560,000+

children learning

2000+

books in our collections

11

countries

Our Library app delivers culturally diverse, age-appropriate reading books in relevant languages. Research shows children with access to books like these, that mirror their lived experience, read more and gain higher levels of literacy. To deliver this tailored content, we partner with communities to facilitate Writers’ Workshops, turning their original stories into published books.

We believe in the power of digital to break down barriers to learning, but we also know that physical books are valuable learning tools. We offer printed books in different formats to support teachers engage their students in classroom learning, and low-cost publications for children to take home.

Below is a sample of the books we produce, you can also download our catalogue here.

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A library for anyone, anywhere

Library For All’s digital library platform is offline, requiring no internet, and can be off-grid with solar power where needed.

Our digital library tracks user demographics, number of books read and number of pages turned. These analytics help us to improve the content and user-experience of the Library.

Our ‘classroom in a box’, the Spark Kit, delivers our digital libraries in custom-designed hardware so educators have everything they need to get children learning.

Mirrors and windows

We know that children read more when they have ‘mirror’ books to engage with – that is, books that reflect their lived experience, compared to ‘window’ books that offer glimpses into other cultures and places.

This is why our curatorial strategy for every library aims for 70% mirrors and 30% windows.

And this matters, because the evidence shows the more time a child spends reading, the better their literacy scores will be. Read more in our research paper Mirrors, Mentors and Mother Tongues: Why cultural relevance matters.

From idea to published book

  • Step 1

    We source original stories from experienced and emerging writers around the world.

  • Step 2

    We select the stories that best suit our checklist for quality and age appropriateness.

  • Step 3

    Each story undergoes a cultural audit, using our global network of advisors in the countries we serve.

  • Step 4

    The story then undergoes structural and copy editing, ensuring accuracy of content, spelling and grammar.

  • Step 5

    We engage an illustrator we know is well suited to the narrative and work with them to bring the story to life.

  • Step 6

    The final manuscript and illustrations move to our digital layout team for conversion into epubs and print-ready books.

  • Final step

    We share our unique, diverse library of books with readers around the world.

Growing our collection

Sourcing Authors

Our library books are created by volunteers, experienced authors and in-country projects. We work with educators and development organisations to run Writers’ Workshops around the world. This ensures our educational content is relevant to local readers. We know young readers learn best with books that mirror their lived experiences, enhancing their interest in reading and storytelling and leading to better literacy outcomes.

Editing Our Books

The stories sourced from our worldwide pool of authors are edited by Library For All to ensure the content is high quality, interesting to young readers, and relevant to local educational curriculum needs.

Matching with Illustrators

When the story text is ready for publication, we match it with an illustrator, photographer or picture researcher to bring out the best in the words with colourful, engaging imagery.

Creating an ePub

Our books are produced in several formats. We ask our digital publishing teams to create beautifully designed epubs for use in our Library For All app, as well as print-ready versions. We meet the needs of the world’s most remote small schools, libraries or community spaces and ensure our library reaches them in a format they can access.

QA Testing

Our Publishing Team conducts rigorous QA testing of every book before it becomes part of our library. Technical frustrations should not impede people’s desire to read, so our books are checked for download speed, image quality and readability.

Adding to the library

Finally, we take great pride in adding completed books to our library ‘back end’, which then makes them available to all via our app on any Android device.

Sustainability in action

Did you know we create global impact by embracing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

 

Library For All operates across the world with our base operations in Australia. In the spirit of reconciliation, Library For All acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and the continuation of cultural, spiritual, and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We pay our respect to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.