Arabs are not an exception.
Information technology is changing peoples' behaviour, habits and perceptions, including how they buy books.
For example, the internet is increasingly becoming an acceptable way to sell and buy, especially after the role the internet played in regime changes in Egypt and other Arab countries.
Today, more and more books are being sold on the internet by several Egyptian publishing houses. Often, the best selling books were banned during the regime of Hosni Mubarak.
"The world has changed," said Dalia Ebrahim, deputy director of the Nadhet Misr [Egypt's renaissance] — one of the largest publishing houses in Egypt, in reference to the impact of the information technology on daily life aspects.
"There is a demand on buying books online. The curve is on the rise, but it is still less than expected," she added in an interview with Gulf News, explaining that the majority of people are still buying from brick and mortar bookshops.
While Dalia noted the growing number of web users in Egypt, she added, "The internet is becoming part of the behaviour of the teenagers and adolescents… there is an extremely huge interest in the internet by young people."
The internet, she continued, has developed into a source of information for the young generation to the extent that a large segment of the generation doesn't buy printed editions of newspapers. "They just read them on the internet… even some of them are asking their parents why they buy newspapers when they can read them on the internet."
"It became a general attitude among the age group between 14, or may be under, and up to 35 years old, pending on the concerned social class," Dalia said.
The number of internet users in Egypt has seen a sharp increase following the January 25 revolution. The figure rose from 20 million subscribers to 24 million in a span of a few months.
Social media, including Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, played an instrumental role in grouping protesting Egyptians and mobilising them throughout the nearly three-week revolution.
Shift in attitude
The increasing number of internet users was also coupled with a shift in many people's attitudes towards the internet and its multiple purposes. Today, more people are turning to the web for the latest news, and more and more are even buying books on the internet.
According to souq.com in Egypt, the books and cultural production section has registered "a phenomenal 300 per cent growth in the last few weeks".
Some years back, books sales on the internet were nearly zero, and many Egyptian publishing houses were depending on "book exhibitions inside and outside Egypt," said Wael Sa'ad Mohammad Mahmoud, a graphic designer at Shorouk International Bookshop, one of the major bookshops in Egypt.
Today, despite the extra charges paid for shipping books, more and more people do buy books on the internet.
For instance, around 100 books were sold on the internet by the Shorouk International Bookshop in the past few months, compared to around 500 books sold in the brick and mortar bookshop, said Wael.
Interestingly, a big turnout was recorded for political books after the revolution, as well as books banned during the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak.
"It is human nature. There is an interest in everything banned," Dalia said, adding there is a noticeable interest as well in books that increase awareness about the political situation in general and explain certain principles such as democracy, political parties, constitutions."
"Political books and those about corruption are doing well" in terms of selling, Wael agreed.
Apart from being attracted to political books after the revolution, increasing numbers of Egyptians are reading.
"There is a boom in reading habits," said Dalia.
"People are following the [political] developments, want to educate themselves. People feel there is a new beginning, and believe tomorrow is going to be better, so each of them felt they should develop him or herself so their tomorrow will be better."
