Books For Africa, Visions In Action, and Better World Books Present to African Studies Association on Literacy in Africa

Pat Plonski, Executive Director of Books For Africa; Shaun Skelton, Executive Director of Visions In Action; and David Murphy, President of Better World Books, presented to the African Studies Association on November 20, 2010. The title of their presentation was “Providing Books For Schools and Libraries in Africa: What Is the Impact on Literacy?” The presentation focused on best practices, return on investment, and impacts of donated books on literacy across the African continent. A briefing on the 2007-09 “Million Book March for Literacy in Liberia” was also presented.

“The important thing is not just how many books we have sent to Africa, but what is the impact of these books on literacy and helping to attain the Millennium Development Goals and Education For All goals in the area of literacy,” Plonski said. “We are always looking for ways to improve our practices and activities to make sure that the educational materials we are sending to Africa are actually helping the children of this continent. So far, the results have been very encouraging—but we will continue to work to improve our practices and conduct research to document impacts of the books that are shipped.”

Read the papers presented at the conference here:

"The Million Book March for Literacy in Liberia—What is the Impact on Literacy?" by Shaun Skelton, Director, Visions In Action

"Providing Books For Schools and Libraries in Africa: What Is the Impact on Literacy?" by Patrick Plonski, Ph.D., Executive Director of Books For Africa