Mills in Cape Town, South Africa, will participate once again in the international 24 hour chain of events organized by ILAB booksellers across the world. In association with publishing house Penguin Random House, AntiquarianAuctions.com will host a talk with Susan Buchanan, author of the recently published “Burchell’s Travels: The Life, Art and Journeys of William John Burchell”, and other experts in the field. Local collectors and botanists, local historians and the general public will be invited and asked to make a donation to support the UNESCO literacy projects.

SPAIN

BARCELONA: A rose for a book – It is a long and good tradition in Barcelona to offer a rose for every book bought on St Jorge’s Day. Coinciding with UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day 2016, ILAB bookseller Albert Casals and his colleagues will pop up at the famous La Ramblas, to show wonderful books, to raise money for the UNESCO literacy projects in South Sudan and to present roses to booklovers.

MADRID: 23 April 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the deaths of two of the world’s greatest poets: William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes. Published in two volumes in 1605 and 1615, Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” is considered one of the most influential works of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and as a founding work of modern Western literature. In fact, it is regarded as the first novel ever written. “Don Quixote” was first printed in Madrid by Juan de la Cuesta. At his former house the Spanish booksellers will pop up on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day to present rare and fine editions of Don Quixote along with the crème-de-la-crème of Spanish book history.

SWITZERLAND

ZURICH: For bookish people 2016 is a year to celebrate and to commemorate in many respects. 400 years ago Shakespeare and Cervantes died, and a hundred years ago one of the most innovative artistic movements was brought to light in Zurich: Dada. At the Cabaret Voltaire, where Tristan Tzara, Jean Arp, Hugo Ball, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Marcel Janco and others founded the Dada movement in 1916, the Swiss antiquarian booksellers will gather exactly a hundred years later for an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair on 23 April 2016 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Dada founding with a Dada performance, a presentation of rare first editions and a gorgeous fundraising to fill the Empty Bookshelf Posters as a strong support of literacy worldwide.

GERMANY

MUNICH: “Book Tales & Cocktails” was such a big success on 23 April 2015, that the rare book dealers in Munich and their customers immediately decided to celebrate UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day again in 2016. So, right in the city centre of the Bavarian capital in the rooms of the Kaufmanns Casino, where business men and women have been meeting for conferences and cocktails since 1832, some 15 antiquarian booksellers from Munich and Bavaria will once again show some of their most extraordinary books – with music, drinks, finger food, and a lecture on “Early 20th Century German Publishing” held by the renowned, no: legendary German collector and publisher Klaus G. Saur.

AUSTRIA

VIENNA: The "Heart of Darkness" lies next to Vienna at Dr. Paul Kainbacher Rare Books on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016. With a Bibliophile Evening dedicated to lectures and books on travel and exploration from Austria into the World the Austrian antiquarian booksellers will launch the ILAB Pop Up Week on 16 April 2016, from 5 to 7 pm. Dr. Paul Kainbacher will invite colleagues and collectors to his bookshop in Baden (Vienna), where Walter Sauer, Professor of Economic and Social History, and Martin Pfitscher, specialist in Ethnology, will talk about famous 19th century travels of Austrian explorers and adventurers to Africa. The evening will close with a book presentation and a fundraising to support the great work of UNESCO's Forest Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI) in South Sudan.

HIGH ABOVE VIENNA: A high-flying book presentation in the Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel of the world-famous Prater will be one of the ultimate highlights on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016. If you haven't once in your lifetime taken a ride on the Ferris Wheel and enjoyed the breathtaking views over the roofs of Vienna, this is your time for an amazing experience. On 23 April, from 10 am to noon, the members of the Austrian Antiquarian Booksellers' Association will take you on a trip high above Vienna while offering rare and fine books in one of the wheel cabines and raising money to buy school books for the children in South Sudan. And who knows? Maybe Orson Welles' Third Man will be there, listening to the famous zither tunes by Anton Karas.

