Woman browsing books at book store

Are You in Need of More Books?

If you’re looking for more books for your Book Drive, we recommend contacting your local Half Price Books (HPB) store (see location directory here). Call your local store and let them know that you’re collecting book donations to create a library through the African Library Project. You’ll want to be prepared to share with them the kinds of books you are seeking and the amount, as well as some additional details about your project with the African Library Project.

The reason we recommend reaching out to your local Half Price Books store is because it is part of their operations to donate a percentage of their books to non-profits. Many of our other Book Drive Organizers have had great success in collecting donated books from HPB. One of the reasons is because they are constantly receiving more books, making them a perfect resource. Our Operations Director, Julie Freeman, was recently working on a book drive and noted that the first time she called they had just given away their supply in the books she was collecting for, but then the following week when she called again, they had already restocked their supply and had a few boxes ready for her to pick up.  So even if you call today and they recently gave away their supply, there is a chance that if you follow back up with them in a week, they may have some boxes ready to go. Plus, they typically have the books already sorted by reading level and in boxes.

Not signed-up for a book drive, but have enough books to create a library? Sign-up today to get started.

Book Drives

We are constantly seeking volunteers to serve as Book Drive Organizers and offer opportunities to get involved throughout the year. Our model matches your book drive directly with a library recipient. This enables you, as the Book Drive Organizer, to collect for the appropriate reading and an assortment of books, in doing so this maximizes your impact.

We stagger sign-ups throughout the year, opening registration one country at a time. Visit our Book Drive page to view the schedule. If your interests lie in a particular country, please mark your calendar for when the mailing deadline is. Registration opens 4 – 5 months before the mailing deadline. For 2023, book drive opportunities will be available for Botswana, Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Lesotho, South Africa, and Uganda. Our model relies on a strong partnership with an organization in country. Since the African Library Project started, we’ve created libraries in 13 countries. We are looking to add Sierra Leone back to our list of active countries/partnerships, if you are interested in serving as a Country Liaison for Sierra Leone, please refer to our volunteer opportunities webpage for more information.

 

Visit Book Drives Webpage