Our impact

Since its creation in 2007, Libraries Without Borders has impacted the lives of more than 2 million disadvantaged people around the world. Our impact goes even further: we seek to measure the way in which we transform the perspectives of the actors, public and private, with whom we work and make evolve the norms and the regulations of the ecosystems in which we intervene.

Haiti - 2010

Emergency, post-conflit & peace building

With  140 Ideas Box kits implemented in emergency and reconstruction contexts, we are providing more than one million refugees, displaced and people in vulnerable situations with the means to reconnect with the world, gain self-reliance, and strengthen childhood education.

We contribute within the United Nations (ECOSOC, INEE) and through an international call to action (L’Urgence de Lire), to change humanitarian action towards better taking into account the intellectual needs and aspirations of people in vulnerable situations.

Enfants àla bibliotheque - Haiti

Education & cultural diversity

With more than  4.5 million Khan Academy users in French, support provided to more than 300 libraries around the world, more than 150 Digital Traveler Clubs and 25 Ideas Box kits already adopted by local communities, we fight against inequalities in access to education and cultural diversity around the world.

We advocate  for libraries to become motors of inequality-reduction and central to the development of people and communities. 

Jeunes leaders - programme BSFCampus - Cameroun

Entrepreneurship & social transformation

With more than 5,000 librarians trained on the BSF Campus platform and several dozen organizations supported in their social innovation projects each year, we seek to boost entrepreneurship and innovation in libraries.

We take part in the evolution of the librarian’s profession towards an entrepreneurial approach. and we develop measures of the economic and social impacts of libraries.

Impact reports & evaluations

The Ideas Box in New York: 2015 Impact Report

10 August 2016

During the summer of 2015, BSF created pop-up libraries and media centers throughout Morris Heights, a community in the South Bronx of New York. These programs allowed children and parents to enjoy safe and welcoming spaces where they could access books, computers, tablets, arts and craft supplies, and participate in educational programs led by expert facilitators.

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The Ideas Box: Improving the Quality of Education in Emergency Situations

16 June 2016
This quantitative study examines the impact of Ideas Box classes on the academic performance of students who participated in the program at the Burundese refugee camp of Bwagiriza. The report demonstrates that students who attended Math and French classes in the Ideas Box experienced a 23% increase in their academic performance when compared to students taking the same courses in a classical school setting.
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The Ideas Box: Initial Findings and Perspectives from Burundi

25 April 2015

This report outlines the initial trends observed during the first six months of the Ideas Box program in the Musasa and Kavumu camps. Particular attention is paid to the program’s impact on the quality of education delivered, improvements to child protection, and efficacy in strengthening community ties.

 

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The Ideas Box: An Innovative Psycho-Social Tool in Emergency Situations

16 November 2015

This report assesses the impact of the Ideas Box on individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, promoting peace and reducing community tensions in post-conflict settings, and circulating accurate information to combat rumors and misinformation.

 

 

 

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