Closing the Book Gap - How the GBA is understanding and bridging gaps in the Global Book Supply Chain

Global Book Alliance on International Literacy Day, hosted a discussion for its Open Book Partner Series on Closing the Book Gap - How the GBA is understanding and bridging gaps in the Global Book Supply Chain.

The event introduced the new strategic plan and reviewed the work undertaken to date through the eyes of those implementing. Key insights from those working on the Global Digital Library, Supply Chain Analyses in Malawi and Zambia, Publisher’s trainings in West Africa and Begin with Books’ latest challenge were shared. 

Watch the GBA Open Book Series - Closing the Book Gap below

Literacy is a basic right that empowers individuals and benefits society. In recognition of this central role in development, the Global Book Alliance was founded to guarantee that children everywhere have the learning materials they need to learn to read by 2030. This ambitious vision demands market-based transformation in book planning, development, production, procurement, distribution, and use—a complex and interconnected set of processes and actors we call the Book Chain. 

Since 2018 the GBA has been working to bring this vision to life through a number of flagship initiatives including the Global Digital Library (supported through funding partner Norad) which aims to transform access to books through a digital library, the Global Book Alliance in Action (supported through funding partner USAID) which is working to understand book supply chains and engage with the publishing industry, and Begin with Books (led by ACR-GCD) which encourages innovation and new title development through a global challenge competition. In mid-2021 the Alliance finalized a new strategic plan which refocuses the core activities of the organizations towards availability, access, use and the building of global knowledge and capacity.