We have been giving free books to organizations in the North-East since 2006. Recipients include several women’s refuges and care homes, Barnardo’s, the Comfrey Project, De Paul, Salvation Army, NERS, WERS, Beyond Borders, The Hope Foundation, Open Door, Haven Tyneside, Basis 360, YMCA, Open Gate, Crisis Skylight, ACANE, NAPI, Washington School, Northumbria, Cleveland and Durham police custody suites, and HMP Leeds, Kirklevington, Askham Grange, Doncaster, Holme House & Channings Wood.
Borderline Books UK is based in Gateshead but ready to spread far and wide. Eventually we hope to see BookSpaces all over the country so that people who need them are never far from a source of free books.
We are particularly interested in partnering with organisations supporting people leaving prison to run local BookSpaces.
The project is perfectly suited to helping people back into a work rhythm while offering the opportunity to gain office skills, shop skills, stock keeping, outreach to local organisations, interpersonal skills and more. A BookSpace can also be easily combined with a venue for literacy practice, English classes, creative writing or whatever else the people running it may wish to do. Please contact us if you are interested in starting a BookSpace.
There are a number of organizations in Europe shipping books to countries in Africa and Asia, but very few which collect overstocks and lightly damaged copies for distribution to vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Britain. We aim to reduce the number of books being pulped and to provide free books for those who otherwise might not have adequate access to books for various reasons.
