Directory of Book Donation Programs

Originally compiled by Gretchen Walsh and the Book Famine Task Force of the African Studies Association (ASA) (1992). Updated since 2000 by The Book Donations Committee of the Africana Librarians Council of the African Studies Association.

Book Donations - Introduction and Tips


Web Site Lists of Book Donation Organizations


 

Selected organizations:

The annotations indicate the nature of the projects and services so that potential donors can determine if collaboration is possible.

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics - Book Donation Programme.

Donation Programme Office
ICTP P.O.Box 586
Strada Costiera 11
Trieste 34100, ITALY.
Fax number: ------- (39) 040 2240633
Telephone number: (39) 040 224636
http://www.ictp.trieste.it/~iqbal/

Based in Trieste, Italy. Attempts to provide physics and mathematics libraries in developing countries with books, journals and proceedings.
 


 

American Chemical Society Office of International Activities

American Chemical Society
1155 16th St., NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 872-4548 or (800) 227-5558, ext. 4548
Fax: (202) 872-6317
http://www.acs.org/international/
 

In 1984, the American Chemical Society launched an initiative to assist institutions that have a need for scientific publications. Project Bookshare, as the program has come to be known, is charged with collecting chemistry textbooks and back numbers of journals from donors and making these materials available to libraries in selected small U.S. colleges and to university libraries in mostly developing countries.
Contact Person: Dr. J.C. Torio
Email: j_torio@acs.org


 

ADIFLOR (Association pour la Diffusion Internationale Francophone de Livres, Ouvrage et Revues)

5 rue de la Boule Rouge
75009 Paris
France
Phone: (33) 1 44 79 0600
Fax: (33) 1 44 79 0600
http://www.adiflor.org
 

ADIFLOR works with Alliance française, Mission lanque française, Ordre de Malte, Association de Bibliothécaires français (ABF). It distributes materials to Africa, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe.
Contact Person: Isabelle Le Camus
Email: info@adiflor.org


 

African Studies Association (U.S.) - The Gretchen Walsh Book Donation Award

African Studies Association, Rutgers University, Douglass
College, 132 George Street, New Brunswick, N.J. 08901-1400
Phone: (732) 932-8173
Fax: (732) 932-3394
http://www.albany.edu/~dlafonde/Global/bkdonmid.html
 

"The ASA makes annual awards to assist groups with shipping costs for book donations to African libraries and schools." Application procedures are on the African Librarians Council web site. Previous awards are described.
Contact: a , ASA Interim Executive Director


 

Agridoc

BDPA - Centre de Documentation et d'Information
27, rue Louis Vicat
75738 Paris Cedex 15
France
Phone: (33) 1 46 48 59 40
Fax: (33) 1 46 44 75 44
http://www.agridoc.com
 

Agridoc is a development information network for Francophone countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the surrounding islands. The network furnishes members with Agridoc (an international agricultural bulletin), question and answer services, photocopies of documents on demand and free access to the development and agricultural information documents and databases on their web site. Donates French language materials.
Email: agridoc@bdpa.fr


 

Association d'Aide … l'Equipement Scolaire (AESCO)

B.P. 61
45750 St. Pryvé St. Mesmin
France
Phone/Fax: (33) 2 38 56 61 39
http://www.voxlatina.com/vox_dsp2.php3?art=1252

AESCO distributes school books, educational games, general reading materials in the French language to Guinea, Cameroon and Senegal.
Contact Person: M. Loembe Gervais, President or Jacqueline Ateba, Secrétaire générale.
Email: aesco@wanadoo.fr


 

BIBLIONEF

48 bd. Diderot
75012 Paris
France
Phone: (33) 1 43 40 75 10
Fax: (33) 1 43 40 75 24
http://www.biblionef.nl

New books for children and adolescents from publishers' overstock.
Languages: French, Dutch, Portuguese, Afrikaans, Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa
BIBLIONEF works with the Agence de la Francophonie (ACCT), French Cultural Centres, Alliance fran‡aise and various NGOs and foundations. They distribute materials to Central and Eastern Europe, Francophone Africa, Asia, Haiti, Lebanon, Egypt, South Africa, Madagascar and Surinam. BIBLIONEF sends recipients a list of materials each month from which they can select the resources they need. Recipients are asked to contribute to the cost of maintaining the program and are responsible for paying the shipping costs.
Contact Person: Mme Dominique Pace, Le Roy, Vice President.
 


