SHILLONG: The good old bookstore, which has always been a bibliophile’s favourite hangout, is losing the race against time as technology brings library on the doorstep at a click of the mouse.
The popularity and business of brick-and-mortar book shops are dwindling as more readers prefer online purchases, observed Sridhar Balan, senior consultant at Ratnasagar Private Limited.
Addressing a gathering on the first day of the certificate course on publishing, maiden venture organised by the National Book Trust and the North Eastern Council (NEC), Balan said, “Publishing as a career is a skill and it can be taught. It needs skilled people to publish. The publishing bug has to bite the people.”
Balan, who was associated with Oxford University Press, said though the overall reading habit has not decreased in the North East, “there is not much potential in the field of literature and creative writing.”
On the book publishing course, NEC Secretary Ram Muivah said it is a good and humble beginning and he is hopeful that in the years to come, the certificate course will draw more participants as against 35 this year.
Muivah was confident that despite the progress in technology, books and publishers will sustain. “There will always be opportunity for publication and we wish to see more printers, publishers in the North East as there are many interesting authors here in this part of the country,” he said as he promised support from the NEC.
“It is high time to have publishing house in the North East. Reading habit has become low and we need to encourage the people to read,” he added.
