Madan Man Shrestha
Pilgrims Book Store
I actually remember the days when books were a necessity. People relied on them for work or research purposes, and even entertainment. They used to hunt down certain reads in our store, sometimes even waiting for days for its arrival. However, with technology and internet taking over, we are living in a time where books and bookstores, in particular, aren’t all that necessary. Information can be googled, books can be downloaded, and there are even some sites that home deliver your books despite the fact that they are not bookstores. So at the moment, the trends in sale may not have completely plummeted, but we can see that we need to come up with new idea and plans.
Gone are the days when sitting and waiting for customers at your shop was enough. We are thinking of new ways to bring in more readers. Online is obviously one of those ways. We already have a website for people living abroad. They can browse through our collection and order books online. Foreigners and expats alike use that service. Now we are focusing on expanding a similar web presence all over Nepal as well. We are still working on the logistics of delivery but I think this convenience should bring in more customers.
Raman Raut
Educational Book House
“Overseas Chinese Bookstores’ Joint Book Exhibition” concluded...
Times are certainly changing and the bookstores just have to adapt to the news ways. Still I think it is going to take Nepal a decade or so to be completely influenced by technology and change their reading habits. First of all, readers here don’t have proper Internet or credit card services that are common abroad. The terrible load shedding hours is another issue. A Kindle reader here might not have all the conveniences required to fully operate the device. Just a couple of months ago, I had a customer, also a new Kindle owner, complain about these things.
Further, most from our generation aren’t used to living their life on a tablet or computer. A couple of our customers who had tried e-books have shared that they didn’t particularly enjoy the experience. I bet the new generation will have an easier time, however, currently for all the above reasons and more, the advance technology hasn’t exactly made a big impact on book sales around our country.
Besides here we believe in building strong relationships with our customers. We select our books as per their demands and suggestions. We ask for their opinions on different writers and accordingly add such titles to our collection. Thus many have found a reason to be loyal clients and keep returning to our bookstore.
Dayaram Dongol
Book Paradise
Personally I believe there will always be people who will want to physically hold a book and read works of their favorite writers. Despite the popularity of e-books and Kindle, there will always be those who will want to surround themselves with books and be able to declare themselves proper owners of a book collection. There might be some temptations regarding the cheap or even free availability of e-books, but there are also those who will regard buying a book as an investment.
Having said that though, I don’t think we can ignore the changing trends. In a couple of years, technology might very well make bookstores less popular so as bookstore owners, I believe we have to give our readers all the reasons to keep coming back. Having a good collection and making sure the prices are fair are the prerequisites. I believe we must go a step further and give them the experience as well because you can’t deny there is something just lovely about going inside a bookstore and browsing through shelves full of reads or potential purchases.
For example to improve the experience here, we have chairs in different corners of the stores. We have also arranged the shelves in such a way that if a customer wants to browse or read without being disturbed, they can do that too. We even provide tea services for our regulars. In this manner, while moving ahead, we might have to put a little more effort and creativity into running our bookstores.
Siddhartha Maharjan
Mandala Book Point
Sustaining book readership among an increasingly tech savvy population isn’t just our problem but the world’s as well. In fact the west has bigger challenges in this regard. The likes of Kindle haven’t caught up in Nepal yet. Similarly the practice of purchasing books online is only slowly catching up. Thus so far, it hasn’t hampered our business but I do expect to see an impact in the near future. I can’t specify the exact number of years in which technology will change our book market, however, it would certainly be wise to have some strategies.
These are issues that are regularly discussed in various book fairs and conferences from Kathmandu to Frankfurt. The question isn’t about if we have to think about alternatives, the question is when we must change our game plan. I bet every bookstore will make different discussions but on the whole, provisions like making sure digital copies aren’t cheaper than real books should really help give us a fighting chance. In Nepal too we have the bookseller’s association and their discussions such as not to add VAT rates on the prices have been a smart move. These are things that will prove to be critical in the future.
