World Book Night

An ardent book lover's idea to spread the joy of reading.......

"Just like all members of Librarywala, I too love books. There hasnʼt been a more hackneyed phrase in history, Iʼm sure, but sadly, such is the truth! So, I was delighted when I discovered World Book Night.

World Book Night is possibly the worldʼs largest book give-away drive. Conducted only in the UK and Ireland, this book give-away shortlists 25 titles for their drive each year. 

Forty thousand copies of these books are then given away to members of the general public – just like that, for free! Volunteers, known as ‘givers’ –  20,000 of them – select any book from the 25 titles, and give away 48 copies of their chosen book; the other copies are distributed on World Book Night itself (this year on March 5), in places that are difficult for volunteers to reach, such as prisons and hospitals. 

What a fantastic idea to spread the reading bug! Though India doesnʼt have similar programs running, perhaps pioneers such as Librarywala, armed with its huge member base, can start something like this. Any further ideas on how this can be done?"

blogpost by Shefali Sunderan Harsha - a Librarywala fan