 

Book Aid International

39-41 Coldharbour Lane
Camberwell
London SE5 9NR
England
Phone: (044) 0 20 7733 3577
Fax: (044) 0 20 7978 8006
http://www.bookaid.org
 

Formerly The Ranfurly Library Service (RLS) of London, this group works in partnership with organizations to provide book support for education and literacy programmes in developing countries, mainly in Africa. Book Aid International is always in need of appropriate books and financial support. For its U.S. counterpart, see Ranfurly Library Service of New York (below).
Email: info@bookaid.org


 

Books for Africa

253 East 4th Street Suite 200
Saint Paul, MN 55101
Phone: (651) 602-9844
Fax: (651) 602-9848
http://www.booksforafrica.org
 

A non-profit organization seeking to share America's wealth in books with the English- speaking countries of East Africa. Initial projects were books for Kenyan schools and the Uganda Public Library. Projects have involved Tanzania, Swaziland, Liberia and the Gambia as well. Distributes basic medical and nursing texts to 18 African nations. They are looking for donations of books, cash and volunteer labor.
Contact Person: Dr. Robert J. Kowalczyk, Executive Director
Email: info@booksforafrica.org


 

BOOKS FOR ALL

Brunhildenstr. 34
D-80639 Munich, Germany.
Phone: (49) 89-17 23 83
Fax: (49) 89 260 78 96
http://www.ifla.org/VII/s10/1996/b4all.htm

A library project encouraging grass-roots activities to fight illiteracy. It aims at providing children and young people with books and other media. Requests for funding come from many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Librarians and teachers wishing to establish small libraries, to enlarge existing collections or to improve the quality of school libraries receive support. They purchase books written in their local languages that the children are able to read and understand. Founded in 1973 by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and has since supported more than 100 libraries for children and young people in more than 50 countries.
Account for donations: Dresdner Bank, Munich, Germany
Account No. 7 649 897 00, Bank Code No. 700 800 00


 

Brother to Brother International, Inc. (BBI)

4025 S. McClintock, Suite 210
P.O. Box 27634
Tempe, AZ 85285-7634
Phone: (800) 642-1616 (U.S. only) or (480) 345-9200, ext. 229
Fax: 480-345-2747
www.worldvision.org

Brother to Brother International, Inc. (BBI) is an organization that matches the product and technical needs of charities around the world with donors who can fill those needs. They do not charge anyone for that service. BBI supplies textbooks (when available) to charities in the United States for overseas shipment.
Contact Persons: Nichole Churchill, Coordinator and Diana French, Program Manager.
Email: mveitenh@mary.wvus.org


 

Brother's Brother Foundation

1200 Galveston Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15233-1604
Phone: (888) 232-1916 or (412) 321-3160
Fax: (412) 321-3325
http://www.brothersbrother.org
 

The Brother's Brother Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization providing gifts in kind in cooperation with the public and private sectors. Working with volunteers in host countries, they have sent over 8,000,000 books to schools, universities and civic organizations since 1986. Brother's Brother Foundation typically deals in very large quantities (a ton may be considered a small quantity). Donations from individuals are accepted if they fit in with an existing project, and donors are usually expected to bear the shipping costs to the U.S. warehouse.
Contact Person: Karen Lensie, Development Director, (412) 237-2324, klensie@brothersbrother.org
Email: mail@brothersbrother.org
                             


 

Canadian Organization for Development through Education (CODE)

321 Chapel Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7Z2
Canada
Phone: (613) 232-3569 or (800) 661-2633
http://www.codecan.org
 
 

CODE is a non-governmental organization which supports education and literacy work in the Third World. Its Book Program supplies donated books from North American sources to educational organizations. It generally only accepts books published within the past 5 years and in sets of 25 or more for class-room use.  CODE provides the books and shipping, while the counterpart organization in the recipient country selects books from lists provided, handles receipt and local delivery of the shipments. "Ngoma" is the title of their semi-annual newsletter. CODE is affiliated with the International Book Bank in the U.S.
Contact Person: Yvonne Appiah, Executive Director.
Email: codehq@codecan.org

 

Darien Book Aid Plan

1926 Post Road
Darien, CT 06820
Phone: (203) 655-2777
http://dba.darien.org

Distribution to Peace Corps volunteers, teachers, libraries, and schools all over the world and, in the United States, to libraries, prisons, hospitals, Native Americans, and Appalachia. For new and used books in good condition addressing subjects including science, business, medicine, grammar, literature, classics, fiction, non-fiction, children's books, textbooks in most subjects, but not older than 10 years. National Geographic for the last 5 years is the only magazine accepted.

