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This study is studying Taiwan independent bookstore’s development and cultural activism from 2013 to 2018 by literature and qualitative research. Since 2013, the independent bookstore has been emphasized by Ministry of Culture. Two major bookstore groups “Taiwan Association For Independent Bookshop Culture” and “Taiwan Friendly Book Industry Supply Limited Liability Company” have established one after another,to work on the legacy of bookstore culture and the difficulties that the independent bookstores would face individually. At the same time, Taiwanese society has paid close attention to different issues, such as environment protection, animal protection, ethnic culture, sex diversification, student demonstration and placemaking. Many people have noticed a brick-and-mortar bookstore can have space and culture feature, therefore they set up bookstore to accomplish different lifestyle or concept of a diverse society. Through collaboration and collective action, these bookstores tell the diversity of reading and social culture.
The study found the independent bookstore operators have distinct characteristics of a cultural worker or idea actor. Whether the independent bookstore focuses on personal and local life issue or diverse society issue, they can transmit multiple values by any kind of cultural creativity and cultural activism, and create more opportunities for public participation through bookstore collaboration.However, the independent bookstore has both the duality of business and culture. The independent bookstores that emphasize the value of specific ideas show the pull between culture and art and business logic in terms of scale and management. Therefore, independent bookstore groups are also committed to evoking the public's understanding and discussion of the book industry and bookstore culture. Through the cultural practice of independent bookstores and groups, qualitative cultural influence is gradually formed. These phenomena prompt us to rethink the significance of the cultural industry and hope to contribute to the rational formulation and implementation of relevant cultural policies in the future.
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