National Book Access Association

Year Three: From Formation to Field

In 2022, the National Book Access Association (NBAA) was founded to fill a gap in the literacy ecosystem — to create a professional home for the organizations ensuring children and families have access to books.

Three years later, that vision is taking shape.

2025: A Year of Momentum

This year, NBAA grew to nearly 400 members representing over 200 organizations across 42 states and Canada. Collectively, reporting members distribute more than four million books annually. For a primarily volunteer-led association, that growth signals something important: book access organizations want connection, infrastructure, and shared voice.

And they’re staying. With only a 7% lapse rate, membership renewals remain strong.

A Professional Home for Book Access

For too long, many book access leaders operated in isolation — organizing book drives, managing distribution systems, and navigating funding challenges without a field-wide network.

Members tell us NBAA has changed that.

One leader shared:

“For the first time, I feel like our work has a professional home. We’re no longer just a small nonprofit giving away books—we’re part of a national movement.”

Another reflected on how peer conversations led them to collaborate with a neighboring organization rather than duplicate efforts

That’s the shift we’re working toward: coordination over competition.

What We Built in Year Three

In 2025, we:

• Hosted ongoing webinars, peer forums, and working groups

• Strengthened cross-sector relationships with publishers and vendors

• Began structured Steering Committee transitions as our first cohort completed three-year terms

In 2026, we are maturing — not just growing.

NBAA remains a sponsored project of First Book, operating with its own decision-making authority while fiscally managed within that partnership. That structure allows us to scale responsibly while remaining practitioner-led.  While we aim to eventually be our own organization and be able to host and in person conference, we are happy to have a supportive home at one of the leading education organizations in the country.