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An Interview With Alexandra
BEIJING REVIEW: How and why did you start The Bookworm?
It is very difficult to get English-language books here in Beijing or anywhere in China. So I thought maybe we could have a sort of small collection where people can exchange and borrow books so that they don't have to bring their books back from their own countries, because books are heavy. We have very generous donors. Rather than take all the books back to where they come from, they will actually donate their books here when they leave China. They know those books will be appreciated by people like themselves.
So that's how the concept really came about. Then I realized just how popular it was to have not only foreigners, but also Chinese, really trying to find English-language books. Then it became a bigger and bigger library.
How does The Bookworm make a profit?
Books don't generate money. This is basically a service for the community. But we hope people can come here and eat and drink to make a sustainable business. The membership fee is very low, and we just want it to be a deposit to make sure people won't take the books away.
What makes The Bookworm unique?
As a library, it is not particularly good if you are looking to compare it to the National Library of China or any university libraries. I think what makes it unique is our inner restaurant and café setting, so here you may order a cup of coffee, browse books for reading or take one away. I think that makes it unique. It's the setting rather than the type of books. You know, most libraries are silent. They are basically for people to study or do research. Whereas this library, well, it's not silent.
Why do you stay in China for such a long time?
To study Chinese and Chinese music, and enjoy lovely places--there are lots of opportunities here.
Do you have advice for starting up a business in China?
You need to take risks, and you need to be able to move on from failure quite quickly, because otherwise it will destroy you quite quickly. Unless you can do that, you can't move forward.
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