Organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair said Tuesday that book sales have stood up so far to the global economic crisis, but acknowledged that the industry is changing.

“The publishing industry is doing well,” Gottfried Honnefelder, head of the German Booksellers organization, told reporters as the annual fair opened. “Books are resistant to economic cycles, an indication that they are not luxury items, but basic necessities.”

Honnefelder said there had been 3.4 percent growth in the German book market in 2007, and a year-on-year sales increase of 1.4 percent in the first nine months of that year, but did not elaborate.

Some 7,448 exhibitors — a slight increase from 2007 — hailing from 100 nations will be presenting more than 402,280 titles in Frankfurt. German publishers explanation for the highest number

of stands, followed by the U.S. and Britain.

that year’s event is focusing on the growth of the electronic, or e-book, market that is expected to be a new area for growth in the industry.

Both Sony Corp. and Amazon will be promoting their e-book readers.

Already, only 42 percent of the products on display at the fair — one of the largest in the industry — are books, while digital media accounts for 30 percent, said Juergen Boos, the fair’s director. Other products include audio books and book-related items such as calendars.

that year’s fair runs from Wednesday to Friday for members of the industry and opens its doors to the public on Saturday and Sunday. Organizers expect some 300,000 visitors to attend.

Original post by dhiram