NDIAN ELECTIONS TAKES ITS TOLL ON 2014 LAGOS BOOK FAIR,AS WEB PROVIDES FRESH VISTA……..

INDIAN ELECTIONS TAKES ITS TOLL ON 2014 LAGOS BOOK FAIR,AS WEB PROVIDES FRESH VISTA……..

By ABDULMUMINI ADEKU,CHUX OHAI

   

The Nigerian International Book Fair for 2014  suffered a reduction in terms of participants and exhibitors because of the Indian General elections which was recently concluded after a whole month.

In an exclusive interview with Paedia Express Multimedia in Lagos,Nigeria,Mr Abiodun Omotubi,the Executive Secretary of the organizing agency told this reporter that the reduction was however not significant to affect the general financial fortune of the fair.

He explained that  in this years fair at least there was a reduction of 30 percent of  foreign participants in the fair while there was an upsurge in local exhibitors as well.

He revealed that since the Indian National Government usually subsidizes the travelling costs of the intending exhibitors by 50 percent the month long elections back home in India ensured that they did not come in 2014 because they had to perform their civic duties to there nation.

He affirmed that he will not be able to ascertain on the real figures as it concerns the human traffic at the fair as 25 schools showed up at the fair during this interview.

His words:”The number of people we have today is higher than that of yesterday and this is mainly because of the younger ones ,as at today we have  127 exhibitors but last years we had 134 exhibitors,the drop is however not significant”

“The traffic in terms of human population is like 15 ,000 on the average but we are hoping to double that this year on daily basis,this si why we are trying to market this to the student population in University of Lagos as this will encourage them to attend as well”

The occasion was the International Conference of the 2014 Nigeria International Book Fair, which took place at the University of Lagos, Akoka, with the theme, The emergence of e-book and survival of the physical book in Africa.

In his welcome address to the gathering, the chairman of the event, Alhaji Akin Olajide, hinted that the traditional book chain in Nigeria faced a serious challenge in the emergence of the e-book.

Briefly outlining some of the problems affecting the book sector, he urged publishers to position themselves to withstand the anticipated competition from e-books in the future.

The keynote address – which was delivered by the pioneer Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Librarians Registration  Council of Nigeria, Dr. Victoria Okojie – examined the impact of the arrival of the e-book and trends in its adoption in the continent, as well as some of the initiatives and key issues in the use of e-books.

In comparing the emergence of the e-book to the birth of a new baby, Okojie raised a few questions. She asked, “Will the emergence of the e-book spell doom for the physical book? Will the physical book survive the onslaught of the e-book in the foreseeable future? With the arrival of the digital revolution, do we still need old fashioned bookshops and libraries? Do we actually prefer e-books to physical books? Have we finally arrived at the betterment of our society? What will be the fate of Africa in this new dispensation?”

She said that while the dominance of the physical book had been threatened by advances in technology, the proliferation of digital content and the availability of multi-functional devices like tablets and mobile phones, the bone of contention today is the delivery mode of the book.

Also, Okojie noted that in spite of the obvious limitations of the e-book, it was still very attractive to many people and the hype around its existence had not reduced. Attributing this to the speed in its acquisition and other factors, she said, “There is no constraint in time and distance. You don’t have to go to a bookshop. Right there on your laptop computer, you can acquire an e-book.

“With e-books, you don’t have preservation problems. They are environmentally friendly. They are easily available and allows for multiple access. Many users can use them simultaneously. It is easy to search for items on the e-book, save and print same. Also there are value-added features like dictionaries and encyclopaedia and so on.

“The price of the e-book is an advantage to users. Some e-books are free and many are cheaper than the print version. If you like to read in the night, then the e-book is very good because there are in-built reading lights in the e-devices. So there is no need worrying about power failures.”

Although she conceded that it was cheaper and more convenient to purchase an e-book online than the print version, the keynote speaker pointed out that they had a lot of disadvantages, too.

“Many devices are incompatible with the format of an e-book. Publishers often prescribe the number of times that an e-book can be read before it is withdrawn from the library and this poses a problem for students and other users.

“It is not easy on the eyes when you are reading an e-book. It is very easy to pirate and damage is a major disadvantage. A major disadvantage for the e-book is that traditionally many people just love reading the good old physical book. The e-book has very limited subject coverage.”

In her assessment of the African e-book scene, Okojie said the industry contributed between two and three per cent to the global e-book market. She blamed this on apathy on the part of policy makers, inadequate infrastructure, piracy, in sufficient data on the emergence of e-books in Africa and lack of dedicated budgets for e-books.

In spite of these limitations, she added, current trends in the adoption of e-books in Africa showed that the acceptance and use of e-books is growing as infrastructures improve.

But Okojie believes that with the acceptance and use of physical books on the continent, there is a strong indication that the physical book will survive the emergence of the e-book.

Giving reasons why she thinks the physical book will survive, despite the numerous advantages of the e-book, she said, “The pride of owning a physical book, the inexplicable feeling of satisfaction of manipulating a tangible product, the appeal of the appearance, the smell of a new book and the emotional value, which the e-book may never have, are things we have all experienced and endeared the physical book to us. With the physical book, there is no need for a reading device. It is very readable and easy on the eyes. When you buy a physical book you actually own it. In the e-environment, you do not own the book.

“People are used to going to the bookshop and they enjoy doing so. It is difficult to take that away from the physical book. Information in physical book is in more diverse subject areas than the e-book and there is no fear of power failure.

“Statistics show that the sale of physical books accounted for 87 per cent of all books sold in 2012. So I think that for us, the emphasis should be on the content rather than the format of the book. Will the physical book survive then? I think the answer is yes.”

Commenting on the way forward for the book industry, the keynote speaker noted that there was a need to establish a committee of stakeholders to discuss the problems of the book trade sector and to develop a road map for it.

“We should establish more platforms so that we can create awareness and resolve issues relating to how we can work with both formats. Also we need to advocate a better environment for the book sector,” she said.