E-books far outnumber bound tomes at Riyadh International Book Fair

Over 1.25 million print and electronic books will be on display at the Riyadh International Book Fair when the annual event, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Information, opens its doors on Tuesday. This year’s gathering, which will see some 250,000 books in print and another 1 million in electronic form, will honor the deceased pioneers of Saudi media. Dubbed as one of the great cultural events in the Kingdom, the 10-day fair is expected to attract more than two million visitors. Undersecretary at the Ministry for Cultural Affairs, Nasser Al-Hujailan, who is also supervisor general of the fair, said the books cover an array of subjects. “The exhibition committee has decided to name 32 halls in the exhibition after eminent Saudi media men who passed away. The major hall will be named after Prince Turki bin Sultan in recognition of his services to the media world,” Al-Hujailan said in a statement carried by the SPA on Thursday. A book entitled “Science and Education during the time of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” will be launched on the sidelines of the fair. The book was compiled by a team of professors from the College of Education at Umm Al-Qura University headed by Zayed Al-Harithy, the rector of the college. The book documents the history of education in the Kingdom and will be launched by Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari and Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja at the opening function of the exhibition. From Arab News