Book Aid International is a UK registered charity which provides books and supports libraries in Africa and around the world. Every year the charity sends books to public and community libraries as well as libraries in prisons, refugee camps, hospitals, schools and universities. The charity works in close partnership with libraries and also helps libraries develop their services through its library support projects and programmes. In 2019, an estimated 19 million people read the books which Book Aid International provided.

History

Book Aid International was founded in 1954 by Hermione, Countess of Ranfurly, after she moved to

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

with her husband, Ulster-Scots

Daniel Knox, 6th Earl of Ranfurly Thomas Daniel Knox, 6th Earl of Ranfurly (29 May 1914 – 6 November 1988), known as Dan Ranfurly, was a British Army officer and farmer, who served as Governor of the Bahamas. His exploits in the Second World War, along with those of his wife ...

, who was

Governor of the Bahamas This is a list of governors of the Bahamas. The first English settlement in the Bahamas was on Eleuthera. In 1670, the king granted the Bahamas to the lords proprietors of the Province of Carolina, but the islands were left to themselves. The lo ...

. Upon touring the islands, Lady Ranfurly was shocked at the lack of reading materials available; she founded the Ranfurly Out Island Library service to provide books in the Bahamas. Over the years, she expanded her work throughout the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

and set up an organisation called The Ranfurly Library Service in London. In 1994, the Ranfurly Library Service changed its name to Book Aid International.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

was the charity's patron from 1966 until his death in April 2021.

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the a ...

has been patron since 2022. In 2007 the Department for International Development ceased funding Book Aid International, requiring them to reduce staff numbers and countries they work in. It is now entirely funded by a range of trusts, companies and individuals. In 2014, the organisation celebrated its 60th anniversary. Since 2012, it has been directed by Alison Tweed, who replaced Clive Nettleton. In 2014, Lord Boateng became the charity's Chair.

Current work

According to their Annual Report, in 2019 Book Aid International sent 1.2 million books to partners in 26 countries around the world. Many of these countries are in Africa but they also send books to support readers in Syria, Iraq and Greece. The charity is supported by book donations from the UK publishing industry and all the books they send are brand new. The charity's website also details a number of programmes designed to train librarians and teachers as well as to create and support school libraries. These include:
Inspiring Readers

Children's Corners

Reading for all: Kakuma Refugee Camp

Major book donors

Book Aid International is supported by many publishers who donate books to the charity, which donations Book Aid International then sorts, selects according to need, and sends on to library services and NGO partners overseas. Major book donors include: *

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

Andersen Press Andersen Press is a British book publishing company. It was founded in 1976 by Klaus Flugge, and was named after Hans Christian Andersen "because it is easier to pronounce and spell than Flugge". Random House has a holding in the company and a s ...

Baker Books Baker Publishing Group is a Christian book publisher that discusses historic Christian happenings for its evangelical readers. It is based in Ada, Michigan and has six subdivisions: namely Bethany House, Revell, Baker Books, Baker Academic, Chos ...

* Bloomsbury *

The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

* Co-ordination Group Publishing *

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

* CTA * Harlequin Mills & Boon *

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...

* Hachette (publisher), Hachette UK * International African Institute * Macmillan Publishers, Macmillan * Miles Kelly Publishing, Miles Kelly * Oxford University Press * Pearson Education, Pearson * Penguin Random House * RELX Group * SAGE Publications * Walker Books * Wiley Publishing, Wiley * Zed Books

Countries of operation

The following countries receive significant donations of books from Book Aid International: *Cameroon *Eritrea *Ethiopia *Greece *Iraq *Kenya *Malawi *State of Palestine, Occupied Palestinian Territories *Sierra Leone *Somalia *South Sudan *Tanzania and Zanzibar *Uganda *Zambia *Zimbabwe

Notes

Sources

External links

Official siteresearch paper Commissioned by Book Aid International and sponsored by the Commonwealth Foundation
{dead link, date=November 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes *Giorgia Cerruti
"Book Aid International: the power of partnerships"
''BookBrunch'', 21 June 2021. Development charities based in the United Kingdom Charities based in London Organizations promoting literacy