Book sales dropping
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Canadians are spending less on books. In 2008, households spent, on average, $106 on books, down from $111 in 2005.
The change in buying habits may explain in part why the book publishing industry has been growing less rapidly than the overall economy. From 2005 to 2008, Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) increased 5.9%, whereas the book publishing industry's operating revenues increased 0.5%.
Growth for book publishers in Canada trailed that of their counterparts in the United States, who recorded an 8.5% increase in operating revenues during the same time frame.
In 2008, publishers of predominately French-language books experienced growth, as their operating revenues rose 18% from $377.4 million in 2006 to $445.5 million. By contrast, publishers of predominately English books saw a slight revenue drop to $1.62 billion, from $1.64 billion in 2006. The largest operating revenue declines were in Alberta (26.3%) and British Columbia (34.1%).
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