The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) has joined this year’s World Book & Copyright Day celebration in a big way.
All over the world antiquarian booksellers will be holding pop-up book fairs to offer “a stunning selection of rare books, prints, manuscripts and ephemera to promote the trade of old and rare books and to support the UNESCO literacy projects in Africa.”
These pop-up book fairs will surely provide visitors with a chance to peruse jaw-dropping printed material while offering the opportunity to enrich the lives of the kids of South Sudan by providing much needed literacy assistance.
From the press release:
From Sydney to Tokyo to Cape Town, from Moscow, London and all the major European capitals to New York, Washington, Chicago and the Pacific Northwest of the United States ILAB Pop Up Book Fairs, organized by the world’s expert antiquarian booksellers, will appear on 23 April, 2015.
WHERE? In a woolshed in the Australian bush, at central stations, on boats, in museums, libraries, streets, private clubs, cocktail clubs, brew pubs, on roof terraces, at the top of skyscrapers. On UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day ILAB booksellers will bring rare books to the people in the most unexpected places!
HOW? Like a Mexican wave starting the day in Australia and, as the sun goes, finishing the day in the United States, scores of rare book dealers will be organizing Pop Up Fairs – a mixture between bookish flash mob and speed dating for booklovers, lasting only a few hours at unusual, but busy locations where passers-by will discover a stunning selection of rare books, prints, manuscripts and ephemera to promote the trade of old and rare books and to support the UNESCO literacy projects in Africa.
WHY? Reading is a gift, reading is a fundamental human right! “The power of books to advance individual fulfilment and to create social change is unequalled”, says Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO. Year by year on UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day booklovers worldwide celebrate the power of the book. For the first time in 2015, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and its affiliates will be a part of it! Each ILAB Pop Up Book Fair will feature a large poster of an “empty bookcase”, symbolic book spines will be “sold” with the money from each going directly to UNESCO’s South Sudan Project. A donation of $3 US will send one book to a child in South Sudan, $15 purchase a set of 12 school books for a classroom, and $500 will provide 45 school book collections for a rural community in Africa.
*****
Here in the Northwest there will be a pop-up book fair at the Sorrento Hotel in Seattle from 4-8pm and the World Book and Copyright Day festivities will wrap up with a pop-up book fair at the Lucky Lab Brew Pub in Portland.
Now get out there!