The term bookcrossing appeared only a few years ago. What is it? Bookcrossing is an unusual, peculiar library in which there are no employees, since ordinary reading enthusiasts perform their functions. That is, books that have already been read are left in places specially designated for other followers of this movement to use. Enthusiastic people in many countries even create official bookcrossing sites.
Why paper books are valuable
More recently, about 20-30 years ago, interesting, good books had to either be bought, having previously handed over 20-30 kilograms of wastepaper, or “taken out”. Therefore, the practice of exchange existed in any intellectual firm. Familiar and closest friends sometimes connected to such a book circulation.
And even earlier, also in the Soviet years, it was considered very prestigious to keep books, even in small-sized apartments. Their presence was considered as evidence of wealth. In every respectable, respectable family, there must have been various bookcases or at least a few shelves that would be filled with art publications. Most of them were not read, but they were very proud of the presence of these works in the house.
Today we live in an era of high technology. Gradually paper books come to replace various gadgets. They are easy to use, they are convenient, "capacity". Various mobile "readers", electronic books have found their connoisseurs who like this type of holiday. In one case, again, a small library fits.
The reason for the continued popularity of paper books
Each copy of the book is an almost animated creature. After all, nothing can replace the smell of printing ink, the rustle of pages, the tactile sensations of paper sheets. This can not be compared with the cold brilliance of electronic metal readers.
But when the book becomes dusty on a shelf, it loses its heat and attractive properties, it becomes ordinary paper. You must actively read it in order to breathe life into the book.
Start BookCrossing
In 2001, Ron Hornbaker, an American programmer, as well as his wife, looking at the bookshelves in his house, decided that this could not continue. First, they decided to leave several copies in the hotel lobby with explanatory notes. This is how bookcrossing came about, the term in Russian sounds like “book turn”. An unusual flash mob of various "liberated books" received real recognition a year later, when they started talking about this movement on television and in the press. Every day after that, at least three hundred people began to join the action.
What is bookcrossing?
Bookcrossing is a kind of book club. The exchange process is very simple. You should enter a special site and register there. A person then assigns a specific number to his book. Then he leaves it in a special place where this copy can be taken and read by any other.
Many books, therefore, do not gather dust on shelves meaninglessly. The former owner of the work can even follow the travels of his book, receiving information to the email address of who it is currently located with. The next main desire can be called the unspoken goal pursued by bookcrossing - to turn the planet into a huge library.
The followers of this humanitarian movement perceive their “pets” not just as piles of bound paper, but as carriers of living thoughts hidden behind a set of letters. Books that are read regularly and actively give a piece of their spirituality to people. The first bookcrosser is a writer. He shares his ideas and thoughts with a wide audience of his future readers.
The essence of bookcrossing
Its purpose is very simple: “free” the book by reading it, let someone else use it. You can also find the logo of this movement on a specialized site - this is a book with legs painted in yellow.
The label is printed and glued inside the cover when you give it to bookcrossing (in the library, for example, similar marks are made), and a unique serial number is indicated on it. After they add a small letter in case someone finds it. It says that she was not lost, but should be transferred to a new temporary owner, who will send the book for further bookcrossing. In the library, an employee can give guidance on this movement.
Corporate bookcrossing
Corporate bookcrossing is not just a new-fangled "chip", but a whole large system that pursues several goals at the same time. The main one is the minimum cost of training new employees of the company, another one is the introduction of corporate values of the company. Also, this type of bookcrossing as a whole contributes to the development of the business.
Bookcrossing in the world
This movement gained the greatest popularity in Italy. Very serious organizations participate in it. The authorities of Florence donated more than 4,000 copies of various books, which quickly spread around the city with the help of the “bookcrossing” movement. Pictures about book turn, placed in this article, will help to understand its scale.
Genaro Capuano, director of a bookstore in Florence, which has a branch in Paris, moved bookcrossing to France. It was "scattered" in March 2003, 2 thousand different books. Such actions, as even the most famous publishers claim, not only do not harm trade, but, on the contrary, help to remind readers (and someone else to find out) that you can get a lot more pleasure from reading books if you hold the print edition in your hands.
In America, in 2008, up to 12 thousand volumes were "free" every month. Tanzania, Mozambique, Nepal, Germany also participate in world book circulation.
Around the world today, there are approximately 2 million bookcrossers who have registered 10 million different books. It is precisely these necessary, bright and kind actions that allow you to join the reading of informative and interesting volumes. All this is completely free. It sometimes happens that there is not enough money to buy a bestseller, and there is no place to store these books. Bookcrossing is a solution to all problems at once.
Recently, this movement has begun to be supported by official authorities in many states, including the CIS countries. For exchange, they organize special cabinets in public places.
Bookcrossing in Moscow
The authorities of the capital decided to install shelves in the pedestrian areas. Sergey Kapkov, head of the department of culture, said that bookcrossing will develop in Moscow, there will be zones specially designed for him.
In Russia, this movement is only gaining popularity. According to statistics, in our country 62 thousand books are considered “released”, and 5790 are “found”.
In the capital, books can be left, for example, in the cultural center "ZIL", anti-cafe "Green Door". Bookcrossing is possible at library No. 53, the Pioneer children's library, the Otkrytie art school, the MSU physics department, the Museon art park and other places.
Bookcrossing in the library
Any library has a catalog of books, and a modern library has an electronic one, accessed via the Internet. Books are added to the bookcrossing directory by organizations and individuals, including libraries. In order to do this, you need to register via the Internet. Each book that you add to the catalog then receives a BCID (identifier), which allows you to put a comment in its journal. This identifier is placed using an ex libris label or handwritten text. The site also has a search by book ID. The registration of a large number of books, which is important for the library, allows the system of numbered labels. This can be done at the time of registration, without entering additional data on the publications. A subsequent reader will enter information about the book.