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The Book Donation Charter |
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| Glossary |
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THE BOOK DONATION CHARTER
Preamble
Books are necessary tools for education, information, creation, social development, leisure and cultural dialogue. The book is both a cultural and an economic object. Book donations are one of the components of a partnership policy for the development of reading. They make most sense when they are accompanied by other actions that promote the exchange of expertise and the mutual understanding of the partners.
It is highly desirable that a book donation programme begin with a reflection on the part of the donor and beneficiary on the needs of the recipient in order to ensure that the supply matches the demand. Such a reflection will also prevent any negative effects of the donation on the local book chain and market in the recipient country.
Part 1: Definition of the Programme
Article 1
The definition of any book donation programme shall have regard to the following general principles: knowing and involving the partner body in all the stages of the programme; preferring quality to quantity; expanding the knowledge of the readerships to be served; fostering the development of a culture of writing; and, in the case of donations of new books, cooperating to the greatest extent possible with publishers and booksellers in the two countries concerned; and contributing to the local production of books by supporting limited editions of works.
Article 2
Each book donation programme shall associate not individuals but two legal entities-a donor and a beneficiary-acting in partnership for the purposes of the transaction.
Article 3
The donation shall be made in response to a request by the partner entity on the basis of such information as it will have provided. The donor entity shall endeavour to be acquainted with its partner environment and its needs in regard to books. It shall enter into contact with the beneficiary entity, which will provide the donor with information relating to the premises where the books will be made available to readers, the types of potential users, and their needs and expectations in respect of reading and leisure activities. Its request shall be defined in a manner complementary with other institutions working to develop reading in the country concerned. If necessary, the beneficiary entity may call upon the services of professionals in reading (librarians, documentalists, booksellers) in order to formulate the request.
If, as in the case of a federation or a group, the beneficiary does not directly administer the use of the books, it shall provide the donor with a list of the user establishments (schools, libraries), their geographical location and the allocation of books among such establishments.
Part II-Supplying and Selecting Books
Article 4
It would be highly desirable if each donation could include a significant proportion of new books. To this end, the donor shall collaborate with the publishers and booksellers in its country and in that of the beneficiary for the purpose of obtaining the books on mutually acceptable business terms (in compliance with professional ethics). It could use chèques Lire or UNESCO's UNUM cheques.
Article 5
With respect to second-hand books, if the donor obtains its supplies from libraries or other institutions, it shall endeavour to specify the types of documents sought in order to guide its partners in the selection (of titles) and shall ensure that they are in very good condition.
Article 6
Whatever the form of supply chosen, the donor shall sort and select the works in cooperation with the beneficiary in order to adapt the choices to the needs of the target readerships to the greatest extent possible. However, it shall be for the beneficiary to make the final selection. As a major aspect of the donation programme, the selection of books is necessary on account of the respect due to the beneficiary and the need to limit the adverse consequences of inappropriate dispatches: unnecessary congestion of premises, and costs arising from transport, customs duties and the storing and handling of documents.
Article 7
When cooperating with the beneficiary entity, the donor shall use the method that it deems most suited to the context. It shall send a list presented by title available for dispatch, or by genre and class of books, by subject-matter for schoolbooks and scientific and technical books, or by field of knowledge in respect of encyclopaedic collections. For that purpose and to facilitate the selection of titles by the beneficiary, the donor shall place at its disposal the available bibliographic information.
Article 8
To assist the donor in selecting the works, the beneficiary shall provide it with information on the status of holdings, whether existing or planned, the shortages to be made up, the types of books needed, the quantity sought and particulars of other institutions existing in its environment and offering book loan and exchange facilities.
Article 9
In a spirit of true cultural cooperation, donors and beneficiaries shall ensure that the batches of books take into account the cultural identity of the target readerships, their general, scientific and technical information and leisure needs, and also the complementarity between the establishments and local entities.
Part III-Transporting and Taking Delivery of the Books
Article 10
When the donation programme is executed by a redistribution entity, it would be advisable to mention the institution donating, the intermediary collecting and the end user.
Article 11
Before dispatching second-hand books, the donor entity should refrain from marking on the books such words as “discard”, which would be demeaning for the beneficiary.
Article 12
Before dispatching the books, the donor shall make sure in advance of the partner's ability to take delivery of, process and distribute them. Failing such ability, the beneficiary shall endeavour, with or without the help of the donor, to create on a sustainable basis conditions conducive to the reception and distribution of the works concerned.
Article 13
Donors and beneficiaries shall separately take steps to enhance the awareness of the national authorities in order to secure exemption from or a reduction in customs duties, to ease formalities and to ensure customs control for the purpose of preventing illicit dealing.
Part IV-Follow-up: Developing a Cultural Partnership
Article 14
Should the need arise, donors and beneficiaries shall cooperate in training the people required not only to receive, classify and distribute the books but also to run the libraries.
Article 15
On a specific date that they will have set together, donors and beneficiaries shall jointly evaluate the suitability of the dispatches to the needs expressed and the various uses to be made of them locally. The evaluation procedure shall be established by mutual consent before the dispatch of the books.
Article 16
In general, it would be desirable to seek the partnership of local publishers in order to purchase books by local authors to be made available to readers.
Article 17
To help increase the presence of books through support for the local production of written material, particularly in remote rural centres, donors and beneficiaries could, in some cases, cooperate in order to equip such places with low-circulation production facilities for local information purposes.