Email: BookAid@aol.com

Ethiopia Reads

1700 Humboldt St
Denver, CO 80218
Contact Person: North American Director - Charlotte Min-Harris
Phone: (303)-862-4138
Fax: (303)-862-4877
http://www.ethiopiareads.org/libraries

Ethiopia Reads’ mission is to build a reading culture in Ethiopia by connecting children with books by building libraries for children, publishing books in English as well as local Ethiopian languages, and training teachers and librarians to cultivate a culture of reading among children.Three books have been published in English and Amharic. Publications include a dual-volume collection of Ethiopian folk tales, for distribution throughout Ethiopia, two trilingual books. One book in Amharic won the Golden Kuraz award. Ethiopia Reads provide training in library skills, literacy and reading to library workers, school directors, teachers and administrators who work in theirschool partnership network and maintains the daily operations of the Shola Children’s Library, Awassa Reading Center, 18 school libraries and four donkey mobile libraries. Ethiopia Reads believes that education is the key to improving the lives of the next generation of Ethiopians, a country filled with children, and that books are the key to fostering a genuine love of learning.


Ethiopian Community Development Council, Inc.

            1038 South Highland Street
            Arlington, VA 22204
            Phone: (703) 685-0510
            Fax: (703) 685-0529
           

            Since 1993, ECDC has shipped close to 600,000 books to Ethiopia.  It is a partner of Books for
            Africa,  Brother's Brother Foundation, International Book Project, Project Hope, USAID etc. 
            Contact Person: Tori Wolan, Director of Development, (703) 685-0510, tori.wolan@ecdcinternational.org
            Email: info@ecdcinternational.org

 

Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc.

College Avenue
P.O. Box 429
New Windsor, MD 21776
Phone: (410) 635-8720
Fax: (410) 635-8726
http://www.interchurch.org

A consortium of Protestant mission boards and humanitarian organizations coordinating donations of medical kits and money. Computerized lists are sent to potential recipients for selection. The recipient is responsible for a small handling charge. Donors are mostly publishers and corporations.
Email: imainfo@interchurch.org


 

International Book Bank

815 Central Ave., Ste. F
Linthicum, MD 21090
Phone: (410) 636-6895
Fax: (410) 636-6898
http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/
 

International Book Bank is a non-profit organization which recently affiliated with the Canadian Organization for Development Through Education (CODE). Its recently opened Baltimore location provides warehouse and computer facilities for its activities which include: networking, computerized annotated lists of books available, which are sent to potential recipients, supply through client agencies, feedback via questionnaires and surveys, and institution building. Although most of its programs are large in scale, if a request, either from an African library wishing to obtain books, or a U.S. scholar with books to donate, fits with a current program, the request can be accommodated. Otherwise they can handle requests on a service contract basis (with charges to recover costs) either supplying books or handling donated books.
Contact Person: James A. W. Rogerson, Executive Director
 

 

International Book Project / IBP Online

1440 Delaware Avenue
Lexington, KY 40505
Phone: (888) 999-BOOK or (859) 254-6771
http://www.intlbookproject.org
 

Sends donated books to developing countries and parts of the U.S.A. - new from publishers or used from individuals, schools and libraries, on all levels, children's through graduate and professional school. Responds to recipient requests. Potential donors should send a description of the books - level, number of multiple copies, etc., and the Project will send a matching recipient's address. The donor can either send the books on their own, or arrange shipment with the Project for a fee, currently $3.00 per pound of books sent.
Contact person: Ken DeGilio, Director, director@intlbookproject.org
Email: books@intlbooksproject.org

 

International Society of African Scientists (ISAS)

            P.O. Box 9209
            Wilmington, DE 19809
            Phone: (302) 366-5155 or (302) 774-2296
            Fax: (302) 366-5236 or (302) 774-2457
            http://www.dca.net/isas/books.htm

            ISAS decided to collect useful educational materials for donation to needy libraries or programs at colleges
            or universities or other programs of higher education in Africa and the Caribbean.  Their website lists the type
            of materials collected and describes the privileges of donorship.
            Contact Persons: Dr. Billy Annan or Dr. Senyo Opong

           

Netherlands Periodicals Project

Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education (NUFFIC)
Netherlands Periodicals Project
PO Box 29777
2502 LT The Hague
Netherlands
Phone: (31 70) 4260 169
Fax: (31 70) 4260 189
http://www.nuffic.nl/programma/samenwerking/npp_en.html
 

The purpose of the NPP is to help university libraries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to build up their collections of scientific literature. To be eligible, libraries must be situated in the countries on which the Dutch government concentrates its development cooperation efforts. The NPP sends back runs of journals to some 30 destinations. They send the journals only after confirmation of the receiving institute that it's really useful. The Dutch Government pays for shipment and project costs. They can handle journals from the United States, but only under several restrictions. However, if someone in the United States has any back runs of periodicals which might be useful for NPP's projects, they would be pleased to be informed.
Contact Person: Dr. Cindy-Lou van Rossum
Email: cvrossum@nuffic.nl or nuffic@nuffic.nl


 

Nigerian Universities Office

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
1333 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 986-8400
Fax: (202) 775-1385

The Nigerian Universities Office includes in its responsibilities the coordination of donation of books and research/teaching equipment from American and Canadian universities to Nigerian universities. Many Nigerian universities maintain accounts with the office to cover shipping costs. Shipping arrangements for those institutions without accounts can sometimes be worked out.

