“To cope with the crisis with creative collaborations”

Delhi State Booksellers’ & Publishers’ Association came into existence as early as 1942 and a handful of people started the Association. It was later felt later that “Publishers” should also be clubbed along with the booksellers; more so as some of the booksellers were also engaged in publishing business. Thus the name “Delhi State Booksellers’ & Publishers’ Association” came into existence. Here, Kartik Raj Kushvah, Vice President, Delhi State Booksellers’ & Publishers’ Association (DSBPA) shares more about this association.

Vision and objectives…

“We organize book fairs, participate in events, organize conferences and do other desirable acts, leading to promotion and enhancement of knowledge, books and related resources,” tells Kartik Raj Kushvah, Vice President, Delhi State Booksellers’ & Publishers’ Association (DSBPA). “We intend to encourage the improvement of the educational and technical qualifications of members and their employees with the object of rendering better service to the community. We take all lawful steps as shall appear necessary or appropriate to the Association to secure standard acceptable terms of supply.”

Members of the association…

“There are over 450 members and strength is increasing year by year. There are several advantages of being a member of our Association. From time to time we organize book fairs, participate in events, organize conferences on Librarians’ Day, Copyrights’ Day etc in order to promote our members and act as interface so that our members may get exposure. We aim to promote and protect, by all lawful means the interests of the Publishers and Booksellers in relation to their business of supplying or dealing in books,” he shares.

Challenges during the Covid crisis…

“Covid crisis has affected parts of the publishing business, such as, new title releases, promotions, launches, etc. Disruption in the supply chain and with this control on people’s movement, retail has been adversely affected. Library Suppliers (schools & colleges) have been badly affected, due to institutions being shut down and there is no ray of hope for them to be operational anytime soon,” tells Kartik.

Road ahead…

“Digital delivery is the new name of the game as publishers are geared up to venture into the same, as school/college classes are being conducted online nowadays, therefore, the publishers have made content from online resources and leading journals freely accessible to students, teachers and researchers,” tells Kartik.

“The entire book industry is going through a tough time and affected by this badly but on the other hand we as a publishers are seeing this as opportunity and trying to cope up with this in the best possible manner through creative collaborations with authors and communities, they are giving people access to content such as

read alouds on social media channels, DIY activities, lifestyle hacks from experts and much more and also they are innovatively using social media platform to continue engaging with readers,” concludes Kartik.