Helping spread knowledge throughout Asia through the power of books.

We welcome donation of books from individuals, publishers and corporations. We are targeting children from rural areas, urban poor and those from poor family. We believe if children read books, it opens them to all new perspective, opportunities and possibilities.

Studies show that reading for pleasure makes a big difference to children’s educational performance. Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. In fact, reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background.

Your contribution means a lot to them.

Can I donate books to Book Aid Asia?
Of course! Thank you for your support. Just take a look at the guidelines, and make sure to reach out to the Book Aid Asia before beginning any kind of collection.

Where will my books go?
Normally to schools and children. Most of the schools selected are located in rural areas. We also may select to donate your books to underprivileged or poor schools in urban and suburban areas as well.

The children will individually receive the books through activities performed in the schools in form prizes. However, it is also given to some children and families who will love them and hopefully read them again and again!

Other than schools, we will consider to extend the donation to organisations under the umbrella of recognized NGOs. There is no shortage of ways your books can make a difference in a child’s life, and we’re thankful to you for making a difference!

But where do I send them or drop them off specifically?
When you contact Book Aid Asia to arrange your donation, we’ll work with you to make sure the book is received by us in good order. There are two ways firstly we will inform you a collection points or via shipping. Book Aid Asia will not fund your shipping expenses.

Your guidelines say donated books have to be brand new. What if mine are gently used or in like-new condition?
Sorry, we won’t take them. But why?

We’re glad you asked. Used books are amazing. Buying used is a low-cost and environmentally friendly way for the most voracious readers to indulge their habits. So why don’t we accept used books?

Sometime we serve preschoolers and primary schools, so we are particularly wary about spreading germs to our little ones. Have you ever seen a two-year-old stick a board book cover in their mouth? It happens.

Majority of the children and schools we serve come from communities that are severely under-resourced. We provide new books to these children and schools who, for many, might seldom receive new books of their own. This also allows them to have the latest books with their favorite characters. There is so much that’s new and exciting each year in children’s literature, and children should never be priced-out of receiving the most worthwhile children’s books or the newest installment in a beloved series.

Book Aid Asia is a small team. One person’s “gently used” might be another person’s “very used.” And, unfortunately, we don’t have the time or resources to evaluate the quality of every book that is donated. Perhaps your “barely used” book is in such wonderful condition that no one would know the difference, but when it’s sent to a school there is often no way for us to know for sure that the book meets our quality standards. Specifying that books must be new cuts down on the work the recipients of our books have to do. We rely on our school contacts to confirm the condition of donated books when they are received, and we try not to put more work on our teacher’s shoulders when they work so hard already.

Do I also really have to log the titles and values of the books?
We highly prefer you do. This enables us to know exactly how many books you are giving as well as the titles. Every school has unique needs so, for example, if we see that your donation is primarily bilingual books in Bahasa or Mandarin or Tamil and English, we’ll know exactly which schools would benefit from that kind of donation. Having donors record the values of the books also helps us record the value of the in-kind donation for accounting purposes.

After reading over your guidelines and looking through the FAQ, it looks like doing a book donation isn’t right for me. But I still want to help children receive books. How else can I help?
We’re so grateful for your care and your support! If you would like to make a monetary donation restricted to books, please contact us. Making a donation restricted to books means that we will use your donation specifically to purchase books for the children. There are added benefits to supporting us in this way:

Your money goes further. For what you would spend on a new book at a book store, we can purchase three or more books through our special partnerships with book vendors. Your gift could be used to purchase books for the libraries. Books given in-kind can’t go into our circulating collections because those books need to be library processed. We know the unique needs of each school. That means we can make sure braille books are sent where we have blind or visually impaired students or ensure Mandarin books are sent where there are many Mandarin-speaking families. We’re in constant contact with teachers who help guide our book purchases.

Physical Conditions

Books should be new or barely used. Please do not donate a book if it is:

Shabby, soiled or torn in any way, defaced by writing, poorly bound or marred by missing pages or serious misprints.
Book unique to certain countries e.g. local histories, regional cooking books and computer buying guides

Age

Depending on the type of book, age can be an important factor in the evaluation process:

Atlases should not be more than five years old.
Encyclopedias should be no more than eight (8) years old.
Educational textbooks, especially in the fields of medicine, science, social science and the humanities should be current or no older than eight years.

Magazines

We do not currently accept magazines other than National Geographic magazines published after 2000.

Packing

It would help us if you placed books of similar genre together.
Books should be packed flat in covered boxes.

PLEASE NOTE! No book is free of cost!

If the information in it is not relevant or appropriate to our potential recipients, there is a negative cost especially in precious staff time.
Dumping useless and irrelevant books is worse than sending no books at all! This is because precious resources are wasted by recipients in retrieving them from docks, transporting, cataloging and storing them.

We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation for your unwavering interest in supporting Book Aid Asia. Your commitment to our cause is truly inspiring, and it's people like you who make our mission possible. At Book Aid Asia, our primary goal is to provide quality educational materials to underserved communities and promote literacy. We believe in the power of books to transform lives and open doors to new opportunities. Therefore, we have a specific policy when it comes to donations.

Our Donation Policy

Book Aid Asia exclusively accepts new story books. Donation in the form of cash is not accepted. While we are truly grateful for any form of support, we have chosen to focus on new story books for several important reasons:

1. Quality Assurance

New books ensure that the content is relevant, up-to-date, and in excellent condition. This allows us to provide the best possible reading materials to the children and individuals we serve.

2. Promoting Literacy

Story books play a crucial role in nurturing a love for reading and learning. By accepting new books, we can encourage literacy from an early age and help young minds grow.

3. Impactful Change

New books have the potential to create a lasting impact. When a child receives a brand-new book, it's not just a gift; it's an investment in their education and future.

How to Support Book Aid Asia

If you would like to support Book Aid Asia, we kindly request that you consider donating new story books. Your contributions will directly contribute to our mission of spreading the joy of reading and learning across Asia. For information on how to make a book donation or to organize a book drive, please visit our Donations page, where you'll find all the necessary details and instructions. We have made the process as convenient as possible to ensure that your generosity can make a significant impact.

Thank You for Your Understanding

We understand that not everyone may be aware of our specific donation policy, and we appreciate your understanding and support. Your commitment to helping us provide educational resources to those in need is a testament to the difference that individuals can make when they come together for a common cause. Thank you for standing with us and for being a part of our Book Aid Asia community. Together, we can continue to inspire and educate the next generation, one book at a time.