SHOP AROUND THE CORNER
Emily - A Children's Bookstore
Liat Sagol Korenfeld
opened an independent bookstore for kids. In a land where an independent
bookstore is almost doomed to failure, she is optimistic. Miracles,
especially on Hanukka, are expected.
Emily opened
on Ben-Gurion Boulevard in Tel Aviv shortly before Hanukka. It is a bookstore geared to
children with tons of children's books (mainly in Hebrew) and an atmosphere for kids
which includes a huge sofa to sprawl on and really dig into a good book.
Liat Sagol Korenfeld is the optimistic
owner. This mother of a three-year-old daughter has been a book
lover for as long as she can remember. She and Yifat, who works with her,
have read all the books in the store and have amazing knowledge of
the vast world of Hebrew books for children.
Emily is designed like a child's room. On
the shelves, you can find everything from children's classics to the latest attempt
to
publish something for kids in Hebrew.
The world of Hebrew children's books is a
place where people work for love and creativity. The Hebrew book market
is not large and the market for books for children is even smaller. Steimatsky's and Zomet
Hasfarim, the two main book chains, control 90% of the
market and take a hefty 60% commission on books, killing all possible
chances of profit for books that will probably sell less than 3,000 copies. But still the authors
and smalltime publishers persist. Against all odds, with no help from
the Ministry of Education and Culture or any other public organization
(the Jewish Agency for Israel for example), they continue to publish amazingly
beautiful works of art.
Korenfeld, like the small book publishers,
has opened her "shop around the corner" because of her love of books. Her
chances of survival against the vicissitudes of the Israeli economy are
slim. But if we help, if we show that small businesses are appreciated,
this shop around the corner, unlike the one in the movie You've Got Mail, can
survive.
Hanukka is a time for miracles, but this
time we can all help to make it happen.
Emily, 59 Ben-Gurion Boulevard, Tel Aviv
Tel. 972-3-523-9624
Open: Sun.-Thurs. 9:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Friday 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
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