The Scheme

Our Purpose

We make available the best, most relevant textbooks to university and vocational students in low-income countries in English-speaking Africa, the Indian sub-continent and the Caribbean, at prices which students and their institutions' libraries can afford

Our Prices

• BookPower prices are only between one fifth and one third of those paid by students in the UK (e.g. £17.99 books sell for £5.99; and one £120 title costs only £25)
• Our charitable funds and the publishers' acceptance of lower returns finance this reduction

Selection of Books

BookPower titles

• Equip students to assist their countries' development
• Have already proved their quality worldwide
• Must be the latest editions
• Must be relevant to the needs of BookPower countries
• Are approved by our overseas partners and academic advisors

How We Operate

• BookPower editions are printed concurrently with publishers' own editions, reducing costs
• Our funds further reduce the prices to affordable levels
• Our titles are sold through existing distribution systems, increasing booksellers' business in BookPower countries
• We can confirm the usefulness of our books from the sales figures
• Click on this link for the BookPower Annual Report and Accounts 2006

How Are We Used?

• By the end of 2007 we had made available 565,250 copies of 44 titles
• Each of our books is used by six or more students
• So nearly 3.4 million students had benefited from our work
  

Previous Schemes

• 1960 - 1997: the ELBS (English Language Book Society) scheme - funded by the British Government - provided c.30 million textbooks.
• 1996 - 2001: ELST (Educational Low-Price Sponsored Texts) set up as a registered charity to continue this work.
• 2002 onwards: ELST renamed BookPower to convey our purpose more graphically.
  

More information on the BookPower scheme is available on our FAQs page

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