The Guardian view on word power: secure against loss | Editorial
Moves to designate books as a necessity are to be encouraged
As the UK moves into the first winter of this global pandemic, the public is beginning to see certain patterns take shape. We have been through the hoarding stage, the bathos of piled-up toilet paper and the metaphor of disappearing flour. We have baked and decorated (if we had the time and money). We have watched a lot of television. And we are reading.
Sales of physical books dropped in lockdown, when all shops were shut; the minute lockdown was eased, however, they did not just recover but, according to Nielsen Bookscan, increased 15% year on year. Online sales of print books rose by 45%, ebooks by 30% and audio by 28%; that 45% remained steady even after the first lockdown ended. Borrowing of ebooks from libraries went up by a massive 146%, while registration for library cards increased by up to 700%.
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