In the US, our book drive organizers do a great job of collecting books and getting them to Africa.  But…then what happens?  In each country, we work with one or more African Partner organizations to turn donated books into small, sustainable libraries.  This requires addressing Seven Big Challenges to Library Development:

1. Engage the host community.
   • We need the local community to put skin in the game.  Each “wannabe” library is vetted by our African Partner to ensure they are able to provide the space, furniture, staffing and a library committee to support a library’s continuous operation.  This is a high bar for many African communities, but it’s essential for the long-term health of the library.
2. Get the books through customs.
   • Thousands of freight containers get hung up in African ports every month.  Our African Partner needs to navigate local customs procedures and troubleshoot problems with agents and brokers to get the books into the country.
3. Distribute the books to the library sites.
   • Most Africans don’t know how to drive and can’t afford a vehicle.  Our African Partner arranges for books to reach remote locations by public taxi, government van, donkey, wheelbarrow and on the tops of students’ heads!
4. Teach the basics of running a library.
   • Trained librarians are rare in Africa, so our African Partner holds workshops to train regular teachers to become teacher-librarians.  They supervise parents, students and other teachers to set up and manage the library.  The African Library Project provides a manual on how to set up and run a simple library in a developing country.
5. Make books a part of students’ classroom learning.
   • Most African teachers have extremely limited access to teaching materials for the classroom.  They often teach only from memory, and students take notes without books.  Our African Partner trains teachers to use their new library books in classroom lessons.
6. Keep the books circulating.
   • Books are rare in Africa, so some schools keep them under lock and key, away from student use!  Others fear that books will be stolen, so they don’t allow books to leave the library room.  Our African Partner encourages each library to figure out how to make the books available to the greatest number of readers.
7. Make reading an everyday pleasure.
   • Africa has an oral tradition, so learning to read is hard work, especially in a second language.  Our African Partner provides creative ideas to get students to read every day and to develop a love of reading.

We acknowledge our African Partner organizations for their dedication and skill to address these challenges, so that donated books turn into libraries that really work.