Goals

Problem statement:

Georgia boasts of a literacy rate of almost 100%, but according to a 2007 poll by CRRC, Georgians read the least of all the countries in the South Caucasus. We believe this is due to a number of obstacles: 1) the fact that there is a limited availability of contemporary books translated in the Georgian language, 2) the high cost of books in bookstores, and 3) the perception among the younger generation that reading is an unfashionable or uninteresting use of time.

Proposed Solution:

Radarami hopes to address each of the above obstacles with our nation-wide "Library Box" project. We plan to place custom-crafted boxes filled with books in five cities around Georgia. These boxes will be placed in social spaces such as parks or near bus stops where all people are welcome to take a book for free or donate one of their own. For each book, Radarami will donate published non-fiction books from our "Read and Connect" series, which cover a range of topics including education, politics, medicine and social science. These books, selected for their contemporaneity and relevance to Georgia, should be of interest to any casual Georgian reader that crosses paths with our Library Boxes. By placing these accessible and cost-free books to public spaces, we hope to infuse a new enthusiasm for reading among Georgian citizenry and youth in particular. The nature of the Library Boxes encourages a high level of participation, inducing users to check back often to see new donated books and to reflect proactively about which titles they could donate themselves. Essentially, this initiative promises to make the act of reading a dynamic and engaging community activity.
The National Library of Georgia actually piloted a similar project recently in Ozurgeti. Placed in a park, the book donation box has been very popular and continues to attract a regular readership. Radarami took an interest in this project and we donated our own books to the box, but we'd like to take our involvement a step further by expanding the initiative and opening new Library Boxes around the country.

Sustainability:

The simplicity of this project ensures its sustainability. After the initial set up of the boxes, the system of book trade and donation should ensure that the boxes are always full with new titles. Additionally, whenever Radarami staff visits these locations for our nation-wide book tours (which we perform multiple times per year as new titles are published), we will re-stock the boxes with newly-released Radarami books.