Travel tips - Tell you about Bookstore Tourism - III

Used Books 

A used book or secondhand book is a book which has been owned before by an owner other than thepublisher or retailer, usually by an individual or library.

Used books

The South Bank Book Market in front of the National Film Theatre,London, England, in October 2004

Bookshop in Hay-on-Wye

Used books typically become available on the market when they are sold or given to a second-hand shop or used bookstore; they are usually sold for about half or three-quarters the price of what they would cost new, though rare books and others still in demand or hard to obtain might sell for more than this.

Some new book shops also carry used books, and some used book shops also sell new books. Though the originalauthors or publishers will not benefit financially from the sale of a used book, it helps to keep old books in circulation. Sometimes very old, rare, first edition,antique, or simply out of print books can be found as used books in used book shops.

A reading copy of a book may be well-used, may include highlighting ormarginalia, and is suitable for reading, but is not collectible. This is a term used in the used book business, to indicate the lack of collectible value, while claiming that the book is in sufficiently good condition for a purchaser whose interest is primarily in actually reading the book. A reading copy is typically less expensive than a collectible copy.

Booktowns

A number of small towns have become centres for used book sellers, most notably Hay-on-Wye in South Wales. They act as a magnet for buyers, and are located in country areas of great scenic beauty.

Used Bookstores

Used bookstores buy and sell used books and out-of-print books. A range of titles is available in used bookstores, including in print and out-of-print books. Book collectors tend to frequent used book stores. Large online bookstores offer used books for sale, too. Individuals wishing to sell their used books using online bookstores agree to terms outlined by the bookstore(s): for example, paying the online bookstore(s) a predetermined commission once the books have sold.

A store of used books in Madrid

Used bookstores can range in size offering from several hundred to several hundred thousands of titles. They may be brick-and-mortar stores, internet-only stores, or a combination of both. A book town is a locale where numerous bookstores are located and serve as the town's main attraction to tourists.

Bookstore tourism

Powell's Books NW 10th & Burnside entrance

The Strand Book Store at 828 Broadway (and 12th St)

Bookstore tourism is a type of cultural tourism that promotes independent bookstores as a group travel destination. It started as a grassrootseffort to support locally owned and operated bookshops, many of which have struggled to compete with large bookstore chains and online retailers. The project was initiated by Larry Portzline, a writer and college instructor in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania who led "bookstore road trips" to other cities and recognized its potential as a group travel niche and marketing tool.^[1] The most famous bookstore tourism destination isHay-on-Wye in Wales.

In 2007, The New York Times argued that the Pioneer Valley in Western Massachusetts, is the "most author-saturated, book-cherishing, literature-celebrating place in" the United States.^[2] In particular, it discussed three bookshops in the region, Amherst Booksin Amherst, Massachusetts, Broadside Bookshop in Northampton, Massachusetts, and The Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley,Massachusetts.^[2]

In 2008, USA Today listed nine top bookstore travel destinations in theUnited States as: Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida; City Lights Books in San Francisco; The Elliott Bay Book Companyin Seattle; Politics and Prose inWashington, DC; Powell's Books inPortland, Oregon; Prairie Lights in Iowa City, Iowa; Tattered Cover in Denver, Colorado; That Bookstore in Blytheville inBlytheville, Arkansas; and the Strand Book Store in New York City.^[3]

Bookstore tourism is encouraged by organizations such as the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Antiquarian Booksellers (MARIAB). Founded in 1976, the organization has 125 business members as of 2013, publicizes its member bookstores with a website and a free annual directory booklet, and sponsors an annual "Pioneer Valley Book & Ephemera Fair".^[4]