For almost ten years Reed Elsevier has supported Book Aid International, donating more than 750,000 books, raising awareness, and providing financial assistance. The Elsevier Foundation has now strengthened this partnership by providing funding through its Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries programme.

The three-year Elsevier Foundation project will improve health information with strengthened health sections in 15 public libraries across Kenya. They will give doctors, nurses, traditional birth attendants, and healers greater access to books and information they need to improve treatment. According to Dr Gutuma based in Embu, Eastern Kenya, "The health corner is a dream come true.”

Throughout the project, Book Aid International is working directly with five public libraries to enable their librarians to better assess and fulfil the information needs of health care providers. Librarians are trained at a four-day workshop during which future trainers are identified. Donations from Book Aid International supply the necessary books and librarians are trained to access online health information, covering topical issues such as breastfeeding, malaria, water sanitation and HIV/AIDS. The libraries have reported notable changes in the way they work and significant increases in the numbers using their services.

Book Aid’s passion and expertise in providing books to readers in developing countries helps advance Reed Elsevier’s unique contributions to society by employing our knowledge, resources and skills, including: universal sustainable access to information, advance of science and health, promotion of the rule of law and justice, and protection of society.

Book Aid and Kenya National Library Service have worked together to improve library services in Kenya since the 1960s.

Book Aid International is a supporting organisation of the Health Information for All by 2015 campaign (HIFA). Launched in October 2006 by the Global Healthcare Information Network, HIFA 2015 focuses particularly on the information needs of healthcare providers in developing countries. Book Aid International has supplied medical books, many of them donated by Elsevier, to the Kenya National Library Service for many years and aims to ensure that books are effectively used and to work with KNLS to develop staff skills to make the content more accessible. For more information, please visit www.bookaid.org

Kenya National Library Service (KNLS) is a strong, effective and dynamic organisation, with 57 branches located across the country and a range of outreach projects such as camel libraries in nomadic regions. KNLS is Book Aid International's main partner in Kenya. The library service acquires a wide range of medical and healthcare books every year and plays a key role in the provision of health information to primary healthcare practitioners. KNLS strives to improve its health information service and has recently set up HIV/AIDS information corners in many branch libraries.

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