HUNGARY

BUDAPEST: 2016 – the year of the book, the year of Cervantes. Hungarian booksellers will hold an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair at the Institute Cervantes: the perfect venue for a bookish event on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016 which marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes. Support literacy, enjoy an exclusive “Don Quixote” exhibition at the Institute named after its famous author, admire the bibliophile treasures and have a chat with the Hungarian booksellers!

FRANCE

PARIS: On 23 April 2016 there will be one really big event - in Paris in the elegant surroundings of the Grand Palais! French antiquarian booksellers who are members of Syndicat national de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne (SLAM) will join in ILAB’s worldwide celebrations on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016 by granting free entry to the Salon International du Livre rare & de l’Autographe on 23 April. In exchange fair visitors will be invited to donate some money in support of UNESCO’s South Sudan literacy project. Inside the Grand Palais, the French booksellers will celebrate William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes with an impressive exhibition.

PARIS, GRAND PALAIS: Throughout the elegant Parisian Book Fair, ILAB President Norbert Donhofer, Michael Steinbach, President of the Austrian Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (VAO), and many other ILAB booksellers will set up the Empty Bookshelf Posters in their own stands to raise funds for the UNESCO literacy South Sudan projects and to say: Wherever we are, we are a part of it. Amor librorum nos unit. The world of books unites us, on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2016, and every every other day, as long as we read and love books. A fitting and elegant contribution to the world celebration of books and literacy from booksellers in UNESCO’s home town!

NETHERLANDS

AMSTERDAM: One of the most beautiful and lively cities in Europe, Frank Rutten, Sascha Kok and the Amsterdam booksellers will organize a “UNESCO Night of the Books”, with music and theater – bookish entertainment at its best!

GRONINGEN: Antiquariat Isis is the only ILAB affiliate and member of the Dutch Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (NVvA) in that area, but instead of thinking "there is only one of us and nothing can be done", Lyseth Belt and Theo Butterhof, with the support of their local community, will once again organize a rather special Pop Up celebration of UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day at Folkingestraat in Groningen. Before the Second World War Folkingestraat with the beautiful Synagogue was the heart of the Jewish community. Today it is a lively and busy quarter of Groningen, full of small and independent shops, full of bookish and cultural events, and must go to for every visitor in the Netherlands.

HAARLEM, founded in 1245, has been the historical centre of the tulip bulb-growing district for centuries and bears the nickname "Bloemenstad" (flower city). Since the Middle Ages, Haarlem, which lies on a thin strip of land above sea level known as the "strandwal" (beach ridge), is one busiest and richest places in the Netherlands. On UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 23 April 2016 Dutch booksellers will hold a Pop Up Book Market on Kruisstraat 3 in the historical centre of Haarlem, next to the city Kruispoort which was blown up by the Haarlem inhabitants in 1573 in their battle against the Spanish. Meet the Dutch booksellers there on 23 April from 2 to 5 pm, enjoy their wonderful array of rare and fine books and fill the empty bookshelves for the children in South Sudan by donating money for the UNESCO literacy projects.

DENMARK

COPENHAGEN: Antiquarian booksellers will pop up in the foyers of the Copenhagen libraries!

SWEDEN

STOCKHOLM: Thanks to the Swedish rare book dealers the UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day on 23 April 2016 will turn into a great World Book and Copyright Night! On that day, 23 April 2016, the Stockholm Culture Night rolls out the purple carpet to celebrate art, music, dance and literature throughout the Swedish capital. Visitors will lose themselves in breathtaking performances and amazing exhibitions held at public places, museums and institutions all night. As part of this awesome event in Sweden and at the same time as part of the amazing great chain of ILAB Pop Up Fairs worldwide Mats Petterson, Mats Rehnströhm and other Swedish booksellers will pop up at the Royal Swedish Academy of Art, presenting treasures from the history of printing in Sweden and, as their colleagues across the world, raising money for the UNESCO literacy projects in South Sudan. What a night in Stockholm!

