Large Print Books



Following a fruitless pre-Christmas search for a large print title for my Mum, I eventually tracked down a large print book supplier through eBay, so I contacted the proprietor, Guy Garfit, and asked him why was it so difficult to find large-print books these days. He sent me this fascinating reply. With three million people in the UK with a visual impairment (including reading disabilities such as dyslexia) and an aging population who find it increasingly difficult to read normal size print, why is it so difficult to find large print books in the UK? BOOKSHOPS The main reason is that large print books are not stocked in the place that most people would expect to find them: bookshops. There are none in Waterstones, none in Borders, none in WH Smith, although I hear that Foyles has introduced a small large print section. This lack of books is not because the major bookstores are not mindful of the needs of the visually impaired – they would love to stock some large print books. So why don’t they? PUBLISHERS TO BLAME The reason is simple and scandalous. The specialist large print publishers will not supply them, or give the bookshops even the most basic trade terms. Why not? Because they are only interested in supplying libraries, and they supply libraries direct. They believe that once they start giving normal trade terms they will lose this direct relationship with their major customers and will have to supply everyone at trade discount. LIMITED RANGE Most public libraries have a small section of large print books, published by the main three large print publishers in the UK. The range of titles is disappointing to say the least: many romances, family sagas, even westerns. There is very little literary fiction, very few Man Booker prize winners, literary classics, and very little non-fiction. The reason for this is that, because the publishers see their market as the libraries, they tend to concentrate only on the books that they discern will have the widest appeal to those who borrow books. Emma Soames, editor of Saga Magazine has said that they discern a major dichotomy in their market between those born during or before the Second World War, who are used to rationing, ‘making do’ and who are	borrowers, and those born after the war who tend to have more disposable income and are not borrowers. The choice of books available in the UK (through the libraries) is thus looking increasingly out of kilter with what people actually want to read. AMERICAN PUBLISHERS In the USA the situation is slightly better. Major publishers like Random House have a large print imprint which they sell through the bookshops. Major British authors are published in the US in large print, but their books are not available in the UK. For example the latest books by Louis de Bernières and John Le Carré are available there but not here. OUR ROLE What www.largeprintbookshop.co.uk is in the process of setting up is an internet bookshop which will list all titles available in large print in the UK and the USA. For the most part we will not be a stockholding bookshop but will order when an order is placed with us, and would expect to deliver to our customer 7 to 10 days later. (Books take no longer to get from the US than they do from the UK although there are some additional air freight costs included in the prices we quote.) Longer term we hope that our existence – the first time that a ‘marketplace’ is actually provided in the UK for large print books – will encourage all major publishers to produce their own large print versions (perhaps using new print-on-demand technology) and make these available to the general public through normal book trade channels. In the meantime, before we launch we list all our current stock on eBay and a link to our eBay store is provided on our home page. Guy Garfit www.largeprintbookshop.co.uk FORUM Do you have any other advice? Email with the Contact Us button, or post in the forum. Your experience is invaluable.

Following a fruitless pre-Christmas search for a large print title for my Mum, I eventually tracked down a large print book supplier through eBay, so I contacted the proprietor, Guy Garfit, and asked him why was it so difficult to find large-print books these days. He sent me this fascinating reply.

With three million people in the UK with a visual impairment (including reading disabilities such as dyslexia) and an aging population who find it increasingly difficult to read normal size print, why is it so difficult to find large print books in the UK?

BOOKSHOPS
The main reason is that large print books are not stocked in the place that most people would expect to find them: bookshops. There are none in Waterstones, none in Borders, none in WH Smith, although I hear that Foyles has introduced a small large print section. This lack of books is not because the major bookstores are not mindful of the needs of the visually impaired – they would love to stock some large print books. So why don’t they?

PUBLISHERS TO BLAME
The reason is simple and scandalous. The specialist large print publishers will not supply them, or give the bookshops even the most basic trade terms. Why not? Because they are only interested in supplying libraries, and they supply libraries direct. They believe that once they start giving normal trade terms they will lose this direct relationship with their major customers and will have to supply everyone at trade discount.

LIMITED RANGE
Most public libraries have a small section of large print books, published by the main three large print publishers in the UK. The range of titles is disappointing to say the least: many romances, family sagas, even westerns. There is very little literary fiction, very few Man Booker prize winners, literary classics, and very little non-fiction.

The reason for this is that, because the publishers see their market as the libraries, they tend to concentrate only on the books that they discern will have the widest appeal to those who borrow books. Emma Soames, editor of Saga Magazine has said that they discern a major dichotomy in their market between those born during or before the Second World War, who are used to rationing, ‘making do’ and who are

borrowers, and those born after the war who tend to have more disposable income and are not borrowers. The choice of books available in the UK (through the libraries) is thus looking increasingly out of kilter with what people actually want to read.

AMERICAN PUBLISHERS
In the USA the situation is slightly better. Major publishers like Random House have a large print imprint which they sell through the bookshops. Major British authors are published in the US in large print, but their books are not available in the UK. For example the latest books by Louis de Bernières and John Le Carré are available there but not here.

OUR ROLE
What www.largeprintbookshop.co.uk is in the process of setting up is an internet bookshop which will list all titles available in large print in the UK and the USA. For the most part we will not be a stockholding bookshop but will order when an order is placed with us, and would expect to deliver to our customer 7 to 10 days later. (Books take no longer to get from the US than they do from the UK although there are some additional air freight costs included in the prices we quote.)

Longer term we hope that our existence – the first time that a ‘marketplace’ is actually provided in the UK for large print books – will encourage all major publishers to produce their own large print versions (perhaps using new print-on-demand technology) and make these available to the general public through normal book trade channels.

In the meantime, before we launch we list all our current stock on eBay and a link to our eBay store is provided on our home page.

Guy Garfit
www.largeprintbookshop.co.uk

FORUM

Do you have any other advice? Email with the Contact Us button, or post in the forum.

Your experience is invaluable.