Fair for second-hand books builds loyal customer base of readers in five years

AMMAN — Zaina Qabbani, an avid reader, is used to waiting for a while before buying her favourite books since they tend to be rather expensive when they are first released.

However, a three-day book fair that concluded Saturday enabled Qabbani to buy her favourite books at affordable prices compared to the cost at the capital's bookshops. 

"I've been visiting the Noon Book Fair for the past five years and what I really like about it is that the books are affordable," she told The Jordan Times on the exhibition's first day.

Qabbani was among thousands of Jordanians who visited the fifth Noon Book Fair, organised by local NGO Inkitab.

Wasfi Qadoumi, the event's director, said the fair targets those who cannot afford to buy new books by selling second-hand ones for reasonable prices. 

"They are sold for between 100 fils and JD3, and the proceeds go to the original owners of the books," he told The Jordan Times.  

Inkitab seeks to spread the culture of reading in society through regular book fairs or monthly reading sessions, according to Qadoumi.

"A total of 100,000 books were on display to visitors this year, with topics such as poetry, politics, fiction, psychology and religion. We also held several cultural activities," he said.   

Qadoumi noted that organisers sought to introduce a cultural festival along with the book fair to cater to the various tastes of the local community. 

He added that it took them a month-and-a-half to collect the books from the original owners. 

"Last year, the book fair had 10,000 visitors and 3,000 people attended the opening ceremony."

Some 220 volunteers from local universities took part in the event and were tasked with serving customers, classifying books and pricing them, according to Qadoumi.

Eman Hlalat is one of the volunteers whose passion for reading motivated her to contribute towards making the book fair successful. 

"This is my first year as a volunteer because I like reading and the idea of holding book fairs in Amman is really excellent," Hlalat said as she waited for customers.   

Traditional books still have their audience despite the advent of e-book readers and other means of technology, she noted.

"The number of visitors is still high because people like reading books and owning them," Hlalat added.  

Yazan Abid, a visitor at the fair, agreed with Hlalat, noting that people who really like reading cannot abandon ink and paper and turn to technology. 

"I like to touch the book and feel it, and this is the unique thing about books compared to online versions," the 19-year-old university student said.  

He also expressed his enthusiasm over the event. 

"What I really like about the fair is the diversity of topics covered by the books on sale. My favourites are psychological and science fiction books," Abid added.  

Qadoumi said the Noon Book Fair has gained a loyal customer base over the years, noting that every edition witnesses a large number of visitors, like Qabbani. 

"These initiatives encourage people to read and I hope that similar events will organised in the capital in the future," she said.