FAQs - African Library Project

Africans speak so many languages. Why send books in English?

Africa was colonized primarily by English and French-speaking countries. Today, most secondary education in Africa requires fluency in English or French. Our libraries support children to read and write in English because that language is critical to their education.

What age children are your libraries targeting?

We get requests for books for pre-school, elementary school, secondary school and community libraries. Our books are read by all ages, especially children.

I have lots of used books. Where should I bring them?

Great! Check the ‘Sorting’ section of the guidelines to identify which of your books are appropriate to send (primarily children’s books). Then check the partners page of this website to see if we already have a volunteer organization nearby where you can take your books. If not, consider organizing a book drive and making your own books the first part of the collection.

What kinds of schools volunteer to collect and send books? Can younger children help?

Children of all ages are already making a difference! Elementary, middle, and high schools are all sponsoring book drives for the African Library Project. In some cases, the students even work on the books to make them library-ready before they are shipped.

Our school would like to collect books, but we don’t have an easy way to raise money to ship the books. Can we still participate?

We can help you with ideas about how to raise the funds to cover shipping costs. Fortunately, we are able to ship the books at a very low rate. You can mail 1000 paperbook books for about $450. Simply use the U.S. Postal Service Media Mail rate to mail your books to our shipper’s warehouse, then send a check to us for $250 to cover the additional shipping and related expenses. Contact us if you want some creative ideas about painless fundraising!

I don’t have books to donate, but I would like to support this project. Can I make a donation?

Of course! As an an all-volunteer organization, we appreciate any contribution you can make. Our biggest expense is postal fees to ship the books to Africa. You can donate online here.

Our school would like to start a sister school relationship. Can we get to know the community that receives our books?

Yes. Our primary mission is to start libraries, but we also support schools to develop ongoing relationships. Contact us so we can help match your school with a good possibility.

Are you a registered as a 501(c)3 organization?

Not yet. We are working on it. Meanwhile, we are able to accept tax-exempt donations through our fiscal sponsoring organization, One World Children’s Fund.