Opening the Door to Opportunity
Literacy changes everything. It helps children learn, connect, and dream beyond the classroom. Yet for millions of children around the world, learning to read remains out of reach. At The Library Project, we believe that literacy is more than a skill; it’s a human right and the foundation for a brighter future.
The Challenge
In many rural communities, children attend schools with few or no books. According to the World Bank, seven in ten children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple text by age ten. Without early access to reading materials or guided instruction, many students fall behind, limiting their ability to learn across all subjects.
The challenge goes beyond access. Teachers often lack training and resources to teach reading effectively, and many parents don’t have the tools to support learning at home. This creates a cycle where children struggle to build literacy skills, even when they are eager to learn.
Our Approach
The libraries we build solve the challenge of access, giving children a place to explore books and discover the joy of reading. But our commitment goes further. We strengthen literacy through children’s reading programs, teacher training, and parent engagement.
By training teachers, we ensure libraries are not just rooms filled with books but dynamic learning spaces led by skilled educators. Teachers are the gatekeepers of every library; their ability to inspire students turns access into achievement. Meanwhile, by supporting parents, we help create literate homes, environments where children see reading as part of daily life.
Our approach connects classrooms, libraries, and families to ensure that literacy becomes a community value, not just a school goal.
Building a Culture of Reading
When children have access to books, teachers have the tools to teach, and parents have the confidence to support them, literacy flourishes. Through our ongoing programs, we cultivate reading habits that last a lifetime. Each book, activity, and training session builds toward a shared goal: helping children not only learn to read, but love to read.
You can learn more about how we measure and sustain these outcomes in our Our Impact and Measuring Our Impact pages.
Global Literacy Partnerships
Our commitment to literacy extends beyond our program countries. Through Global Literacy Partnerships, we collaborate with organizations around the world to build libraries, share resources, and adapt programs to local contexts. Each country faces unique challenges, from language diversity to curriculum differences, and we work alongside partners to ensure our shared goal of children’s literacy fits each community’s needs.