Our organization

Access to knowledge encourages the excercise of rights, inclusion in society and freedom for all. For this reason, we have been working since 2007 to bring knowledge to those who are in need. More than a collection of books, libraries are places for personal development, creativity and freedom. However, they are often absent in places where populations need them most.

Whether virtual or physical, fixed or mobile, libraries provide everyone with the tools to comprehend and grasp the world. They provide free access to new instruments of education, culture, and digital information. In doing so, they play a fundamental role for equal rights as places of discovery, social class intermingling, cultural diversity and freedom. They are the foundation of a society open to the world, and inspire the ability to imagine the future.

By creating methodologies and innovative tools, Libraries Without Borders participates in reinventing the shape and missions of libraries, as well the way in which they are perceived and adopted by the most vulnerable populations. In 12 years, the organization has contributed to changing the lives of over 6 million people in 50 countries.

Under the leadership of historian Patrick Weil, Libraries without Borders was established in January 2007. LWB emerged from a sense of urgency to give each person around the world — especially the poorest — the tools to access information and education, and fulfill their maximum potential.

Since its founding, LWB has advocated for a modern approach to cultural cooperation with countries in need, especially when it comes to rethinking book donations and building sustainable economical models for public and community libraries.

After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, LWB broadened its activities. It developed a strong expertise in humanitarian emergency programs. In partnership with designer Philippe Starck, LWB launched the Ideas Box,  a mobile “pop up” multimedia center that can be unpacked in twenty minutes, and is fully autonomous, portable, and durable.

During that same period, LWB began to shift its efforts towards the digital, working extensively on innovative pedagogies and technologies to reach remote and underserved populations, such as Khan Academy, Code Travelers and LWB’s KoomBook.

Libraries are places where the poorest and most underserved people can broaden their horizons, transform their lives and build social capital. They are places of creativity and living laboratories of democracy that offer incomparable access to information, education and culture. In that sense, they are key spaces for the future, nd the development of the human race and of our societies.

Through its action for libraries, LWB advocates that:

Libraries Without Borders is a network of non-governemental organisations.