New book published in Israel every 80 minutes
Ahead of Book Week National Library says over 6,000 books were published in 2011; 334 new publications were founded
According to the findings, 6,302 books were published last year, 240 CDs were released and 334 new newspapers and magazines were founded.
Of the new books, 89% were written in Hebrew. About 10% were children's books, and another 10% dealt with Jewish law. Moreover, 28% of all new titles were released in the ultra-Orthodox sector.
Naturally, Hebrew is the dominant language in the Israeli publishing world, with 5,451 titles released last year. It is followed by English, with only 400 new titles.
Some 188 new titles were released in Arabic and 197 new titles were published in Russian. Nearly 370 poetry books we published; of them, 286 consisted of original Hebrew poetry. The rest were translated from other languages.
Some 190 new titles dealt with the issue of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian Authority. Nearly 150 memoirs, history books and new research about World War II and the Holocaust were published as well.
National Library Director Oren Weinberg said that since the library launched its renewal campaign, which aims to attract readers and gain the library a prominent spot in Israeli culture, more and more Israeli publishers make sure to deposit copies of every new title in the archive.
Weinberg added that starting next year the library will also make new professional publications available online.
