Up To 1,500 Books A Day: Inside Sharjah Book Fair's Shipping Rush

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Cardboard boxes were everywhere at the shipping stand on the third day of the Sharjah International Book Fair. Visitors from around the world had gathered with books they had bought at the fair. Here, they could arrange delivery of their purchases abroad.

The National Network for Logistics (NXN), part of 7X, formerly known as Emirates Post Group, ran the stand. When Khaleej Times asked Moataz Al Eid, who handles shipments at the stand, where the books were going, he recalled sending Arabic titles to France and Florida.

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Al Eid had been curious about those shipments himself. He asked the buyers why they were sending books in Arabic and what they planned to do with them once they arrived.

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“They told us they translate them,” he said.

Why the boxes pile up in the final days

Despite the crowd around the stand on day three, Al Eid said the busiest days for shipping usually come towards the end of the fair.

Representatives from schools, universities and libraries often spend the opening days looking through what publishers have brought before deciding which books to buy.

Some buyers arrive knowing exactly which subjects are missing from their collections, he said. A university library in Europe, for example, might send a buyer to look for books on topics its shelves do not yet cover. Once those buyers have made their selections, the books come to the stand to be shipped.

Al Eid said the team can send around 700 to 800 books overseas on some days. In the final days of the fair, that can climb to between 1,000 and 1,500 books a day. On particularly busy days, he said, shipments can exceed that figure.

What overseas buyers are looking for

Many of the books shipped abroad are educational or cultural, Al Eid said. Some cover Arab heritage across the region, while others focus on a single country and explain its traditions, history or archaeological sites.

He pointed to Morocco and Syria as examples of the kinds of places buyers want to learn more about. A buyer might want a book that explains what is distinctive about Moroccan heritage, while another might want to learn more about Syria's historic places and what can still be seen there.

Al Eid said he has noticed a similar curiosity among tourists. Some groups arrive in countries such as Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia or the UAE already knowing which old towns or archaeological sites they want to visit. He said books about the region can help travellers decide where to go before they arrive.

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