Article 18
In a true spirit of partnership, donors and beneficiaries shall cooperate in order to promote awareness among their respective publics of the culture of others by means of promotional work concerning books, stories, music and the visual arts.
FOUNDERS OF THE BOOK CHARTER
• Association des Bibliothécaires Français
• Biblionef
• Bibliothèque Nationale de France
• Culture et développement
• Direction du livre et de la lecture-Ministry of Culture and Communication of France
• France Edition
• La Joie par les Livres
Signatories to the book Charter
Benin
• Projet d'Appui à la Lecture Publique et à l'Accès Documentaire du Bénin (ALPADB)
• Direction de la Bibliothèque Nationale du Bénin (DBN/CC)
• Acronym: “BENIN, ALPADB and DBN/MCC”
Burkina Faso
• Ministère de la Culture/Direction du livre et de la promotion littéraire
Cameroon
• Centrale de Lecture Publique
Central African Republic
• Projet Lecture Publique
Chad
• Réseau de lecture publique
Côte d'Ivoire
• Ministère de la Culture et de la Francophonie/Sous-Direction du livre et des médias
• Projet d'appui au développement culturel
Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Projet de Lecture Publique
France
• ADPF-Notre Librairie
• Association pour la Diffusion Internationale Francophone de Livres, Ouvrages et Revues (ADIFLOR)
• Banque Rhône-Alpes du livre/Grenoble
• Banque régionale du livre/Provence-Alpes Côte d'Azur/Cobiac
• Centre de Promotion du Livre de Jeunesse-Seine-Saint-Denis
• Chèque Lire
• Comité National de Solidarité Laïque
• Groupement des Retraités Éducateurs sans Frontières
• Haut Conseil de la Francophonie
• Ligue Française de l'Enseignement et de l'Education Permanente
Guinea
• Projet bibliothèques publiques-Coopération Franco-Guinéenne
Haiti
• Ministère de la Culture-Direction Nationale du Projet de Promotion du Livre et de la Lecture
Mali
• Opération Lecture Publique
Mauritania
• Département Bibliothèques d'Ecole/SASE/DEF/MEN
Niger
• Réseau de Lecture Publique du Niger
Senegal
• Ministère de la Culture/Direction du livre et de la lecture
• Association Bibliothèque Lecture Développement
Togo
• Projet de lecture publique/Division des bibliothèques et de la lecture publique
SAMPLE partnership agreement
between the Organizer of a Proposed Donation
(Association “X”) and a Donor (Library “Y”)
Preamble
Association X, rue de la poste, Paris
and the other party:
It being understood that a rational book donation policy conducted in the best possible conditions could contribute to the development of reading in the areas of Africa concerned and to international cultural exchanges;
It has been agreed as follows:
Content of the Partnership
Article 1
Library Y ……………………………………hereby pledges to cooperate with Association X for the development of reading in Africa.
Article 2
Such cooperation shall concern the supply of books and periodical collections, derived from holdings that have been “weeded” and duly discarded, to the book bank of Association X, which shall be responsible for dispatching them to libraries in African countries using the technical support of its team and based on requests from beneficiaries.
Optional
Cooperation shall also concern the provision of a grant for the purchase of new books in order to supplement the batches of used books.
The Role of the Library
Article 3
Library Y undertakes:
a) to supply books either in response to a request or regularly at least once a year;
b) to deliver to the storage site of the bank of Association X the books in sealed boxes whose contents shall be identified according to various categories: fiction for young people, non-fiction for young people, fiction for adults, non-fiction for adults; and
c) to attach a list specifying the number of books provided in each of the four categories.
The Role of Association X
Article 4
Association X undertakes :
a) to provide its technical assistance for sorting and selecting books and periodicals for its book bank;
b) to provide information regularly, or upon request, on its activities and
on the intended use of the books in Africa;
c) to facilitate exchanges between donors and beneficiaries for libraries wishing to enter into a Franco-African inter-library twinning arrangement;
d) to provide libraries with information needed to develop cultural activities for enhancing awareness of Africa and building up “African” holdings;
e) Association X shall assume responsibility, and at its own expense, for
dispatching books to African beneficiaries in accordance with the distribution arrangement of its choice; and
f) Association X pledges to mention the participation of Library Y in its communication and public relations activities.
Other Features of the Agreement
Library Y pledges not to provide Association X, under any circumstances, with books which are not in good condition (too damaged or due for pulping). The labels with references and bar codes and the plastic covers shall be left in place.
Association X should have a workshop for processing books before their dispatch.
In accordance with the definition of Association X, the latter may provide the libraries and partner associations already twinned with a library in Africa, or active in the sphere of books and reading, with technical advice on optimizing their book dispatches and conducting evaluations. Furthermore, the libraries will be afforded access to the books in the book bank in order to supplement the dispatches to their African partner so far as available stocks permit and available and in line with the batches made up by the Association for its beneficiaries. In this connection, agreements on a case-by-case basis could be drawn up between these associations or libraries.
Renewal or Termination of the Agreement
Article 5
The agreement is signed for a period of three years and may be renewed by the two partners.
Article 6
Failure to comply with the provisions of this agreement could entail full or partial termination of the cooperation herein specified.
Article 7
This agreement may be terminated by either party subject to prior notice of six months.
| Signed at ………………………………………… on | |
Representative of Library Y
| Name ………………………………………….. Signature | | |
Representative of Association X
Name …………………… |
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