The Export of British Books
In the drive for the extension of British exports it has not been overlooked that books hold an important place among exports, though many potential markets have been neglected. In cash value alone their value in normal times is more than £5,000,000 a year, in spite of the fact that the financial obstacles to getting them ordered and shown by foreign booksellers in many countries have been almost insuperable. It need hardly be said that their value as missionaries of British culture is of greater importance still, and especially in times such as the present. Now, through the good offices of the Books and Periodicals Committee of the British Council (under the chair- manship of Mr. Stanley Unwin), supported by the Treasury and the Export Credits Department, a scheme has been devised which will help to overcome the difficulties. Recommended booksellers in foreign countries (for example, in Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia and in South America) will be able to order books of a cultural character from British pub- lishers, with no risk beyond that of the cost of postage. Copies that they are unable to sell will be handed over to local agents of the British Council, which will buy them from the publishers at a reduced price. In the Near East and in many other parts of the world there is a growing desire to study the English language and read English literature. This ingenious scheme provides the means for showing and selling English books at a fair price, and finding new readers abroad.
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