Local Publishers Could Ease Book Shortage
Local Publishers Could Ease Book Shortage
As the Tajik culture ministry backs an initiative to restock libraries across the country, NBCentralAsia experts say the best way to make a greater number and diversity of books available to the public would be for the government to support local publishing houses.
This month, a travelling exhibition called Caravan of Books will see 60,000 books distributed to regional libraries across the country. The culture ministry has allocated 200,000 somoni, nearly 60,000 US dollars, for the initiative.
Very little government money goes towards buying new books for libraries, and many are filled with old, worn-out volumes.
NBCentralAsia experts say government funds need to be spent on reviving the local publishing industry. At the moment, most books - especially works of fiction - are imported because state-owned publishers like Maorif, Adib, Irfon and Matbuot lack new technology and receive few new orders. Most orders are for less than a thousand copies, and anything larger tends to be for textbooks.
Even though people have been reading less and less since the 1992-97 Tajik civil war, Sattor Jalilov, director general of the state publishing house Matbuot, says that there has been a recent resurgence in interest.
“We only have outdated equipment and we can’t publish books that are as colourful and high-quality as those produced in Russia and other countries,” said Jalilov.
A programme is in place to modernise the printing industry from next year until 2013, but observers have little faith in its success. A similar strategy for 2002-06 was abandoned due to lack of funds.
Abdughafor Abdujaborov, head of administration at the culture ministry,
says the government should come up with the money to re-equip local publishers with printing equipment, especially those in the regions. The state should also try to conclude direct contracts with foreign publishing houses to bring down the price of imported books.
But other experts are calling for more radical solutions. Lawyer Shokirjon Hakimov, the author of several books published in Tajikistan, says that government customs fees and taxes are crippling the publishing industry, which needs special concessions.
Political scientist Parviz Mullojanov agrees, saying that publishers should be offered tax breaks while booksellers should be able to trade on preferential terms.
NBCentralAsia economic expert Hojimuhammad Umarov believes Tajikistan is suffering “intellectual starvation”, and he warns that literacy levels will inevitably fall unless more books are published.
“The [government] budget must identify funds to boost the publication of books, newspapers and journals. State policy should…promote the availability of literature for everyone, especially academic and fiction.”
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
This month, a travelling exhibition called Caravan of Books will see 60,000 books distributed to regional libraries across the country. The culture ministry has allocated 200,000 somoni, nearly 60,000 US dollars, for the initiative.
Very little government money goes towards buying new books for libraries, and many are filled with old, worn-out volumes.
NBCentralAsia experts say government funds need to be spent on reviving the local publishing industry. At the moment, most books - especially works of fiction - are imported because state-owned publishers like Maorif, Adib, Irfon and Matbuot lack new technology and receive few new orders. Most orders are for less than a thousand copies, and anything larger tends to be for textbooks.
Even though people have been reading less and less since the 1992-97 Tajik civil war, Sattor Jalilov, director general of the state publishing house Matbuot, says that there has been a recent resurgence in interest.
“We only have outdated equipment and we can’t publish books that are as colourful and high-quality as those produced in Russia and other countries,” said Jalilov.
A programme is in place to modernise the printing industry from next year until 2013, but observers have little faith in its success. A similar strategy for 2002-06 was abandoned due to lack of funds.
Abdughafor Abdujaborov, head of administration at the culture ministry,
says the government should come up with the money to re-equip local publishers with printing equipment, especially those in the regions. The state should also try to conclude direct contracts with foreign publishing houses to bring down the price of imported books.
But other experts are calling for more radical solutions. Lawyer Shokirjon Hakimov, the author of several books published in Tajikistan, says that government customs fees and taxes are crippling the publishing industry, which needs special concessions.
Political scientist Parviz Mullojanov agrees, saying that publishers should be offered tax breaks while booksellers should be able to trade on preferential terms.
NBCentralAsia economic expert Hojimuhammad Umarov believes Tajikistan is suffering “intellectual starvation”, and he warns that literacy levels will inevitably fall unless more books are published.
“The [government] budget must identify funds to boost the publication of books, newspapers and journals. State policy should…promote the availability of literature for everyone, especially academic and fiction.”
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
