Clunes closed for the day

We drove to Clunes today but the book stores and sadly the lolly shop were closed. We had a wander around the old historic town and I took a few photos below.

The old Clunes library

Historic church

Town hall

Street lamps

Downtown

National Bookshop Day

Today was National bookshop Day. Many people have been fearing the demise of the local bookshop. The growth of online sales, particularly the ability to source books at a discount price from overseas websites, also had people on edge.

In response the Australian Booksellers Association, the industry's national not-for-profit peak body for the industry, created National Bookshop Day which is being celebrated in bookshops around Australia.

The day aims to celebrate the role of the bookshop as a key cultural and social centre in the community. There are more than 900 dedicated bookshops in Australia, excluding businesses like newsagents and department stores, bringing in $1.1 billion a year.

And despite the doom and gloom surrounding the industry, many retailers believe the death of the bookshop has been widely exaggerated.Ballarat has four dedicated bookshops and two second-hand bookshops and one that sells both new and used for 90 000 people which is pretty good. We lost Dymocks about 10 years ago ( Although they still have a big presence in Melbourne) and Angus and Robertson which sadly closed  about 5 years ago. ( Borders also landed with a splash and then disappeared in Melbourne) There are also a number of book shops in towns surrounding Ballarat like Clunes and Daylesford.

The availability of a diverse range of books from overseas which you can purchase online often with free delivery has hit book stores hard but the resurgence has arrived with the quality and popularity of youth literature.A lot more teens are getting back into reading ( thanks partly to Harry Potter and books like it) Some don't like the content of books like 'Skulldugery Pleasant' but they have introduced children to reading at a time when their attention was being diverted to X-Box and PlayStation ( The rise of kindles and reading from iPads has not had the devastating effect on book shops as thought. It has encouraged readers to hunt out books to read that they can't find online. Readers are not one or the other but can be a blend of both- digital content readers and book readers) 

I also like to think I do my bit. Glen Park spends a lot of money on books from our local book stores and our library is second to none ( not only comparing it to schools our size but to school much bigger. Our library could easily cater for a school ten times our size.) I also ask kids ( there's a novel idea) what they like to read and what they'd like to read and make those books available. 

We have a literature theme ( as well as maths and science/history) running in the class at all times and books ( as well as DVD, CD, apps and computer games) available to support that theme.