 

Operation Bookshelf
            37 Drake Rd.
            Scarsdale, N.Y. 10583
            Country: U.S.A.
            Phone:  (914) 723-0024

            Materials available: Used books and magazines in English.  Operation Bookshelf is a small all-                   volunteer organisation that sends boxes of books to libraries, schools and NGOs world-wide. They fill requests for books on a first-come first-serve basis, subject to the availability of materials.


 

Project Handclasp
            c/o Commander, Naval Base
            San Diego, CA 92132
            Phone: (619) 532-1492
            Contact: Commander M.C. Tevelson

Donated English language books from schools and individuals and a wide array of other "humanitarian aid" partner with Embassies in U.S. Navy ports of call.  Project Handclasp uses empty cargo space on U.S. Navy ships to transport humanitarian, good-will and educational materials to Navy ports of call. The materials are donated by a wide variety of sources and the contents are unpredictable. Navy ships will off-load these materials wherever they are needed and customs practices allow. Recipients are chosen by the Defence Attachés at U.S. embassies. Visit your local U.S. embassy to find out if they participate in Project Handclasp and ask to be put on a recipient list.

 

Project HOPE

International Headquarters
255 Carter Hall Lane
Millwood, VA 22646
Phone: (540) 837-2100
Fax: (540) 837-1813
http://www.projecthope.org

Project Hope has and international textbook distribution program to institutions in the Third World. This organization distributes large amounts medical books.
Email:  webmaster@projecthope.org


 

Ranfurly Library Service of New York / Book Aid International

34 Sheldon Rd
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Phone: (914) 473-1652 or (914) 471-9307

The Ranfurly Library Service of New York is an autonomous organization with basically the same goals as its British sister organization listed above, Book Aid International. This group works in partnership with organizations to provide book support for education and literacy programmes in developing countries, mainly in Africa.
Contact Person: Herman Hamlelink, Director
Email: hamlelink@juno.com

 

Rotary International

International Services Section
1560 Sherman Ave
Evanston, IL 60201-2698
Phone: (847) 866-3000
Fax: (847) 328-8554
http://www.rotary.org/programs/wcs/din/information.html

Rotary International's World Community Service provides information on Donations-in-Kind Network (DIN) to individual Rotary clubs worldwide. See the website above for a 56 page Resource Guide listing relevant organizations.  Donations-in-kind Information: Susan Schneider, (847) 866-3301


 

Sabre Foundation, Inc.

872 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 2-1
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Phone: (617) 868-3510
Fax: (617) 868-7916
http://www.sabre.org
 

Sabre Foundation, Inc., founded in 1969, works to build free institutions and to examine the ideals that sustain them. Its largest current project makes millions of dollars' worth of donated books available to needy individuals in developing and transitional societies worldwide through non-governmental partner organizations, libraries, universities, schools, hospitals and clinics, research institutions and other similar organizations. They specialize in providing college, secondary and elementary level educational materials to institutions and individuals. Since 1986, Sabre has donated almost three million new books, journals, videocassettes and CD-ROMs through its on-going selected countries in other regions of the world. Sabre also administers a program for purchase of books and journal subscriptions at reduced cost and places private libraries and special collections with institutions abroad.
Contact Person: Tania Vitvitsky,Project Director
Email: sabre@sabre.org

 

Salamatu Foundation
           
            P.O. Box 92
            Carolina, RI 02812
            (401) 364-7748
            http://www.salamatu.org/index.html
           

The Salamatu Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing library/resource centers in less developed regions of the world. They sponsor workshops and provide a sustainable supply of educational materials for those centers. Projects are designed to empower communities and individuals by enhancing their access to educational resources. They strive to establish lasting partnerships between donors and beneficiary communities.
E-Mail:  memebabe@netsense.net

 

Sudan-American Foundation for Education (SAFE)

4141 N Henderson Road, #1205
Arlington, VA 22203 USA
Phone: (703) 525-9045
Fax: (703) 351-0782
http://www.sudan.com/safe/
 

The Sudan-American Foundation ships donates academic books to twenty universities and institutes in Sudan, based upon requests.
Contact Person: Dr. Lee G. Burchinal, Executive Director
Email: burchinal@erols.com


 

United States Department of State

Office of International Information Programs
301 4th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20547
http://usinfo.state.gov/homepage.htm
 

The State Department funds a small donated books program. Inquiries are invited.