LUND is one of the oldest and most charming cities in Sweden. It is famous for its historical buildings, for its University (founded in the year 1666), for numerous bicycles in the streets, its rich cultural scene – and for its bookshops. Pierre Dethorey, member of the Swedish Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (SVAF) runs one of these bookshops. Akarps antikvariat at Kalkstensvägen 21 has one of the largest stocks of rare books in Scandinavia. And it is home to a very special treasure all book people will immediately fall in love with: a stunning collection of over 200 Swedish chapbooks and catch-penny-prints. For this year’s UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day Pierre Dethorey will organize a special exhibition of this beautiful, funny, colourful and extremely rare bibliophile treasure. An amazing idea and another great event in Sweden on 23 April 2016!

UNITED KINGDOM

OXFORD: Booksellers from the Antiquarian Booksellers Association (ABA) and their colleagues in the Provincial Booksellers’ Association (PBFA) will join together to bring World Book and Copyright Day to the attention of all who come to one of Britain’s largest rare book fairs, the Oxford Premier Fair. Open on both Saturday April 23 and Sunday April 24th this is one of those special fairs where really different books and other works on paper can be found. Co-organiser Tom Lintern-Mole reports that every year really unusual books are offered in Oxford – last year there was quite a buzz created around an early book on magic, for example. So, if you will be in Britain on April 23 Oxford should be your destination!

UNITED STATES

NEW YORK: The city that never sleeps will host an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair at a most spectacular venue. Where? Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

CHICAGO, IL: "Sweet home Chicago" is worth visiting for its numerous architectural gems and famous jazz and blues musicians. Thanks to Kurt Gippert, the Chicago booksellers will hold an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair overlooking Lake Michigan and the elegant skyscrapers of one of most beautiful American cities with a rich cultural life.

SEATTLE, WA: In the late 19th century Seattle was the gateway to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush, by the year 1910 it became one of the 25 largest cities of the United States, and up to the present it is an emerging industrial and cultural centre at the Pacific Northwest coast. Here, Ray Charles and Quincy Jones made their first steps as Jazz musicians. And who was born in Seattle? Yes! Jimi Hendrix! On 23 April 2016 5, the antiquarian booksellers who belong to the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) will host the final event of ILAB’s 24 hours of celebrations of the rare book and its place in our world. In Seattle the ILAB booksellers will welcome you in the Madison Room at the Sorrento Hotel for an ILAB Pop Up Fair including a 6-hour appraisal event, lots of information about the antiquarian booksellers in the United States and their national association and a big fundraising for the UNESCO project to help the children in South Sudan.

WEST LINN, PORTLAND / OREGON: At the same time and only few kilometres away, ABAA members Elisabeth Burdon, Nat des Marais and Charles Seluzicki will join in celebrating "the end of the day" with an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair, as the sun goes down over World Book and Copyright Day 23 April 2016. The Portland booksellers who celebrated UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2015 in a Portland pub are heading a few miles south this year and will be showing a varied selection of antiquarian books, maps and ephemera at the West Linn Public Library on April 23 2016, noon to 5pm. West Linn, a small city located on the Willamette River just south of Portland Oregon, boasts a vibrant community library - a great spot to chat with fellow booklovers, bring a book for an appraisal and donate to UNESCO literacy programs for South Sudan.

This is a first overview of what will happen at the ILAB Pop Up Celebrations from Australia to Asia, Africa, all over Europe to the United States on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 23 April 2016.

For 24 hours, from Australia to the Pacific Northwest, these and many more worldwide events will pop up one after the other to show that there is nothing more powerful than BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS! Take an atlas, go to Google Maps and look for an ILAB Pop Up Book Fair near you!

ILAB will follow up all events worldwide on 23 April in a 24-hours live-report. Visit us on the blog and on www.ilab.org, follow us on Twitter, join us on Facebook! We’ll see you there!

