In Australia, strict lockdown measures have been reimposed in Melbourne as authorities scramble to prevent a second Covid-19 wave from spreading. Readings owner Mark Rubbo offered an update on the company's current status: "Like all Melbournians we found the recent announcement of a six-week lockdown terribly disappointing but the speed with which the virus can spread makes the decision completely understandable."
In the interests of public health and safety, Readings has closed most of its shops to public browsing. These include the Carlton, Kids, Hawthorn, Malvern and St. Kilda locations, which have returned to offering curbside pick-up with reduced trading hours and special conditions. Readings Doncaster currently remains open with reduced trading hours. Due to the temporary closure of the State Library Victoria, Readings State Library shop is closed until further notice.
"We do think books and music are pretty important to our well-being so we won't be closing down completely," Rubbo noted. "You'll be able to order online or come to our doors with requests and to pick up your phone orders, but sadly you won't have the pleasure of browsing and discovering in-store for six weeks. We will monitor the situation closely and make changes if circumstances allow.... Thank you so much for your ongoing support during this difficult time. We look forward to seeing you in our shops again at a safer point in the near future."
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In its weekly newsletter, the European and International Booksellers Federation reported that a French "buy local" campaign has been launched by the French Bookstore Association (Le Syndicat de la Librairie Française) to encourage readers to visit independent bookshops across the country. Through the initiative, booksellers can reaffirm to customers that they know how to meet the expectations that were more challenging to address during the lockdown period, namely recommending books and being a place for discovery and escape.
Carried out with the support of the agencies O'Culture and Lonsdale, the initiative will feature advertisements in newspapers and magazines, radio spots, digital display in stations and the metro, as well as animations on the Web and social media.
In addition, between October 17 and November 20, bookshops in France can participate in "Donnez à lire," an initiative that aims to provide books to children and teens who do not have access to them. Last year, about 300 bookshops participated and collected more than 4,000 books. Events in bookstores (workshops, evenings, etc.) around reading also took place, allowing children and their families to discover, for some, a bookstore and forge links with their bookseller.