Universal Book Effort (Uni-Book Effort)

5620 Williams Lake Road
Deming, WA 98244
Phone: (360) 592-2382
Fax: (360) 592-9042

Uni-Book Effort is a non-profit corporation founded in response to a need for books in developing countries. Its main source of books is discarded materials from public schools, universities and public libraries. Books have been shipped to schools and other organizations worldwide, wherever English is taught as a second language.
Contact Persons: Rick Gates and Sandi Madison, Directors
Email: gates@az.com

 

The World Library Partnership, Inc.

3101 Guess Road, Suite D
Durham, NC 27705
Phone: (919) 479-0163
Fax: (919) 479-2033
http://RTPnet.org/~wlp/
 

This program connects libraries in developing countries with partner libraries in the United States. Through cultural exchange projects, library partnerships bring communities together. Through fundraisers, they provide some of the world's most impoverished libraries with desperately needed funds for books and supplies. Please see the partnership guidelines for more information about how the program works. To find out if your library is eligible, request an application or find out more about existing partnerships and partnership opportunities.
Email: wlp@rtpnet.org


 

World Bank Volunteer Services Book Project (WBVS)
1818 "H" St., NW
Room JB3-105
Washington, DC 20433
Phone: (202) 473-8960
Fax: (202) 522-0301
Email: wproject@worldbank.org
Contact: Mrs. Elizabeth Shepherd

Used books from school systems, universities, libraries and individuals in English, occasionally a few books in French or Spanish.  WBVS Book Project is dedicated to sending books to isolated, rural, and/or needy schools, universities, libraries and hospitals. When enough book request forms are received from these institutions to justify sending a container of books to a country, WBVS finds a recipient organisation to clear the books through customs, notify the other organisations that the books have arrived and distribute them to the other recipients. The distributor can either be spouses/staff of World Bank Missions, the Peace Corps in countries where volunteers are working with libraries and schools, ministries, or local or international NGO's.  WBVS Book Project sends six containers of 400 boxes of books per year to developing countries around the world (shipping is paid to the nearest point of entry). Write to them for a book request form (do not contact the local office of the World Bank). Development workers or librarians visiting Washington D.C. can select books from their warehouse to take to libraries overseas. Due to the long waiting list of countries wanting shipments, it usually takes at least two years for WBVS to collect enough requests, find a reliable distributor, pack the shipment and send it overseas.

 


This directory was developed from the above mentioned Web sites, verified information from returned inquiries to organizations and the following sources.


Bibliography

Acquisition of Books and Journals for African Universities; A Guide for Fulbright Scholars. Washington: African Programs Branch, Academic Exchange Programs Division, U.S.Information Agency, 1990.

Book Network for International Development and Education Guide to Networking. Ottawa: Canadian Organization for Development Through Education, 1988.

Childs, William M. American Donated Books Abroad: a Guide to Distributing Organizations. Washington: American International Book Development Council, 1989.

Directory of Western Organizations Assisting Book Culture in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. New York and London: PUBWATCH and the Publishers Association, 1993.

Donated Book Programs: A Dialogue of Partners Handbook. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1993.

Doyle, Robert P., ed. Donation Programs, International Leads, 8(3) (1994)1-3,6-9.

Greenberg, Janet. ACLA Manual for International Book and Journal Donations. New York: American Council of Learned Societies, 1993.

INASP Directory 1993. London: International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications, 1993.

Kaston, Carren. The Community of the Book: a Directory of Selected Organizations and Programs. Washington: Library of Congress, 1986.

Peace Corps of the United States. Sources of Books and Periodicals for Schools and Libraries for Peace Corps Volunteers. Washington, DC: Peace Corps, 1991.

Priestley, Carol. The Book Famine: a Selective Directory for Book and Journal Assistance to Universities in Africa. Africa, 60(1)(1990)135-148.

Rowbotham, Graham. Directory of Available Resources from Donor Agencies for Books, Journals and Library Development. London: Commonwealth Higher Education Support Scheme, 1991.

 



Updates by Deborah M. LaFond and Marieta Harper, November 2000
Helene Baumann 2003-2004
Web Page maintained 2005-2010 by
Deborah M. LaFond,
Social Sciences Bibliographer
University Library 205
University at Albany
Albany, New York 12222
(518) 442-3599
dlafond@uamail.albany.edu