February 2016 – For immediate release. Pictures: ILAB, UNESCO, the Organizers, Wikipedia

ONCE AGAIN IN 2016 FILL THE EMPTY BOOKCASES AND SUPPORT LITERACY

SCHOOLS NEED BOOKS - LITERACY IS A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT

Make a donation! What could be closer to the interests of all ILAB affiliates than literacy? What is more appropriate than to enable as many children and adults as possible throughout the world to read books? Book collectors start as book readers! If we are concerned about the future of the book and younger generations of collectors, we must start at the very beginning.

That’s why ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs on April 23, 2016, will be more than just a fair: they will a venue for raising money to fight illiteracy. UNESCO is the most powerful worldwide partner we could have, and the UNESCO literacy projects deserve all our support.

Help UNESCO to realize the vision of a literate world for all!

Today, 781 million adults worldwide cannot read, write or count. 2/3 of them are women. This number declines every year. Thanks to greater access to education, young adults are much more likely to be literate than their parents. However, many children of the 21st century are destined to live on social and economic margins of our world.

We can change their destiny

For over 65 years, UNESCO has worked to ensure that literacy remains a priority on national international agendas. Through its formal and non-formal literacy programs worldwide, the Organization works to realize the vision of a literate world for all.

For World Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO organizes a call for donations to create a literacy rich environment in Africa. Committed to promote education in South Sudan, Forest Whitaker, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and actor is actively sponsoring our mission. The money raised will directly provide brand new and carefully selected books of Bouba and Zaza collection to librairies and schools.

Bouba and Zaza collection: books to develop life and socialization skills
The Bouba and Zaza series cover topical subjects affecting the lives of African families that parents are sometimes reluctant to address. These include various topics such as war and conflict, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the issue of water resources and environmental protection.

Support literacy - Help fill these book cases!

ILAB joins UNESCO in its activities to fight illiteracy worldwide. On UNESCO World Book and Copyright a series of ILAB Pop Up Celebrations - book fairs, appraisal days, exhibitions, lectures, conferences, book parties - will be organized across the world: from Australia to Japan and Korea, South Africa, Europe and the United States. On all these bookish events you will find amazing rare books for sale - and an opportunity to buy "symbolic books" to fill a "symbolic book case" and thereby to donate money to the UNESCO projects in South Sudan.

Make a donation!

Your contribution will improve access to books and learning for thousands children in South Sudan:

$ 3 will send one book to a child in South Sudan

$ 15 purchases 1 collection set of 12 books for a classroom

$ 100 provides 30 HIV/AIDS awareness books for children

$ 500 purchases 45 collection sets for a rural community

Be there! Support Literacy and fill the symbolic book cases worldwide on the ILAB Pop Up Fairs on April 23, 2016!

Take a look back to what was achieved in 2015 and help us to make 2016 even bigger!

ILAB BOOKSELERS RAISE OVER 10.000 EUROS TO BUY SCHOOL BOOKS FOR TO BUY SCHOOL BOOKS FOR SOUTH SUDAN

It is with pleasure we report that ILAB’s participation in UNESCO’s 2015 World Book and Copyright Day was a great success. Hundreds, if not thousands of booksellers and members of the public were involved. Although it is not possible to know the exact number who took part based on careful estimates we believe it to be a minimum of several thousand people. ILAB’s celebrations received a significant amount of media interest, including for example, an article in The Guardian who created a special additional site where pictures of the ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs could be uploaded. We are proud to report ILAB booksellers across the world raised at least Euros 10,528.01 for UNESCO’s South Sudan literacy project.

It was a special celebration for a great many reasons, but without doubt a principal one, was proof that antiquarian booksellers want to work together. A large proportion of the comments we have received from booksellers who took part in the day stated that working with colleagues across the world with the united purpose of promoting the rare book trade while raising money for literacy was the attraction for them. This is a shining example that ILAB’s motto is still alive: Amor librorum nos unit.

Thirty two events in twelve countries took place on April 23: A charity auction (in Cape Town), an appraisal day (in Moscow) and 30 Pop Up Book Fairs. The day opened in Australia, with a progression of events through Asia, Europe and then across the United States. The creativity shown by the ILAB affiliates who organised these Pop Up Fairs was inspiring and unexpected. If you have in mind static Pop Up Book Fairs where middle aged and older booksellers showed their wares to similarly aged book buyers think again - you definitely need to look at the blog we spent the whole, yes, the entire 24 hours putting together live!

