Who We Are
A Brief History
Asia Bookroom (formerly The Old Bookroom) was established as a branch of Weekend Gallery Books Pty Ltd in July 1982. Since the late 1960s Barbara Burdon had been operating Weekend Gallery (as it was originally called) from a converted flat underneath her house in the Canberra suburb of Hughes. In the early days it sold only antique prints and maps and some reproductions. A chance buy at a local auction was the catalyst for Barbara's bookselling career. She and her husband Tom were attending the auction with the hope of buying some prints and maps. During the viewing they had also looked at the books that were to be sold. They saw a fine library of history, literature and reference. Although their intention was only to bid on a few lots of books for personal interest, by the end of the auction almost all of the books offered were theirs. Gradually over the next few years the books overtook the prints and maps as the mainstay of the business and Weekend Gallery became Weekend Gallery Books.
Weekend Gallery Books, as the name suggests, was open at the weekends and by appointment during the week. During the early 1970s Barbara bought a library of books on China. This marked the beginning of the emphasis on travel, in particular Asian, Middle Eastern and African travel, which is one of the most distinctive characteristics of the business to this day. As Barbara and Tom had lived and travelled in a number of Asian countries this collection was an exciting departure that they intended to build on. Tom Burdon was a marine biologist and his work had taken him to many parts of the world. He was Deputy Director of Fisheries Singapore and Malaya in the early 1950s and wrote a number of publications describing the fishing industry of the area at the time. There is a lovely vignette in F.D. Ommanney's Eastern Windows which describes Tom's work in Singapore at that time.
"...Tom was a man of great energy and real ability in the middle thirties. He had been in Singapore for three years, and in that time, by sheer driving and hammering, by ceaseless churning out memoranda, he had succeeded in building up an organization the value of which was known and recognized by the fishermen themselves. There can hardly be a greater tribute than that, for fishermen as a rule are apt to despise and resent anything in the nature of Government control or interference. But when Tom's contract came to an end after three years the fishermen sent a petition to the Government expressing their appreciation of all that he had done and begging for his services to be retained..."
The 1970s saw the gradual build up of Weekend Gallery Books. Barbara Burdon joined ANZAAB, the Australian and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers within a few years of its inception and began exhibiting at the bookfairs run by the Association in Sydney and Melbourne and issuing catalogues. The mail order side of the business had begun. Tom's ill health meant that he could no longer play a part in the business although his vital enthusiasm, imagination and work in the first years were the base from which all else has grown.
In 1982 Barbara's youngest daughter, Sally, returned from living in England and Ireland. Sally had always been interested in the business and it was decided that this would be an ideal time to expand. Thus Asia Bookroom - then known as The Old Bookroom - opened in the Belconnen Churches Centre in July 1982. Since this time it has expanded considerably. Asia Bookroom recently moved into its fifth premises - 9 times the size of the original shop.
Asia Bookroom As It Is Today
Over the years the business has grown and changed enormously. Fortunately, Sally's husband, Martin Nagle, runs InfoMining, an Information Technology company which works with book businesses providing very sophisicated software. Asia Bookroom has been the happy Beta tester for this most comprehensive and effective program. If you are interested in software for bookshops and distributors visit
Infomining's site
Asia Bookroom's "sister" business in the Portland, Oregon, owned by Elisabeth Burdon, Barbara's second daughter, specialises in antique prints, maps and illustrated books. Oldimprints.com deals on the internet, by appointment and exhibits at shows throughout the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Please visit her on the internet at
Oldimprints.com
Our aim at Asia Bookroom is to give excellent service to our customers. We are committed to finding the right books for you and are always pleased to keep a record of titles that you are searching for. We take the time to check that the out of print books we sell are complete and to answer any queries you might have. We keep our records on the internet up to date by refreshing the listings daily.
We hope that you will find the time to visit us regularly, either in person or on the net. Please bookmark our site.
Barbara Burdon
Barbara founded the business in 1968, and her more that 30 years experience in the book trade has given her a vast knowledge of books - especially antiquarian books, prints & maps. Barbara lived in India before Partition in the area that is now Pakistan. She also lived for a time in 'Malaya' (as it was then called), and later in Singapore. Barbara is very widely read, with her keenest interest lying in the British period in Malaysian history - (Colonial Malaya), as well as the Holocaust and WWII (as it pertains to Malaya).
Barbara is Asia Bookroom's antiquarian specialist and along with being responsible for research and collation, she also directs our print & map department.
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Sally Burdon
Sally, Barbara's youngest daughter, grew up against the background of a growing book business, meaning in effect that she was a bookseller in training from the age of 10. In 1982 after a period of living in Europe, she returned to Canberra and started working full time in the business.
Sally is fascinated by the history and culture of Asia and the Middle East, and has travelled in India, East Asia & Southeast Asia. She always has at least one book "on the go" on these parts of the world and usually several!
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Jane
Jane has been with Asia Bookroom since July 2007, and is responsible for the dispatch of customer's orders and parcels all over the world, as well as the cataloguing of new books in stock.
Her background is in landscape design, and she is particularly interested in Asian art, architecture and design.
She has also travelled widely, including five months working, studying and teaching English in Zhuhai in China in 2003.
Her other interests include wilderness travelling, cooking and food, as well as writing, and she is currently writing her first novel.
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Connie
Connie joined Asia Bookroom in April 2008, and is responsible both for cataloguing all the secondhand collections and books that Asia Bookroom receives, and for sending out our regular E-Lists.
As well as wide experience travelling throughout Asia, including Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong, and 8 years living in Tokyo, Connie has a Master's degree in Library and Information Management.
She is also a qualified remedial massage therapist, and her other interests include reading, cooking, running, and various craft projects.
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