The books, donated by non-governmental organisation Biblionef, will be distributed to 120 primary schools in Johannesburg.
The books were handed over to Johannesburg City Libraries at a function at the Danie van Zyl Recreation Centre, Montclare.
The city council’s Library and Information Services directorate launched the campaign in November last year, with the hope of collecting at least one million books in five years to bolster reading and literacy among the city’s children, particularly those in disadvantaged communities.
Biblionef South Africa director, Jean Williams said, “[Our] vision is to create lifelong readers who are good citizens, who can read and think for themselves, resulting in a society where everyone is literate, has access to education, and finds reading… a great pleasure and a necessity.”
MMC for Community Development Chris Vondo described the campaign as part the city council’s Growth and Development Strategy 2040.
“We want to inculcate a culture of reading in every child in our city by introducing books to them at an early age,” he said.
Bolstered by the donation, the city council will continue to mobilise its employees, communities, the private sector, various organisations and book-lovers to donate books.
Vondo said he hoped a significant number of books would be collected by 23 April, World Book Day.
Donations of new or used children’s books may be placed in the orange containers at public libraries throughout the city.
Biblionef is an international NGO that secures donations of books for schools. New storybooks are donated to needy children via children’s organisations worldwide.