On April 23rd ILAB affiliates held pop up book fairs giving children, students and a very broad cross section of the general public access to rare books. These fairs popped up at the most unexpected places, to mention just a few; a barge on a canal in Amsterdam, a woolshed in the Australian bush, a library in an underprivileged section of Antwerp, an elegant historic business man’s club in Munich, a bookshop in central Tokyo, the new Museum of Literature in Vienna, a brew pub in Portland Oregon, a whole street in Groningen… - there was even a travelling pop up fair in England with “Celeste the Rare Book Campervan” visiting primary schools on the road from Salisbury to Oxford.

Amidst such a great diversity of events there was a very significant unifying factor shared by all ILAB affiliates – a deep commitment to literacy. As mentioned above the ILAB celebrations contributed over Euros 10,500 to UNESCO’s important literacy work in South Sudan. ILAB has transferred Euros 8192.17 to the UNESCO Euro bank account we were advised to donate to. The remaining amount was donated via the button on UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day site. We understand that more funds than we are aware to date have been donated - UNESCO will be giving us the figures soon.

ILAB affiliates worldwide have and will get real benefit from our activities on April 23. Firstly there has never been so much publicity - and all of it positive - about ILAB and the antiquarian book trade. Lots of people around the world added photos from the pop ups they visited to the website added to the article in The Guardian. AbeBooks supported ILAB’s worldwide campaign with a generous donation of US$2000 to the South Sudan project, blogged about the day on several websites and in several languages and sent representatives to two of the ILAB Pop Up Fairs in Tokyo and in Portland (US). Moreover AbeBooks gave its entire home page to promote ILAB's celebrations on 23 April. Numerous book blogs like The Bookhunter on Safari, Book Patrol, My Sentimental Library, The Literary Tourist, Fine Books and Collections and iBookcollector published articles, and Sheppard’s Confidential dedicated a whole series of articles to the ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs. ILAB sent out press releases to the international press and, most importantly, the organisers of the Pop Ups got into contact to the local press using and modifying the press templates provided by ILAB. In summary it was ILAB affiliates across the globe that launched a worldwide campaign. This was a worldwide campaign which was mentioned in the press from Cape Town to the Sunday Times to the local newspapers in Dunkeld, Country Victoria in Australia. And even more: ILAB and the ILAB affiliates were omnipresent in the internet on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day. The number of visitors of the ILAB website doubled on 22 and 23 April, 2015. In addition, ILAB attracted an impressive 2500 visitors to the newly established ILAB blog on that day, and there were hundreds of posts and tweets in the social media. Such a campaign, launched worldwide in a joint effort by ILAB affiliates had never been seen before. A graphic demonstration of the power of working together.

Finally, we are pleased to report that sales were made at many of the ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs. In some cases these were serious 6 figure sales. We have heard several reports from booksellers that the events of April 23 continue to work in the favour of booksellers who took part. In fact last week a bookseller reported selling a $8500 book to a customer he met at the Pop Up Fair he exhibited in. This bookseller rang to say thanks. Without the Pop Up fair with its smaller more informal format he thought this collector would not have walked right past his books. The Pop Up Book Fair format is different and has much to recommend it as a nimble, interesting and exciting way of presenting antiquarian bookselling in the 21st century.

Join us in 2016!

THE INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE OF ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLERS (ILAB) is the umbrella organization of the professional rare book trade uniting 22 national associations and around 2000 rare book dealers in 34 countries worldwide.

FOR MORE INFORMATION visit www.ilab.org and www.unesco.org/new/en/wbcd.

CONTACTS: Sally Burdon - Sally@AsiaBookroom.com | Barbara van Benthem - editor@ilab.org

February 2016 – For immediate release. Pictures: ILAB, UNESCO, the Organizers, Wikipedia

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5/07/2015

AMSTERDAM – A Dutch and English Story in Pictures

By Frank Rutten

De aanloop.

