The UNESCO Courier issues on books

“Those who say that the book offers a more intimate and less mediatized form of communication with the reader are right – there is no need to click on a mouse to plunge in”, says Antonio Skármeta in an article recently published in The UNESCO Courier. Other famous novelists, such as Jorge Adoum, Miguel Angel Asturias, Marshall McLuhan, Alejo Carpentier, Le Clézio, André Maurois, Alberto Moravia, Luis Sepúlveda talk also about the same passion: books!

Read theirs texts and discover our selection of articles on copyright issues. In the very first UNESCO Courier issue, published in February 1948, you will see how and why The Universal Copyright Convention was born.

Special issues on books

• The Printed word; from movable type to the microchip, 1988

• Children of the imagination, 1982

• 1972: International Book Year, 1972

• Book, dear friend, 1972

• The Revolution in books, 1965

• The role of the public library, 1961

• Spotlight on the world of books; 5000 books a year, 1957

• Books without chains; the story of libraries, 1953

Articles on books

• A Special place for the imagination, 2011

• Donguibogam: precious book of medicine, 2009

• The ABC book: the only important book, 2008

• Amsterdam: a paradise for book-lovers, 2008

• The Long-lasting memory of storybooks, 2007

• The Price of a good read, 2000

• Digital disappearances, 2000

• Children's books come of age, 1999

• Alexandria, from papyrus to the Internet, 1999

• Novelist in exile: Luis Sepúlveda, 1998

• A Publishing revolution, 1998

• UNESCO's secret; A True likeness? Portraits of women in young people's literature, 1997

• The Body and the book, 1997

• The Image and the word, 1996

• The New library of Alexandria: 'Alexandrina nova', a star is born, 1995

• The Cartoon boom, 1992

• Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 1988

• An Open book: a Soviet recipe for promoting the reading habit, 1987

• The Chronicle of Michoacán, 1986

• Islam's holy book, 1981

• Al-Shifa: the world in a book, 1980

• Children's books in an audio-visual age, 1979

• Unesco, publisher to the world; in 32 years, 7,000 titles in 70 languages;Unesco through its publications, 1978

• Books in 151 languages; a major exhibition of translated works: one of many events marking the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution, 1977

• Books for all, 1977

• After literacy, what next? Tanzania records its heritage of folk tales in reading books for the newly literate; How the hippo lost his hair; Why the ostrich sticks its neck out, 1977

• Americans read more books than Europeans; a German specialist debunks two fallacies: (1) Americans rarely ever read; (2) the books they do read are of lower quality, 1973

• The Image and the word, by Alberto Moravia, 1972

• Book, dear friend, 1972

• The Art of the book, China: new discoveries of ancient treasures, 1972

• The Book, realm of many arts, 1972

• China, true birthplace of paper, printing and movable type, 1972

• Painted manuscripts of pre-Columbian America, 1972

• 25 years of Unesco publications on art, 1971

• Yukichi Fukuzawa, master of enlightenment in the Meiji era; we copy a physics book in two days and nights, 1968

• Over a million waterlogged books and manuscripts (Venice), 1967

• Reading habits and book publishing in Asia, 1966

• Unesco art pocket books: a new venture in art publishing, 1963

• Unesco's annual translations' guide, 1963

• The Continuing barrier; translation and East-West communications, 1963

• Latest panorama of the world's translations, 1962

• André Maurois speaks of books and of libraries, 1961

• Books on wheels; a library comes to a Greek village, 1960

• Books for the new reading public, 1958

• Bridges between East and West; an analysis of 'Index Translationum', 1958

• The Treasures of Iran's Imperial Library, 1957

• Munich: international weather vane for children's books, 1955

• Germany: largest and most varied producer of book translations, 1953

• Book Coupon Scheme proving a success, 1949

• Index translationum: a "Bible" for publishers, writers and translators, 1949

• Low-priced books: a neglected medium of mass communication, 1948

Articles on copyright

Many other articles on books are available in other issues. Do a keyword search to find them.