The removal of VAT on books last year has failed to reignite interest in Kosovo in the written word<\/p>\n
Besiana Xharra<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
While caf\u00e9s in Pristina are full of young people, the capital\u2019s libraries and bookstores are almost always empty. No official statistics exist on how much people read in Kosovo, but most agree that reading is on the decline. Booksellers complain that they are not selling books while librarians say their only visitors are students seeking course material.<\/p>\n
Some blame poor economic conditions, the rise of the Internet, government policies, or the destruction of libraries and bookstores during the independence war of the late 1990s.<\/p>\n
But a law adopted last July, exempting book sales from value added tax, VAT, hasn\u2019t made a difference, booksellers say.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been no difference in sales compared to last year, when books were a little more expensive because of tax,\u201d Nuhredin Bashota, owner of the Albini bookstore in Pristina, says. \u201cThe level of interest among people in buying books is extremely small.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weak sales at May\u2019s International Book Fair in Pristina served to confirm fears of a declining interest in books. Behxhet Bici, president of the Union of Publishers in Kosovo, which organized the fair, blames the Internet.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday almost everything can be found on the net, and as a result of the economic crisis, readers choose the net and don\u2019t buy books,\u201d Bici says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBooks in Kosovo have many problems that no one is trying to solve,\u201d Nazim Rrahmani, a prominent Kosovo writer, says.<\/p>\n
Kosovo\u2019s appetite for literature hasn\u2019t recovered from the destruction of libraries and bookstores carried out by Serbian forces during the war, Rrahmani feels, while Kosovo\u2019s own institutions hadn\u2019t done anything to revive interest in books, either.<\/p>\n
\u00a0![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.balkaninsight.com\/en\/file\/show\/National_Public_Library_Pristina-thumb.jpg\") <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Kosovo National Library demolished parts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Ramadan Beshiri, of the promotions department in the culture ministry, disagrees. The ministry has promoted books through various publications and helped libraries buy books – all to no avail, he says.<\/p>\n Too few books?<\/p>\n Sali Bashota, director of the National Library of Kosovo, says part of the trouble is that too few books are published in Kosovo these days. Thousands were once published each year, but that number has dwindled to just several hundred.<\/p>\n Bashota says poor distribution means that the books in print don\u2019t reach all their potential readers. \u201cNot enough is being done to provide readers with books,\u201d Bashota says.<\/p>\n Abdullah Zeneli, who owns the Buzuki publishing house in Pristina, sees the problem differently. He laments the unavailability of new books. \u201cLibraries don\u2019t have the new books that readers require, and the readers cannot get them in bookstores, either, so the problem is in the supply,\u201d Zeneli says.<\/p>\n To that, Bashota responds that library budgets don\u2019t stretch to new titles. Many people who frequent libraries and bookstores are students \u2013 with correspondingly thin wallets. When they come to the Fjola bookstore, for example, they aren\u2019t usually there to shop for high-end literature.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have many requests \u2013 but they are for photocopies or for educational literature,\u201d Edona Peci says. \u201cWe also sell books, but not many.\u201d<\/p>\n A hard sell in the rain:<\/p>\n Librarians and booksellers aren\u2019t the only ones worried by the downturn. In the shadow of Pristina\u2019s most recognizable landmark, the Grand Hotel, vendors peddle books from outdoor tables. They, too, are suffering from what they feel is official disinterest in their trade, which is highly dependent on the weather.<\/p>\n The city government promised to build them a specialized facility fours year ago. It has yet to materialize. \u201cI do not understand this. We do not need to stand here in the rain and snow,\u201d bookseller Hajredin Bajra said.<\/p>\n Muhamet Gashi, a spokesperson for the municipality of Pristina, had no explanation for the delay but said the city hadn\u2019t forgotten the vendors\u2019 plight. \u201cI understand them, and we will soon resolve the problem,\u201d Gashi said.<\/p>\n Kosovo\u2019s six bestselling books in 2010-2011<\/p>\n Dispute and Accident, by Ismail Kadare\u00a0 Who manipulates Europe? by Ulick Varange\u00a0 Men who Hate Women, by Stieg Larsson\u00a0 The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne and\u00a0 The backstage crisis that ravaged the state, year 97, by Mero Baze. 02 Jun 2011 \/ 14:55 The removal of VAT on books last year has failed to reignite interest in Kosovo in the written word Besiana Xharra While caf\u00e9s in Pristina are full of young people, the capital\u2019s libraries and bookstores … Continue reading |