Om 11 uur zou het schip van Mokum Mariteam voor onze winkel komen aanleggen. Dan zouden de deelnemende antiquaren, Die Schmiede, Kok, Spinoza, en Brinkman hun kramen aan boord inrichten, de stand voor de Unesco klaar maken en weer afvaren. Maar om 10 uur werd ik door de schipper gebeld met de medeling dat het schip die ochtend zware averij had opgelopen, en voor een paar weken uit de vaart zou zijn. Gelukkig kon dezelfde ochtend nog een vervanger gevonden worden, en rond twaalf uur konden we aan boord.

The running up.

Our ship was due at 11 o’clock in front of our shop. One hour before the skipper phoned informing me that the ship had suffered severe damage that very morning and was out of service for the next weeks. Luckily another smaller vessel was found as subsitute, and an hour later than planned the participating antiquarian bookdealers, Kok, Die Schmiede, Spinoza, and Brinkman, came on board, set up their stands and the UNESCO-posters, and up we went to our first landing stage.

De vaartocht.

De eerste stop was het Amstelveld, vervolgens gingen we naar het Rokin t/o de Bijzondere Collecties van de UvA, en tenslotte naar het Singel vlakbij onze winkel. Het was stralend weer, de boot was – ook al moesten we improviseren – opvallend opgetuigd, en we trokken veel bekijks. Nog meer kijkers trokken we toen Reinier Sijpkens zich met zijn Muziekboot bij ons voegde. Aan boord hadden we het genoeglijk met elkaar, een filmgroepje van de School voor Journalistiek te Utrecht was erbij om een reportage te maken.

Sailing the Amsterdam canals.

First call was at Amstelveld at half past one, off Prinsengracht. After that over Amstel river, right in the centre of our city, on Rokin, opposite of the Special Collections department of the University Library. Along the route we attracted a lot of attention from tourists and locals alike. We flew the Unesco Book & Copyright banners and ILAB and NVvA-flags. Here Reinier Sijpkens joined us in his ‘music boat’, a cockle-shell-boat furnished with a real organ, and trumpets. Fine water music we had, which he dedicated to Unesco and ILAB alternately. Last stop on Singel canal near our shop, Antiquariaat Brinkman, at 4 pm. We had a fine day, glorious weather, a very pleasant passage,company accordingly. A crew from the School of Journalism was on board, and filmed a news item with some in-depth interviews.

Opmerkingen achteraf.

Een leuke dag die het oude boek en de NVvA en de ILAB onder de aandacht van veel passanten en toeristen heeft gebracht. Ik denk dat de belangrijkste winst, behalve een gezellige dag voor de deelnemers, zit in het feit dat de ILAB voor het eerst een mondiale actie heeft gevoerd.

Some retrospective remarks.

We had a fine day, and brought ILAB and NVvA to the attention of a lot of passers-by and tourists. The main benefit of this day – besides having had a very nice day in the company of some fine colleagues – was that ILAB showed it can mount a good show wordlwide, and that we really felt part of a global network.

Video.

Voor een reportage van onze tocht gemaakt door René Krul zie deze link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyMLGIpRta4

Video.

For more extensive coverage of our Odyssee, please link to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyMLGIpRta4

(Text and pictures: Frank Rutten, NVvA)

4/27/2015

Chicago, 23 April 2015 - A review in pictures

Who knows? Maybe Frank Lloyd Wright and Carl Sandburg already had drinks at the elegant premises of the Cliff Dwellers Club. On 23 April the Club high above Chicago and overlooking Lake Michigan was a busy place filled with Chicago's antiquarian booksellers, Cliff Dwellers, Caxton Club members and numerous booklovers who had climbed to the 22nd floor of the skyscraper to enjoy books and bookish talks, to have a drink and to donate money to help UNESCO support literacy in South Sudan.

Pictures courtesy of Kurt Gippert: