The national system on books and reading in Venezuela.
To promote authors, books and Venezuelan literature through national and international fairs and book-related events, provide aid and stimulus to protect authors and their works, organize ongoing workshops on books and literary creation, and carry out research on books and reading practices.
The program seeks to create conditions to improve access to books and reading material: bibliodiversity, text creation, new infrastructure, more reading halls and spaces for the commercial trading of books, the production of new content and the adoption of new technologies (e-books, audiobooks, videobooks, and online texts), the identification of new literary models in the collective imagination, and a deeper knowledge of Venezuelan and Latin-American authors.
To achieve this, four measures are being developed:
- To consolidate and improve reading rates among Venezuelans, regardless of their socio-economic background.
- To implement specific strategies to promote reading and literature, while tackling a diversity of contexts, genres and social conditions, both within conventional and non-conventional spaces, relying on interagency coordination and an ongoing relation with communities.
- To reinforce our network of public libraries and community reading halls by furnishing with the proper materials and equipment.
- To develop editorial and content lines covering various genres and literary subjects, to cater to the taste and preferences of different groups within the population.
2013: 37 events to promote authors, books and Venezuelan literature; 86 assistance / stimulus packages to protect authors and their works; 67 ongoing educational workshops on books and reading; and 2 pieces of research on books and reading practices.
2014: 6 events to promote authors, books and Venezuelan literature; 40 assistance / stimulus packages to protect authors and their works; 15 ongoing educational workshops on books and reading; and 1 piece of research on books and reading practices.
2015: 28 events to promote authors, books and Venezuelan literature; 4 pieces of research on books and reading practices; 17 assistance / stimulus for creators, processes and cultural organizations involved in book-related and reading activities; and 7 ongoing educational workshops on books and literary creation.
The project received an average of US$ 52,000 per year between 2013 and 2016, under the regular national budget and in supplemental appropriations.