Guadalajara Book Fair Shows that the Printed Word Is Alive and Well

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Much of the news coverage swirling around libraries focuses on how libraries are adapting to the digital age.

But print is still very much in the picture, as American Library Association (ALA) President Molly Raphael emphasized in her recent remarks at the 15th Annual FIL (La Feria Internacional del Libro) in Guadalajara.

In comments reported by the ALA blog Inside Scoop, Raphael exclaimed, "For those who are worried about the future of print books, I encourage you to go to the Guadalajara Book Fair!”

She added, "The print book was so dominant that it was hard to find exhibitors who were even featuring ebooks as an option.”

As noted in the blog, "More than 100 ALA members from such diverse institutions as Stanford University and the Passages Academy in New York City, which serves incarcerated youth, found new Spanish-language books and other resources for their collections at the 25th annual fair, held November 24–December 3. The librarians participated thanks to the collaborative ALA-FIL Free Pass Program, now in its 15th year of providing a $100 stipend from ALA as well as free hotel nights through fair organizers.

"The fair provides librarians access to more than 250,000 titles in Spanish, put on display by what Raphael described as a 'huge number of publishers, NGOs, book jobbers, etc., who were there with large exhibits.' She went on to explain, “You can find books published in so many different countries. For example, if your library serves a Latino population that comes largely from El Salvador, you can actually purchase books published there.”