Available in | Multilanguage |
---|---|
URL | bookcrossing |
Commercial | No |
Registration | Yes |
Launched | April 21, 2001 |
BookCrossing (also known as BC, BCing or BXing) is defined as the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who may then do likewise. The term is derived from bookcrossing.com, a free online book club which was founded to encourage the practice, aiming to "make the whole world a library."
The "crossing" or exchanging of books may take any of a number of forms, including wild-releasing books in public, direct swaps with other members of the websites, or "book rings" in which books travel in a set order to participants who want to read a certain book. The community aspect of BookCrossing.com has grown and expanded in ways that were not expected at the outset, in the form of blog or forum discussions, mailing lists and annual conventions throughout the world.
the idea for what is now known as BookCrossing was conceived in March 2001 [1] by Ron Hornbaker. Enlisted business partners and co-founders Bruce and Heather Pedersen [2] collaborated with Hornbaker to launch BookCrossing.com on April 21, 2001. [3]
After two years the website had over 113,000 members and by 2004 it was prominent enough to be referenced in an episode of the Australian soap opera Neighbours . [4] The same year it appeared as a new word in the Concise Oxford Dictionary, [5] although as of 2017, only the Collins English dictionary retained it as a word. [6] [7] [8] [9]
Membership surpassed 1 million by March 2012 and the registered book count exceeded 8.5 million. By November 2019, there were over 1.9 million members and over 13 million books travelling through 132 countries, [10] of which over 25 thousand books newly "released in the wild" in the previous month across over 60 countries, with over 80% of the books being released in the 8 most active countries (Germany, United States, Spain, Italy, Australia, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Brazil), while 30 countries had seen a book release in the previous 3 days. [11]
In July 2007 Singapore became the first country to give the practice official status, designating 2,000 locations in the country as 'hotspots', similar to Official BookCrossing Zones, in an initiative launched with the National Library of Singapore. [12] The world's first official International BookCrossing Day took place on 21 April 2014.
Bookcrossing is also actively developing in the countries of Eastern Europe, in particular Ukraine, from 2021 in small and large cities. [13]
In May 2005 BookCrossing.com won two People's Voice awards in the Webby Awards for best community website and best social/networking website. [14] BookCrossing was also featured in a BBC Radio project broadcast as 84 Book Crossing Road, which involved releasing 84 copies of Helene Hanff's book 84 Charing Cross Road around the world. The programme was nominated for a Sony Radio Academy Award in 2006. [15]
Anyone who wishes to officially participate in "releasing" books, whether leaving it in a public place or passing it on to a friend, may register on the BookCrossing.com website, [16] although there is the option to remain anonymous when "catching" or recording the find of a book. BookCrossing.com users can 'go hunting', where a member will go to the website to view a list of books that have recently been "released", then go to the location it was left to "catch" it. Books may also be left at "Official BookCrossing Zones" (OBCZs), which are located in certain coffee shops, cafes, restaurants and other public places. The purpose of these locations is to get current members in the area to leave books to share with the public. This also advertises BookCrossing and creates more members. [17]
There is a BookCrossing anniversary convention every April, [18] where BookCrossers go to enjoy organized literary-related events and release books together. The location of the convention changes each year: Here is a list of past and forthcoming conventions:
Location | Year |
---|---|
Tampere, Finland | 2021 - cancelled |
Gold Coast, Australia | 2020 - cancelled |
Mainz, Germany | 2019 |
Bordeaux, France | 2018 |
Oslo, Norway | 2017 |
Athens, Greece | 2016 |
Oxford, UK | 2015 |
Melbourne, Australia | 2014 |
Gothenburg, Sweden | 2013 |
Dublin, Ireland | 2012 |
Washington, D.C., United States | 2011 |
Amsterdam, Netherlands | 2010 |
Christchurch, New Zealand | 2009 |
London, United Kingdom | 2008 |
Charleston, SC, United States | 2007 |
Toronto, Canada | 2006 |
Fort Worth, TX, USA | 2005 |
St. Louis, MO, USA | 2004 |
Many unofficial conventions or "unconventions" take place at other locations and times throughout the year, [19] making it easier for Book Crossers who cannot travel internationally for the convention to gather and share their love of books.
In 2003, BookCrossing was criticized by the astrologer and novelist Jessica Adams, who claimed that books were being "devalued" by the website as BookCrossing could lead to lower sales of books and, therefore, the reduction in royalties being paid to authors. [20] Most Book Crossers dispute this argument, however. They claim that the website introduces readers to authors and genres that they have not read before, that the website encourages more people to take up or reclaim reading as a hobby, and that some members, having read a book that they have enjoyed, will buy extra copies to distribute through BookCrossing. [21]
In March 2005, Caroline Martin, managing director of the publisher Harper Press, said in a speech that "book publishing as a whole has its very own potential Napster crisis in the growing practice of bookcrossing". [22] BookCrossers rebutted the link to Napster, saying that while music file sharing involves duplicating audio files countless times, BookCrossing doesn't involve duplicating books (and also does not involve violating copyright, as books can be sold or given away freely without permission of the publisher being needed). When BookCrossing was first launched, the founder of BookCrossing, Ron Hornbaker, originally wondered if people would make this comparison. [23]
Napster was a peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing application primarily associated with digital audio file distribution. Founded by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, the platform originally launched on June 1, 1999. Audio shared on the service was typically encoded in the MP3 format. As the software became popular, the company encountered legal difficulties over copyright infringement. Napster ceased operations in 2001 after losing multiple lawsuits and filed for bankruptcy in June 2002.
