THE Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair is back and this time, the event is even bigger in terms of the number of booths and space occupied.

The event, themed “Books: Building the World of Tomorrow”, is on from now till March 28 at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC). There are plenty of good bargains on all kinds of books and educational tools both from local and foreign publishers.

Occupying five halls, the book fair features 856 booths, out of which 128 are taken up by foreign publishers.

Readers’ heaven: The book fair is set to attract about two million people this time around.

Throughout the fair, there will also be many events organised by individual publishers such as book launches and appearances by authors and celebrities, to attract more visitors.

An International Conference on Children’s Books 2010 themed Children’s Literacy in the Changing World will take place at the venue today and tomorrow.

The conference is organised by the Malaysian Board on Books for Young People (MBBY), in cooperation with the National Book Council of Malaysia and the Malaysian Book Industry Council.

The conference is an ideal platform for those who have chosen to devote their creative energy to writing, illustrating, marketing and promoting books for children.

Participants will be able to gain insights into new and innovative ways of production and promotion by learning from experienced professionals and exchanging ideas with them.

The fair’s organising committee chairman, Datuk Ivan Hoe, said last year, the fair attracted 1.5 million people and the organisers were expecting a two million crowd this year.

He said the book fair, which was going into its 29th year, was the biggest ever held in South-East Asia, and was endorsed by the Malaysia Book of Records.

“Having such a fair is a big boost to the reading community in the country and it also inculcates the reading and discussion culture, promotes a knowledgeable community and competitive work culture with high moral intregrity,” he said during an interview on March 19.

Hoe said the economic downturn had not affected the retail sale of books as people still bought books.

“We must cherish our intellectual food as much as we like our physical food,” he said, adding that the International Book Fair was becoming a trademark and annual event for some families and people.

Hoe also said the reading trend among Malaysians was improving, although the country had only achieved half the target set by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to be listed as a reading nation.

The target requires a nation to have 1% publication of its total population.

Currently Malaysia has about 15,000 publications, while the total population is about 27 million.

“Although just halfway, people are more ready and open to reading. And we must remember the Internet is also a big space of reading material,” he said.

The book fair was opened on Saturday by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Its patron is the Prime Minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Admission to the fair is free.

Source: The Star Online

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