World Book and Copyright Day

 

April 23 is celebrated quite formally around the world as World Book and Copyright Day. In 1995, UNESCO decided to observe April 23 each year as World Book and Copyright Day, with the aim of encouraging reading, developing the publishing industry, and protecting the intellectual property rights of authors.

The choice of April 23 as Book Day has roots in a long-standing tradition in Spain. Saint George's Day has been celebrated there on April 23 for many centuries — a day when lovers place roses in each other's hands. Spanish publishers collectively added further significance to the day by introducing the custom of giving books along with roses. Although the famous Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes actually died on April 22, publishers began commemorating him on April 23 to coincide with Saint George's Day. They introduced a charming tradition: on April 23, when a lover gives his beloved a rose, she gives him a book in return. We read excerpts from Cervantes' novel Don Quixote in our Class Nine-Ten English textbooks. April 23 is also the death anniversary of William Shakespeare. In 1995, UNESCO established April 23 as World Book and Copyright Day. April 23 is also the death anniversary of Satyajit Ray. Whether UNESCO officials considered Ray when making that decision, I do not know. But we Bengali readers know what a remarkable writer Satyajit Ray was, alongside being a world-renowned filmmaker.

There is no definitive method for measuring a reading index. However, the number of books published annually in a country gives some sense of how valued books are there. Recent figures show that more than 250,000 new books are published each year in the United States; over 200,000 in China; 180,000 in England; 140,000 in Japan; 135,000 in Indonesia; 115,000 in Russia; 100,000 in France; 90,000 in India; 90,000 in Spain; 70,000 in Germany; and 30,000 in Australia. In Bangladesh, at most 5,000 books are published per year.

Looking at total numbers alone does not fully capture the connection between readers and books. China and India each have populations exceeding one billion, so publishing 200,000 and 90,000 books respectively each year is not particularly remarkable. A more indirect indicator of reading culture might be found by looking at the number of new books published per head of population in each country.

The United Kingdom publishes the most books per capita — 3,000 books per year for every one million people. The figures for other countries are: Iceland 2,800; Norway 2,400; Finland 2,300; Denmark 2,200; Spain 2,000; Sweden 1,800; France 1,700; Canada 1,500; Australia 1,400; South Korea 1,400; Japan 1,200; Germany 900; the United States 800; Russia 700; Indonesia 500; Brazil 400; China 150; and India 80 new books per million people per year.

In Bangladesh, the annual rate of book publication is just 30 per million people. This figure is far from encouraging. Yet if we were to calculate the total study hours of students in Bangladesh — and certainly of candidates preparing for the BCS and FCPS/MD examinations — that number would undoubtedly be sky-high. I believe that if students were not weighed down by hundreds of examinations, many of them would read joyfully for the sheer pleasure of it.

With hopes for joyful readers and the joy of reading, warm wishes to all on Book Day.