Who are we? Who we are We are The Book Trade Charity (BTBS), formerly known as The Book Trade Benevolent Society. We were founded around 180 years ago as a benevolent society to help those who had been employed in the UK Book Trade but had fallen on hard times. This was before widespread State provided pensions and health care, when people who had been in employment often needed help and 'Provident Societies' specific to particular trades and industries were a common thing, having been established by philanthropic people with those trades.As the industry has evolved over the years, so have we. The charity still offers support to those who have worked in the trade and need our help, for themselves and their dependants, but we also offer support to those looking to enter the industry.