Step into a library or a bookstore, and you’ll find yourself
surrounded by a multitude of books. Each one beckons you, promising
to transport you to different realms.
Baku Book Center offers a diverse collection of literature that
caters to readers of all ages and preferences. Despite the
challenges brought about by the pandemic, the center has managed to
adapt and continue its operations successfully, achieving its goals
of promoting reading, engaging readers, and providing access to
books.
Today, the center continues to organize literary, educational,
and cultural events, including book releases, meetings with
writers, and other activities to engage and delight visitors.
In an interview with AZERNEWS, the Baku Book Center’s PR
manager, Nigar Huseynova provided an in-depth overview of the
activities of the Baku Book Center, readers’ preferences, the Baku
Book Fair, and the state of the book market in Azerbaijan.
Q: How would you evaluate the recent activities of the
Baku Book Center? What specific goals have been accomplished in the
past years?
A: Recent years have been quite unpredictable for the Baku Book
Center. The year 2020 went down in the history of Azerbaijan as the
year of the historic victory in the 44-day Patriotic War, the year
of the liberation of Garabagh and seven districts from almost 30
years of occupation. But for the whole world, 2020 and the
subsequent 2021 are the years of the pandemic and lockdowns. Of
course, they did not bypass Azerbaijan either. The book industry
has faced significant challenges during the pandemic, including the
closure of brick-and-mortar stores and supply chain disruptions.
Despite this, book sales at the Baku Book Center have not
decreased.
To reduce risks to people and help stop the spread of coronavirus,
most employees have been transferred to remote work. But even under
these conditions, the work of the Baku Book Center did not stop for
a single day. We continued selling online and organized a delivery
service.
The Baku Book Center received quite a lot of orders, constantly
responded to messages, held various discount promotions, webinars
on promoting reading for young people, and regularly advertised
book products on social networks. The center even managed to launch
two projects for children: a competition for the best drawing,
“Evdə qalmağın xeyri” (Benefits of staying home) and an essay
competition “Coronavirusdan sonrakı həyat” (Life after
Coronavirus). Launched in 2021, the literary competition “Cənnətim
Qarabağ” (My paradise is Garabagh) became a kind of tribute of
gratitude to all those thanks to whom we won and regained Garabagh.
So, if you look back, we can say with confidence that the Book
Center team withstood the trials of those years with dignity.
Over the past two years, the work of the Baku Book Center has
continued as usual; we are trying to delight our visitors with new
book releases, meetings with writers, and other literary,
educational, and cultural events.
Q: Can you highlight any particular projects initiated
by the Baku Book Center that have garnered significant
attention?
A: Speaking about the most successful projects,
I would like to dwell on the educational project “YÜKSƏL” (Rise
Up), implemented with the financial support of bp Azerbaijan. The
project was designed for one year to help students and young people
identify areas for development and professional growth, expand
their intellectual abilities and personal qualities, and gain
confidence in themselves and their abilities. As part of the
project, lectures on various topics were organized at the Baku Book
Center. Experts in various fields were involved in the project.
Students from various universities, colleges, and interested youth
were invited as listeners, depending on the topic. At the end of
each lecture, each participant, presenting a student ID, received
free books recommended by the lecturer. This project has become one
of the most successful since the existence of the center.
Q: How does the Baku Book Center gather information
about reading preferences? Are there any ongoing statistical
studies conducted in this regard?
A: Social networks and the Internet in general
provide a huge opportunity to study the latest trends in the book
industry. We carefully monitor various resources that provide
information and recommendations about literary trends, new book
releases, and the most popular authors. We are regular visitors to
the annual Frankfurt Book Fair, where almost all of the world’s
largest publishing houses and literary agencies are represented. In
addition, we learn about the preferences of our visitors from sales
consultants. Also, there is a section on Baku Book Center’s website
titled Ordering books, through which users indicate which books
they would like to see on the shelves of the center.
Q: What books are the most popular choices?
A: We order books from the largest publishing
houses in Russia, Turkiye, Great Britain, France, Germany, and
other countries based on market requirements. Genre preferences
change depending on the age of readers, and other factors, such as
language, also play a role. Among the best-selling books in Russian
are books in the fantasy and horror genres. This year there were no
noticeable peaks of interest in any genre. As in previous years,
books on psychology, self-development, classics, novels by
contemporary writers, children’s books, and detective stories
remain very popular. Readers stopped buying thick books, preferring
books with fast-paced plots.
Q: Baku Book Center participated in the Baku
International Book Fair. From your perspective, what role does this
book fair play in enriching public education?
A: The Baku International Book Fair is the
largest in the region. The Baku Book Center participated in this
event for the third time. Every year the book fair never ceases to
amaze readers with new initiatives.The fair program includes
various events in different formats, including book presentations,
meetings with acclaomed local and foreign writers and master
classes. All this is a positive, favorable sign. A pleasant fact is
the participation of a large number of local publishers. This year,
books of various genres in Azerbaijani, Turkish, English and
Russian were presented at the stand of the Baku Book Center. A
large place was devoted to children’s literature. I would like to
note the book of the famous English writer Charlie Mackisey “The
Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse”, translated into Azerbaijani.
This book became the best-selling book at this year’s book fair. To
this day, it remains a bestseller around the world. The book tells
the story of a boy and his three friends – a mole, a fox and a
horse. The conversations between four friends give readers an
insight into the best human qualities. Last year, an animated film
based on this book was awarded the Oscar for Best Animated Short
Film.
Q: What are your thoughts on the current state of the
book market in Azerbaijan?
A: In recent years, book production has seen a
big leap both in terms of the content of books and their printing
quality. In addition to large publishing houses, many small ones
have appeared in Azerbaijan, but if we evaluate it as a whole,
there are not many publishing houses actually competing in the
market, their activities are mostly spontaneous, and we are
increasingly seeing a lack of any coordination in their activities.
Prices are rising, purchasing power is falling. It is becoming
increasingly difficult for people to allocate money in their family
budget to purchase books. The active development of the Internet,
reading aids, smartphones, and mobile Internet plays a significant
role. Almost 85 percent of the Azerbaijani population uses the
Internet and can read books in electronic formats.
Q: Could you share any insights into the projects and
events that the Baku Book Center plans to undertake in the upcoming
months?
A: Baku Book Center functions not only as a
bookstore but also as a cultural space. We have a very busy
program; events dedicated to literature and music are held almost
every week. We had many different projects that, after existing for
a couple of years, were closed simply because any project has both
a beginning and an end. But old projects are being replaced by many
new ones. Information about them can be obtained from our social
networks and website.
To attract public attention to reading, to achieve minimum prices
for books, and to be able to update the assortment as often as
possible – this is what we strive for. Our work is aimed at
increasing the role of books in the life of every person.
—
Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz