Purchases of Obama books wane, except at State Department

[Geee]

Washington Times:

President Obama took a big hit financially last year because of plummeting book sales that cut into his royalties, but he still has his State Department as a customer.

 

Despite criticism in 2011 over the practice, officials at the U.S. Embassy in Paris recently spent $15,000 on copies of two of Mr. Obama’s book titles, according to the government’s online procurement database.

 

A State Department spokesman, Peter Velasco, said Wednesday that embassies make decisions on what books to buy based on the interests of the host countries.

“Broadly speaking, the Department of State has historically purchased books for the purpose of engaging with key foreign contacts and host country citizens interested in learning about the United States,” he said.

He said the collections at the embassies include volumes on history, politics and culture, and include other books by U.S. presidents.