Why Book Access?

There is a significant need for access to engaging and relevant reading materials for individuals who are part of underserved populations. According to a recent report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), approximately 60% of students in low-income families in the United States lack access to books at home. Additionally, research has shown that access to books and reading materials correlates directly with future academic success and language development, and positive social and economic outcomes (Evans et al., 2010; DeBondt et al., 2020). 

In order to address this, many efforts are being made at the local and regional levels to connect people with the books they want. This work is often done best at the local level, through face to face gifting. But until now, those who do this work have had no central place to gather or share best practices.

The National Book Access Association fills the gap in book access by supporting organizations that, in part, actively distribute books for free directly to underserved populations. 

A search of Candid's Guidestar, a national clearing house for nonprofit financial and program information updated annually, pulls 2,313 organizations which include the descriptive phrase “book distribution.” 

If just half of these organizations joined this association, imagine the enhanced impact we could make collectively to improve book access and reading outcomes!