World Bank Infoshop

The InfoShop was a non-profit bookstore in Washington, D.C. run by the World Bank "specializing in economics and international development ... current events, history, banking and finance, plus travel guides, reference books and international fiction," including "deeply discounted" and remainder books.[1] The shop offers discounts to students, and to customers who work in government, NGOs, or the World Bank.[2]

InfoShop, The World Bank
Former namesCreated as a merger of the World Bank's bookstore and public information center
Location701 18th St. NW, Washington, D.C.
OwnerThe World Bank
TypeBookstore
Construction
Opened2000
Expandedto books not published by the World Bank in 2001; public events program began in 2005
Closed2016
Website
InfoShop, The World Bank

The InfoShop has been described as "wonky" by the Washington Post.[3]

Since 2005, the InfoShop has featured public programs with "up-and-coming and internationally known authors."[1]

In 2006, the InfoShop became home to the first installation of the beta version of the Espresso Book Machine.[4][5]

As of 2010 World Bank Publications (the World Bank Group's publishing organization) was recovering roughly two-thirds of the costs of operating the store through sales—in part, because the publications of the World Bank are also made available free of charge online.[3]

In October 2012, Occupy D.C. blockaded the doors of the InfoShop as a part of a protest against the World Bank, Verizon, Wells Fargo, and PNC Bank.

The shop also sold children's books, world music CDs, books and audio for learning languages, gifts, and stationery supplies with the World Bank logo.[2]

The World Bank Infoshop closed in October 2016 after 20 years of operation.[6][7]

See also

References
  1. "InfoShop - Washington, DC". Yelp.com. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  2. "InfoShop - Development Bookstore". Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  3. Ian Shapira (2010-02-21). "Mission trumps money for some bookstores and gift shops". Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-09-20. (The Post wryly reported observing a customer about to leave emptyhanded, who suddenly spotted "the peach cover with the alluring title A Global View of Business Insolvency Systems" and took it straight to the cashier.)
  4. "First Espresso Book Machine Installed and Demonstrated at New York Public Library's Science, Industry and Business Library". PR Web. June 21, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-16.
  5. "The Espresso Machine, for books". Building Capacity through Rethinking Development, World Bank. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  6. Kelly, John, Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/did-you-know-the-world-bank-has-a-pretty-cool-bookstore-well-its-closing/2016/08/02/8e8d19b0-5802-11e6-9767-f6c947fd0cb8_story.html "Did you know the World Bank has a pretty cool bookstore? Well, it's closing - The Washington Post, August 2, 2016
  7. InfoShop, http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/infoshop, accessed December 16, 2016
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