Jayanta, Kalyan and other Bengali Wikipedians<br><br>It is sad that after your best efforts the plan did not materialize. But, I appreciate dropping the plan considering the cost and other issues. <br><br>One way to make best use of book fair is to sell books / CDs based on Wikipedias. Don&#39;t just use them for outreach. <br>
<br>Taking the case of Bengali Wikipedia which has a good community and chapter support from Bangaladesh too, I would recommend the following:<br><br>* Try using services like <a href="http://pediapress.com/">http://pediapress.com/</a> or tie up with a local publisher to print books regarding Kolkatta, West Bengal, Bangaladesh and any relevant local content.<br>
<br>* Besides using similar content from Bengali wikipedia, we can release mini collection of books based on animals, plants, countries etc., etc.. written in Bengali language. Even if you can compile 3 pages per article, a 30 article book will cross 100 pages and a decent material to publish.<br>
<br> I am sure that Wikipedia content is unique and exhaustive which may not be available from other publications. The cost can also be less than the market price due to the free content and non-profit model of publishing we do. This will also be a huge PR and branding initiative. Making a book should be lot easier than doing a CD. CDs are losing usage but books are here to stay. This may be also another route to circumvent the IT sector classification and get better support from the organizers. Ideally speaking, we need to do lobby well and get venues for free or at the most spend only very minimally for securing venues.<br>
<br>The same case applies for all Indic languages too.<br><br>Thanks,<br><br>Ravi<br>