Internet technology brings decline of bookshop culture

Chongqing South Road in Taipei City used to be known as “bookstore street.” Nowadays, despite numerous businesses and hotels, the cultural atmosphere has all but vanished. In recent years, the closure of large chain bookstores has become everyday news, and the territory of bookstores is gradually shrinking. Bricks and mortar bookstores have suffered from the speed and convenience of online bookstores, and non-paper technologies such as e-books have altered people's reading methods.

However, there are still some Taiwanese people who stand fearlessly in this harsh environment with a passion to continue running independent bookstores and retain the warmth of paper books. Fembooks was the first feminist bookstore in the Chinese language area. Despite closing for a brief period last summer, it has now reopened, determined to promote the core values of bookstores.

Providing a unique choice of books, a comfortable space, and a people-friendly atmosphere are ways in which to survive as an independent bookstore in today’s era. The existence of independent bookstores provides people with an inner sanctuary and sustenance for cultural growth in the city.  

以下為中文對照

台北市重慶南路是當年的「書店一條街」，如今商旅店家林立，人文氣息不復存在；而近年大型連鎖書店關閉分店的消息頻傳，店面版圖正逐漸萎縮。實體書店遭受快速方便的網路書店衝擊﹐民眾閱讀方式也隨電子書等非紙本科技產生改變。

無畏嚴峻環境，台灣有一群仍懷著熱忱理想的人致力經營實體獨立書店，保留了書的溫度。作為華文地區第一間女性主義專業書店的「女書店」，在去年夏天雖曾短暫熄燈，如今重新開幕，靠得是對書店核心價值的那份堅持和宣揚精神。

選書獨到，空間舒適及濃厚人文氛圍都是獨立書店的生存之道。獨立書店的存在是人們心靈的棲息地，也是一座城市的文化養分。

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