Somedays it feels like the world is spinning at about 17,000 mph and the days are filled with publishing doom and gloom. But I saw this article and it made my day a little brighter. Not crazy bright, more like a lit match on the dark side of the moon. But brighter none-the-less.
Book Sales Near All-Time Highs: Americans bought 751,729,000 books in 2010, that's many millions more books sold than in any other year.
There Are More Original Book Titles: "In 2008, there were more original book titles published in print than ever before: 289,729 different titles in the U.S. alone."
And More Publishers Themselves: "In 2007, there were more U.S. publishers than ever before: 74,240 (that's compared with 397 in 1925). This figure has been rising every year since the data has been collected."
And More Authors: "In 2005, there were more published authors in the U.S. than ever before: 185,275 (compared, for example, with eighty-two in 1850)."
Revenue Is Around Record Heights: "In 2008, the last year complete numbers are available, overall revenue from book sales in the U.S. was at $24.255 billion, down just a tick from $24.959 billion in 2007, the all-time high."
Literacy, As Well: "Adult literacy in the U.S. is also at an all-time high: 242,895,000 adults (98 percent of the adult population) were considered literate in 2010."
Don't Forget About Libraries: "Library membership in the U.S. is at an all-time high: 208,904,000 Americans held library cards in 2009.
