Editing BookCrossing (section)

==History==
The idea for what is now known as BookCrossing was conceived in March 2001<ref name="sitesay">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2002-09-11-book-crossing_x.htm|title=Site Says 'If you Love a Book, Set it Free'|access-date=2008-03-27|date=2002-09-11|author=Dan Nephin|work=USA Today}}</ref> by Ron Hornbaker in the US. Business partners and co-founders Bruce and Heather Pedersen<ref name="bookcrossing-official">{{cite web|url=http://www.bookcrossing.com/management|title=BookCrossing.com Management|author=BookCrossing.com}}</ref> collaborated with Hornbaker to launch BookCrossing.com on April 21, 2001.<ref name="bookcrossing-init">{{cite web|url=http://www.bookcrossing.com/faqs|title=BookCrossing.com FAQs|author=BookCrossing.com|access-date=2016-01-18}}</ref> Both Bruce and Hornbaker have been veterinarians and Heather was a stockbroker.

After two years the website had over 113,000 members and by 2004 it was prominent enough to be referenced in an episode of the [[Australia]]n [[soap opera]] ''[[Neighbours]]''.<ref name="neighbours">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/5/1333159|title=tv show neighbours promotes bookcrossing|access-date=2008-04-04|date=2004-11-15|author=mattster27|work=bookcrossing.com}}</ref> In the same year it appeared as a new word in the ''[[Concise Oxford Dictionary]],''<ref name="coed">{{cite book | title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary| last=Soanes| first=Catherine|author2=Angus Stevenson| year=2006| publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> although as of 2017, only the [[Collins English Dictionary|Collins English dictionary]] retained it as a word.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bookcrossing|title = Bookcrossing definition and meaning &#124; Collins English Dictionary}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981206143509/http://www.lexico.com/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 6, 1998|title=Definitions, Meanings, & Spanish Translations &#124; Lexico.com|website=Lexico Dictionaries &#124; English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.macmillandictionary.com/spellcheck/british/?q=bookcrossing|title=bookcrossing definition from Macmillan Dictionary: Free British English English Dictionary Online with Thesaurus}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/spellcheck/english/?q=bookcrossing|title=bookcrossing - Did you spell it correctly. Alternative spellings in the British English Dictionary - Cambridge Dictionary}}</ref>

Membership surpassed one million by March 2012 and the registered book count exceeded 8.5 million. By November 2019, there were over 1.9 million members and over 13 million books travelling through 132 countries,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bookcrossing.com/about|title=About Book Crossing Popularity|access-date=2019-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108085715/https://www.bookcrossing.com/about|archive-date=2019-11-08}}</ref> of which over 25 thousand books newly "released in the wild" in the previous month across over 60 countries, with over 80% of the books being released in the 8 most active countries (Germany, United States, Spain, Italy, Australia, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Brazil), while 30 countries had seen a book release in the previous 3 days.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bookcrossing.com/hunt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108085616/https://www.bookcrossing.com/hunt|title=Hunt for books|date=2019-11-08|archive-date=2019-11-08}}</ref>

In July 2007 [[Singapore]] became the first country to give the practice official status, designating 2,000 locations in the country as 'hotspots', similar to Official BookCrossing Zones (OBCZ), in an initiative launched with the [[National Library, Singapore|National Library of Singapore]].<ref name="sing">{{Cite web|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/285965/1/.html|title=Singapore is First BookCrossing Country in the World|access-date=2008-03-28|date=2007-07-03|author=Foo Xiao Xuan|work=Singapore News|archive-date=2008-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510130010/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/285965/1/.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The world's first official International BookCrossing Day took place on 21 April 2014. BookCrossing is actively developing in the countries of Eastern Europe, in particular Ukraine since 2021 in small and large cities.<ref>{{Cite web|title=У Чернівцях організували буккросинг, проте вандали вже встигли понищити одну зі скриньок - chernivtsi-future.com.ua|url=https://chernivtsi-future.com.ua/uk/news-u-chernivczyah-organizuvaly-bukkrosyng-prote-vandaly-vzhe-vstygly-ponyshhyty-odnu-zi-skrynok|access-date=2021-12-14|language=uk}}</ref>

===Awards===
In May 2005 BookCrossing.com won two People's Voice awards in the [[Webby Awards]] for best community website and best social/networking website.<ref name="webbc">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bookcrossing.com/newscontent/137 |title=9th Annual Webby Awards: BookCrossing.com Named Best Community Website and Best Social/Networking Website in the People's Voice Awards |access-date=2008-03-28 |date=2005-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324082714/http://www.bookcrossing.com/newscontent/137 |archive-date=2008-03-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> BookCrossing was also featured in a [[BBC Radio]] project broadcast as 84 Book Crossing Road, which involved releasing 84 copies of [[Helene Hanff]]'s book ''[[84 Charing Cross Road]]'' around the world. The program was nominated for a [[Sony Radio Academy Awards|Sony Radio Academy Award]] in 2006.<ref name="sraa">{{Cite web|url=http://www.radioawards.org/winners/?category=The_Feature_Award&year=2006|title=Sony Radio Academy Awards|access-date=2008-03-28|year=2006}}</ref>