Location: Singapore

Come Visit Singapore’s Annual Book Fair

Curious to see the latest publications from English and Mandarin publishers? Check out the Singapore Book Fair from May 28 to June 6 at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Raffles Boulevard, Suntec City. Boasting more than 300,000 visitors each year, the week-long exhibit carries around 70 exhibitors from all around the metro and overseas.

The annual event covers both special interest and widespread publications; a testament as to why it is highly anticipated and attended. There is an extensive display of Teaching Resources for teachers/ educators for young children. Kids, on the other hand, will have a great time choosing from a large collection of comic books and free-to-try interactive electronic tools such as electronic dictionaries, IQ Toys, and Tablet PCs to name a few. Parents and young individuals can get there hands on a variety of special interest books from business management to hobbies and self-help books.

The book fair is both a celebration and promotion of both the consumer market and the publishers. With the surge of information access via the internet and the popularity of versatile electronic applications such as the iPad, all publishers are faced with the continuous challenge of effectively delivering information to the end-user the contents of their periodicals/ publications. Not just limited to print media anymore, the market is dictating a shift to reading e-books and other means. Consequently, the shift and increased appetite for more accessible and convenient means to access books push the costs further down, making education a little more affordable for everyone.

A 2009 Human Development Report by the United Nations Development Program (UDNP) indicated high adult literacy rate (aged 15 and above) for most ASEAN countries with Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam garnering more than 90 pct each. Compared to South America and African nations, most Asian countries dominated the survey (regardless of government and censorship policies).The pursuit against illiteracy however, does not end in the ability to do basic reading and writing. The study did not extend to the details of literacy level (i.e. what grade level do these surveyed adults are in terms of literacy). The Singapore Book Fair 2010 is just one of the many attempts out there to stimulate the market and at the same time make information and choices more accessible to the public.

For more information on the participating exhibitors and event schedules, please visit their website at www.bookfair.com.sg