Happy World Book Day from GBA!

Happy World Book Day from GBA!

High-quality, context-appropriate teaching and learning materials (TLMs) in languages that children understand are essential for literacy development and improved learning outcomes, but many children do not have access to these materials. Without access to books, learners are denied the opportunity to learn to read and read to learn. We call this the global book gap. 

Factors contributing to the global book gap may vary among contexts, but core challenges remain consistent: 1) there are not enough high-quality and appropriate books, 2) it is difficult to get the books to learners, and 3) there is lack of community-wide engagement around reading and book use. 

The GBA is committed to addressing the global book gap and transforming the lives of children around the world by working with partners to identify, promote, and support innovations, best practices, and policies that will enhance local book supply chains. Strengthening book supply chains is a critical step to ensure that learners, teachers, and other education stakeholders have access to TLMs to support reading acquisition for all children. 

To celebrate this World Book Day, GBA has compiled a list of resources related to book supply chain, book publishing and TLMs you might find useful in your work:

Resources related to book supply chain

  • Global Book Alliance: The Book Gap. Read here. 

  • Global Book Alliance: The Book Supply Chain. Read here. 

  • Book Supply Chain Training Modules. Access here. 

  • LIBROS: Learning to Improve Book Resource Operational Systems. Access here. 

  • Early Learning Resource Network. Access here. 

  • Global Digital Library. Access here. 

Planning and Forecasting

  • ADEA (2022). National Book and Reading Policies for Africa - In the Advent of the Digital Revolution. Read here. 

  • USAID (2021). Cost of Teaching and Learning Materials. Read here.  

  • ADEA (2021). National Book and Reading Policies Toolkit for Africa. Read here.  

Title Development 

  • All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development (2023). Sign Language Storybook Cohort: Minimum Standards Training. Access here. 

  • USAID (2023). Guidance for Promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Educational Materials. Read here. 

  • World Bank (2021). Read@Home Guide for Writers, Illustrators, and Designers of Books for Young Readers. Read here. 

  • Save the Children (2020). Children’s book development and use in Rwanda. Read here. 

  • USAID (2020). Considering Language in Materials Development. Read here. 

  • UNICEF (2019). Accessible digital textbooks using universal design for learning. Read here.  

  • USAID (2016). Equality in Educational Materials. Read here. 

Publishing & Printing

  • Save the Children (2024). Growing the local book industry. The experience of a publishing collaborative in Rwanda. Read here. 

  • GBA (2022). Publisher Elieshi Lema Discusses Private Sector Book Publishing in Africa. Read here. 

  • World Bank (2022). Open Licensing in Education: A World Bank Toolkit. Read here. 

  • World Bank (2021). 10 Success Factors in the Procurement of Printing of Teaching and Learning Materials - The Case of Mozambique. Read here. 

  • USAID, GRN, Creative Commons (2019). Open Licensing of Primary Grade Reading Materials: Considerations and Recommendations. Read here. 

  • ELRN (2023). Open Licensing Made Plain: A primer on children’s book creation in the global South (2nd edition). Read here.   

  • RTI (2018). Concept Paper on Open Licensing for Ministries of Education in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Read here. 

Procurement and Purchasing 

  • ELRN (2023). Books for All: How to Ensure Every Child Has the Texts They Need to Learn to Read (Event Resources). Access here. 

  • World Bank (2021). Read@Home Guidance Note on the Production of Reading Materials. Read here. 

  • World Bank (2021). Read@Home: Using the World Bank Bidding Document for Books. Read here. 

  • World Bank (2021). Incoterms and Insurance: Guidance for World Bank Procurement of Textbooks and Reading Books. Read here. . 

  • NBA (2019). Good Stories Don't Grow on Trees: A Guide to Effective Costing of Storybooks in the Global South. Read here. 

Distribution Management 

  • World Bank (2022). A Practical Guide for Designing Track and Trace Systems for Teaching and Learning Materials. Read here. 

  • World Bank (2022). Read@Home: Embedding Track and Trace in Book Supply Chains Track and Trace Design Document: Niger. Read here.  

  • World Bank (2022). Read@Home: Embedding Track and Trace in Book Supply Chains Design Document: El Salvador. Read here.  

  • World Bank (2020). Can Financial Incentives Improve the Last-Mile Delivery of Textbooks? Read here. 

Active Use

  • USAID (2022). Beyond Supply: Strategies to Promote Book Use in the Classroom and at Home. Read here. 

  • AfLIA and NBA (2022). The Role of African Librarians in Early Literacy: Report on an AfLIA Short Course. Access here. 

  • Reading Comprehension Interest Group (2021). Reading Comprehension Strategies and Tools for Teachers of MTB-MLE Classrooms. Read here. 

  • UNESCO (2020). Teacher’s Guide on Early Grade Reading Instruction. Read here. 

  • Results for Development and Pearson’s Project Literacy Worldreader (2020. Read To Kids: Leveraging Mobile Technology for Parental Engagement in the Early Years. Read here. 

  • USAID (2019). Enhancing Young Children’s Language Acquisition through Parent-Child Book-Sharing. Read here. 

  • ACR-GCD (2017). Engaging Families and Communities to Support Student Reading Skills Development. Read here. 

Country-Level Book Supply Chain Analyses

  1. Nigeria book supply chain analysis (GBAIA 2022). Read here.  

  2. Grenada book supply chain analysis (GBAIA 2022). Read here.

  3. Saint Lucia book supply chain analysis (GBAIA 2022). Read here. 

  4. Dominica book supply chain analysis (GBAIA 2022). Read here. 

  5. Jordan book supply chain analysis (GBAIA 2022). Read here. 

  6. Cambodia book supply chain analysis (GBAIA 2022). Read here.   

  7. Zambia book supply chain analysis (GBAIA 2021). Read here. 

  8. Malawi book supply chain analysis (GBAIA 2021). Read here. 

Other resources related to teaching and learning materials

  1. GBA (2020). Guidance note: Reading and Learning During Global Emergencies. Read here. 

  2. Reading Comprehension Interest Group (2024). A guide for community librarians: Reading Comprehension and Social-Emotional Skills. Read here. 

  3. USAID (2019). Universal Design for Learning to Help All Children Read. Read here. 

  4. RTI (2019). What Works in Early Reading Materials. Read here. 

GBA Blogs

  1. The case for multilingual publishing within the children’s book industry in Africa. Read here. 

  2. GBA Partner Spotlight: All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development (ACR GCD). Read here. 

  3. Why are locally published books so important? Read here. 

  4. Private sector book publishing in Africa. Read here. 

  5. GBA and Ulatus partnership in widening book access. Read here. 

  6. How caregivers can support reading at home. Read here. 

  7. Linking language and literacy. Read here. 

  8. The benefits of read alouds. Read here.       

Know of a resource that we should include? Email us at admin@globalbookalliance.org