Customary for people to read before buying

A girl reads a book in a Xinhua bookstore in Yangzhou, jiangsu province. [Photo/IC]

A Xinhua bookstore in Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, has been criticized after a video was posted online showing employees making two children leave the store. The manager, Yao Fang, explained that before they were expelled, the children had been frolicking in the store for over half an hour. Gmw.cn said:

For years, it has been a shared understanding that you couldn't stay long in a private bookstore but you could read quietly at the State-owned Xinhua bookstores, because in people's minds they opened their doors to everyone and provided a peaceful reading environment for everyone.

Therefore, many may find it hard to accept that children were expelled from the Xinhua bookstore just because they were reading some books for free, especially it was only for a few minutes.

The truth of this story might not be easy to be uncovered but it is less tolerable to hear a bookstore clerk say "if you don't buy, don't read". After all, it is reasonable for the customers to glance through potential purchases before deciding which ones to buy. It is also normal for some customers not to purchase anything even after perusing a variety of books.

Thus it is really rude for any bookstore staff to say, you can't open a book before buying it.

If it was truly the children's fault because they were capering around the store, then the parents should take the responsibility.

All in all, bookstores should be confident about letting customers read for free.