Ethiopia is in urgent need of increased access to books and reading spaces throughout the nation. With a growing population in increasingly dense living and work environments, the Library Expansion and Reading Room Project aims to tackle the challenge one shelf, one wall, and one neighborhood at a time. 

In this pilot program, community-based, localized library services will be introduced throughout Addis Ababa by reserving spaces in government-built condominiums, government office waiting areas, kebeles, and cafes. Books shape and influence minds and spread knowledge among the communities where they are. We believe that by improving access to books and fostering a reading culture, we may allow for untapped intellectual capital to flower and informed conversations to flourish.