TIME FOR A NEW SUBSIDY

have long written about the need to read and write.

It is already established that it is a crucial component of both self-development and of the advancement of the country in a more broad sense.

I have also written about the lack of libraries in Oman that is limiting the progress and the untapped potential within each and every Omani man and woman.

There is a lot that can and should be done in this regard in order to boost the awareness of the populace.

It is for this reason that I recommend a subsidy on book purchases at all book stores in Oman.

Many of the major bookstores (the very few that exist) charge extortionist prices for their books.

There was one that opened in one of the biggest malls in Muscat a few years ago with a wealth of different books on a variety of different topics.

However, a few years later they closed, and one of the more probable reasons is that they were losing money.

This was not due to a lack of interest in books by those who visited the mall, as this bookshop would find quite a large number of visitors at any given time.

However, many including myself were discouraged by the extraordinarily high price tags on the books.

It was hard to find books under RO 6 and it could be estimated that the most common price tag was between RO 8 and 10 per book! Not a bargain by any stretch of the imagination.

Very few people could afford to spend almost RO 50 on only 5 or 6 books; especially not during the period the bookshop was open.

Although I understand that the sheer size of the bookshop meant high rent prices as well as a large number of paid staff that were needed to manage it.

I don’t believe it would amount to a big investment annually, and even if it did I believe the country would benefit in the long run from a more aware populace that has been exposed to a wide range of disciplines and sciences.

High costs translates into higher prices on the items being sold which then discourages many of whom would have been interested from buying them.

One solution that could solve the issue is for the Ministry of Education to subsidise the books.

I don’t believe it would amount to a big investment annually, and even if it did I believe the country would benefit in the long run from a more aware populace that has been exposed to a wide range of disciplines and sciences.

Perhaps a 50 per cent subsidy would make books more affordable and, in turn, lead to a much bigger reading class than currently exists.

This would mean that the reader could purchase double the amount of books for the same amount of money than they could have beforehand. Surely this can only be a good thing. For everyone that has travelled to Europe or the United States, it becomes apparent that there is a much more vibrant reading class due to the accessibility and affordability of books.

They have hundreds of public libraries and thus they get the books for free most of the time.

Libraries require large investments maintenance need to be covered.

This can make libraries a slight burden on public spending, a much more affordable policy would the book subsidy, as the government would only pay on a case by case basis.

This is a logical move and I believe the return on this investment would be significant over the long term. as land, construction, books and