How One Volunteer Built A Library Book Drive For IDF
When Claire Morrison travelled from Melbourne to Bengaluru, she expected to learn about community programs and women’s vocational training. She did not expect a conversation about books to become a year-long volunteer project. During a visit to India Development Foundation (IDF), she noticed that children and trainees shared a small collection of well-used titles, many of them missing pages or no longer suited to different reading levels.
Claire had spent years volunteering at her local library in Melbourne, where families regularly donated books during school holidays and community reading weeks. She understood that a library is more than a shelf of stories. It can provide reference material, confidence, language practice and a quiet place for young people to imagine a wider future.
Back in Australia, she began planning a practical book drive for IDF’s library. Her aim was not to send random cartons of unwanted books overseas. She wanted to gather useful, clean and age-appropriate resources, build relationships with schools and libraries, and create a sustainable way for supporters to contribute.
A Small Idea Takes Root In Bengaluru
Claire’s first visit showed her how closely reading connects with IDF’s wider work. The foundation supports disadvantaged women through self-reliance and vocational training, including dress-making and screen-printing. It also supports education and welfare initiatives for poor and deserving children, making a shared library a valuable resource for several age groups.
The proposed collection would include illustrated children’s books, beginner readers, dictionaries, practical guides, biographies and carefully selected fiction. Claire also asked teachers and program coordinators which subjects were most useful. The answers helped her avoid a common problem with overseas book donations: sending material that is difficult to use because it is outdated, culturally unsuitable or written far above the reader’s level.
She learned that the library could support informal tutoring, youth camps and individual study. A child waiting for a family member at a community program might browse a picture book, while an older student could use an atlas, grammar guide or basic computer manual. Each book would have a purpose before it entered the collection.
Turning Australian Connections Into A Community Drive
Claire began in Melbourne with a simple appeal through her neighbourhood library, her children’s former primary school and a local book club. In Australia, Book Week creates a familiar opportunity for families to celebrate reading, and Claire used that enthusiasm to invite donations after the school’s costume activities had finished. Parents were asked to give one or two high-quality books rather than emptying entire shelves.
The project soon reached Sydney and Brisbane through friends, former colleagues and Indian-Australian community groups. Some supporters hosted collection boxes at weekend gatherings, while others contacted public libraries about withdrawn stock. A second-hand bookstore in Melbourne offered a small number of suitable titles at a reduced price, and a community centre in Brisbane provided a sorting room.
Claire also considered the realities of shipping from Australia. International postage can be expensive, especially for heavy cartons, so the volunteers recorded each box’s weight, packed books tightly and compared Australia Post options with freight services. They removed duplicates, checked for mould and water damage, and excluded books with political maps or educational information that was clearly obsolete.
Choosing Books That Will Be Used
The sorting day became the heart of the campaign. Volunteers placed books into categories based on reading age, subject and condition. A simple spreadsheet recorded the number of titles, language, category and destination box. This made it easier for IDF staff to identify gaps and plan future requests instead of receiving an unpredictable mixture of donations.
| Book Category | Useful Examples | Selection Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Early readers | Picture books, phonics books, short stories | Clear text, durable pages, engaging illustrations |
| School support | Dictionaries, atlases, science and maths guides | Current information and accessible explanations |
| Teen reading | Young adult fiction, biographies, general knowledge | Positive themes and suitable reading levels |
| Practical learning | Sewing, small business, health and computer guides | Relevant, accurate and easy to follow |
| Community reading | Indian and international fiction, magazines | Good condition and broad cultural interest |
The volunteers also included books that reflected different lives and traditions. Claire believed an international collection should broaden horizons without replacing local knowledge. She therefore asked donors to include titles by Indian, Australian and other Asian authors, along with visual material that could support readers who were still developing English skills.
The library project complemented IDF’s practical training programs. Supporters who wanted to understand how women’s products reach customers could read about screen-printing products, while stories of enterprise and local identity gave trainees examples of how skills can become sustainable work.
More Than A Box Of Donated Books
As the collection grew, Claire discovered that the drive was changing how people viewed volunteering. Australian supporters were not simply sending excess possessions abroad. They were contributing time, research and care to a community organisation with established education and welfare activities.
One Melbourne donor, a retired teacher, added handwritten reading prompts to a set of short novels. A family in Sydney donated bilingual picture books after learning that children in multilingual households might benefit from seeing familiar words alongside English. A Brisbane illustrator contributed simple bookmarks featuring native birds, which became a small cultural exchange between Australian donors and IDF readers.
The story of one IDF trainee also gave the volunteers a stronger connection to the foundation’s approach. Claire shared the account of a woman who created a clothing line inspired by her village heritage, showing how education, creativity and economic independence can develop together. Books about design, textiles, entrepreneurship and local history were then selected with greater intention.
When the first shipment arrived, IDF staff checked every carton and arranged the material for different users. Some books went into a children’s reading area, while reference resources were kept for lessons and group activities. The volunteers in Australia received photographs and updates, helping them see that their careful sorting had made a real difference.
A Volunteer Model That Can Continue
Claire’s book drive did not depend on a large event or a major grant. It worked because the process was clear: ask what is needed, collect responsibly, sort carefully, ship efficiently and report back to supporters. That model can be adapted by Australian schools, workplaces, book clubs, faith communities and neighbourhood groups.
For people in Adelaide, Perth or regional towns, participation might mean arranging a small local collection rather than sending a large consignment. A school could run a reading challenge, a library could promote a donation week, or a community group could fund postage instead of collecting physical books. Financial support can be especially useful when IDF needs to purchase specific titles locally or cover delivery costs.
Anyone wishing to discuss volunteering, partnerships or donations can use the IDF contact page to connect with the foundation. Australian donors should also check the relevant rules for their own tax circumstances, since tax treatment can differ between an Indian nonprofit and an Australian registered charity.
Claire’s experience shows how a thoughtful response to a local need can connect communities across continents. A useful book, carefully chosen and respectfully shared, can support a child’s learning, a trainee’s confidence or a young person’s next step. Individuals and organisations in Australia can help extend the project by organising a quality book collection, sponsoring transport or making a direct contribution to IDF’s education and welfare work.