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It is located about one degree of latitude north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor to the north. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by approximately 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the second highest population density of any country in the world, although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of urban planning. With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the lingua franca, with its exclusive use in numerous public services. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.
Friendster was a social network based in Mountain View, California, founded by Jonathan Abrams and launched in March 2003. Later, the company became a social gaming site based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Before Friendster was redesigned, the service allowed users to contact other members, maintain those contacts, and share online content and media with those contacts. The website was also used for dating and discovering new events, bands and hobbies. Users could share videos, photos, messages, and comments with other members via profiles and networks. It is considered one of the original social networks.
Xmas is a common abbreviation of the word Christmas. It is sometimes pronounced, but Xmas, and variants such as Xtemass, originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation. The 'X' comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Christós, which became Christ in English. The suffix -mas is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass.
A flea market is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' and 'casual' markets which divides a fixed-style market (formal) with long-term leases and a seasonal-style market with short-term leases. Consistently, there tends to be an emphasis on sustainable consumption whereby items such as used goods, collectibles, antiques and vintage clothing can be purchased, in an effort to combat climate change and fast fashion.
The Free Dictionary is an American online dictionary and encyclopedia that aggregates information from various sources. It is accessible in fourteen languages.
Michael Martone is an American author. Since 1977, he has written nearly 30 books and chapbooks. He was a professor at the Program in Creative Writing at the University of Alabama, where he taught from 1996 until his retirement in 2020.
Nylon is an American multimedia brand, publishing company, and lifestyle magazine that focuses on pop culture and fashion. Its coverage includes art, beauty, music, design, celebrities, technology and travel. Originally a print publication, it switched to an all digital format in 2017. Its name references New York and London, and it is currently owned by Bustle Digital Group. The magazine will return to print in 2024.
Mental Floss is an online magazine and its related American digital, print, and e-commerce media company focused on millennials. It is owned by Minute Media and based in New York City, United States. mentalfloss.com, which presents facts, puzzles, and trivia with a humorous tone, draws 20.5 million unique users a month. Its YouTube channel produces three weekly series and has 1.3 million subscribers. In October 2015, Mental Floss teamed with the National Geographic Channel for its first televised special, Brain Surgery Live with mental_floss, the first brain surgery ever broadcast live.
AbeBooks is an e-commerce global online marketplace with seven websites that offer books, fine art, and collectables from sellers in over 50 countries. Launched in 1996, it specialises in used, rare and out-of-print books. AbeBooks has been a subsidiary of Amazon since 2008.
Dictionary.com is an online dictionary whose domain was first registered on May 14, 1995. The primary content on Dictionary.com is a proprietary dictionary based on Random House Unabridged Dictionary, with editors for the site providing new and updated definitions. Supplementary content comes from the Collins English Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary and others.
Worldchanging was a nonprofit online publisher that operated from 2003 to 2010. Its strapline was A bright green future. It published newsletters and books about sustainability, bright green environmentalism, futurism and social innovation.
Kayak is a metasearch engine owned and operated by Booking Holdings.
BookMooch is an international, online book exchange community founded by John Buckman in 2006. Membership, which by 2008 reached around 74,000 in over 90 countries, is open to anyone and is free. There is heavy community participation in its running and organization. As of 2008, about 2,000 books were swapped per day.
SacAnime is a semi-annual three-day anime convention held at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento, California. The convention is the sister conventions to the Sacramento Comic, Toy and Anime Show (Sac-Con) and Bak-Anime.
Ballycumber is a village located where the R436 regional road crosses the River Brosna in County Offaly, Ireland. It is 5 km (3 mi) west of the town of Clara, on the western edge of Clara bog. According to the 2016 census, the population of Ballycumber was 208 people.
Book swapping or book exchange is the practice of a swap of books between one person and another. Practiced among book groups, friends and colleagues at work, it provides an inexpensive way for people to exchange books, find out about new books and obtain a new book to read without having to pay. Because swaps occur between individuals, without central distribution or warehousing, and without the copyright owner making a profit, the practice has been compared to peer-to-peer (P2P) systems such as BitTorrent—except that hard-copy original analog objects are exchanged.
The Ghostbusters franchise spawned various comic books published by various comic book companies through the years starting in 1988 and continuing to the present day. These comics have ranged from being based on The Real Ghostbusters animated series, to the 1984 film.
A public bookcase is a cabinet which may be freely and anonymously used for the exchange and storage of books without the administrative rigor associated with formal libraries. When in public places these cabinets are of a robust and weatherproof design which are available at all times. However, cabinets installed in public or commercial buildings may be simple, unmodified book-shelves and may only be available during certain periods.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)