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Celebrating Book Culture: The Aims and Outcomes of UNESCOs World Book and Copyright Day in Europe

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Abstract

World Book and Copyright Day was established by a resolution of the 28th General Council of UNESCO in 1995. Its avowed aim was ‘to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.’ This article examines the context for World Book and Copyright Day, the extent to which cultural and commercial interests have converged in the activities of the day and argues that an analysis of the activities of the day reveal a specifically European attitude to book culture.

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Notes

  1. Lobby Suisse du livre, ssociation suisse des diffuseurs, éditeurs et libraires ASDEL, Schweizer Buchhändler- und Verleger-Verband SBVV, comedia–le syndicat du medias, Bibliomedia Suisse, Fondation pour les bibliothèques, Association des bibliothèques et bibliothècaires suisse BBS, Autrices et auteurs de Suisse AdS, Pro Helvetia, Fondation suisse pour la culture.

  2. It had come out in Vintage paperback in April 2002.

  3. World Book Day in Wales has celebrated it regional literature http://www.cllc.org.uk/DYLL2005/frames.html (accessed March 2003).

  4. Seven hundred classes took part in the Austrian WBCD puzzle for schools 2006: (1) In the Internet you find chart music with the link “free download”. Can you download legally? (2) You buy some software for your computer through an Internet portal. To make sure you do not loose it again in case your computer is damaged, you make a copy on CD. Is this permitted? (3) You buy a film on the Internet, you load it up onto MP3 and pay for it. Some of your friends want to have the film too. Can you give them a copy on MP3? (4) You bought a “Hoerbuch” (audio book) in a book shop You like it and want to put 3 min of it on your homepage, so your friends could listen over their computers, too. Is this allowed?

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Acknowledgements

An earlier version of paper was presented at IAMCR Conference, Cairo, 23–28 July 2006 under the title ‘Commerce and Culture: World Book and Copyright Day in Europe’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Media Art and Design, School of Media Art and Design, University of Bedfordshire, Park Square, Luton, LU1 3AJ, UK

    Carlota Larrea & Alexis Weedon

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  1. Carlota Larrea
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  2. Alexis Weedon
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Correspondence to Alexis Weedon.

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Larrea, C., Weedon, A. Celebrating Book Culture: The Aims and Outcomes of UNESCOs World Book and Copyright Day in Europe. Pub Res Q 23, 224–234 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12109-007-9015-1

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