Biblionef South Africa

28/09/2026

💙 📖

21/09/2026

For the first time since we were founded in 1998, our team has packed up and moved to a new office 💙

There are plenty of memories attached to our old space. It has been part of Biblionef's story for almost three decades, and we are grateful for the time we spent there. We are now settling into our new premises and look forward to continuing our work from here.

A special thank you to Sasnev and Eureka Barnard for the support and kindness shown to Biblionef over the years.

Here’s to our new home!📚

We have put together a little walk down memory lane to look back at our old office and the years we spent there. Click the link to take a look.

After 28 years in the same office, Biblionef South Africa looks back at the people, books and memories before moving to a new home.

17/09/2026

Correction: The final collection at Phakama Primary School is 1,048 books, not 978 as mentioned in the video.

On Monday, 7 September 2026, the newly renovated library at Phakama Primary School was officially opened! 🎉📖

A few months ago this space had a leaking roof, bare walls and broken windows. Today it holds 978 new books across fiction, non-fiction and reference, ready for learners to read, explore and enjoy.

What stood out most was how much the library means to the people who will use it. Grade 1 learners celebrated in song, the Grade 7 Head Boy shared a poem he wrote himself, and teachers brought their favourite book characters to life. The opening was very much a celebration of the school itself.

We were also pleased to welcome Reginald Tshabalala and the Komatsu team to mark the occasion.

Thank you to everyone who helped bring this project to life. We hope this space becomes a much-loved part of school life, filled with learning and many happy hours of reading.

Here’s to the next chapter at Phakama Primary School ✨💙

10/09/2026

Storytelling is one of the most powerful entry points into early literacy📚

This past weekend at LITASA 2026 in Johannesburg, we ran a workshop on exactly that and watched a room full of educators and practitioners get creative, swap stories, and rethink how storytelling builds language and reading with understanding. For our team, it reminded us of what happens when people come together around a shared purpose: connections are renewed, expertise is shared, and everyone leaves with something new.

Across the few days, we heard about the incredible work happening in literacy and education around the country. We came away inspired by the research, the ideas, and the many people working to make a real difference in the literacy space.

Thank you, LITASA, for having us💙

28/08/2026

Last year, Biblionef hosted three parent meetings in KwaXimba and Inchanga as part of our three-year teacher development project, funded by MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet (WOOLWORTHS). We expected the meetings to be a simple introduction to supporting reading at home, but they became something much more.

At the first meeting, 79 parents and caregivers showed up, including four fathers. At another, more than 50 parents joined the conversation. At the third, a smaller group of 12 parents had a deeply honest discussion about their own childhoods and how they wanted to support their children differently.

Through stories, discussion and a little time together, parents began talking about things that don’t always get spoken about at school meetings: how they communicate with their children, how they respond when children struggle, and how reading can become a way to connect.

What struck us most was how closely these conversations reflected what children had told us earlier in the project about their experiences of reading at home. It reminded us that literacy doesn’t end at the school gate. Parents are a vital part of a child’s reading journey. Sometimes they simply need the space, encouragement and practical tools to step into that role.

These meetings have changed the way we think about our work. From now on, we will include a parent engagement session in our Foundation Phase Teacher Training projects and, where possible, work alongside organisations already supporting families in the communities we serve. After all, parents are an important part of a child’s reading journey and are often their first storytellers.

Read the full story here:

How Biblionef's parent meetings in KwaXimba and Inchanga uncovered powerful truths about literacy and learning at home.

18/08/2026

A storyteller’s chair is looking for a new home 📚

For many years, this remarkable chair has been part of Biblionef South Africa’s story.

Created by artist Mary-Ann Orr, the Storytellers Chair was made from rescued porcelain, glass and plastic collected from municipal rubbish dumps. In creating it, Mary-Ann worked alongside children she met at the dumps and saw their ability to find beauty and possibility in things others had discarded. The chair is also a tribute to storytelling and honours the late Credo Mutwa, one of South Africa’s great storytellers.

It was later donated to Biblionef, where it has remained as a much-loved and distinctive part of our space. But as Biblionef prepares to move to a new home, we unfortunately cannot take the chair with us, so we are looking for someone who will give it the home it deserves.

We are inviting organisations that work with children to submit a short motivation explaining why they would like to receive the Storytellers Chair and how they would use and care for it. We will select the successful applicant by 7 September 2026.

A few important things to know:

1. The chair is approximately 1.5 metres tall and weighs around one ton. It is very heavy and will require suitable arrangements for collection and transport.

2. Courier/transport costs will be the responsibility of the successful recipient.

3. This is not an ordinary chair. It carries a story of art, transformation, creativity and the power of storytelling.

If you believe you can give the Storytellers Chair a meaningful new home, we would love to hear from you. Send your motivation to [email protected] by 28 August 2026.

Who knows? Perhaps its next chapter will begin with you. 💙📚

30/07/2026

For the first time since Biblionef South Africa was founded in 1998, we are moving to a new home.

Over the past 27 years, thousands of books have left our offices on their way to children, schools, ECD centres, libraries and organisations across South Africa. We have packed books for classrooms, welcomed visitors, planned projects, and worked alongside partners who share our belief that every child deserves access to quality storybooks.

Now, it is time for a new chapter ✨

From 1 September 2026, you will find us in our new premises. As we prepare for the move, we will temporarily pause the processing of book orders, book purchases and courier deliveries from 17 August to 7 September 2026.

We know this may cause some delays, and we are grateful for your patience and understanding while our team packs, moves and settles into our new space.

Thank you to every donor, partner and supporter who has walked this journey with us. Your support has helped us reach this moment, and we look forward to continuing our work from our new home.

We will share our new address and a few photos once we are settled. We cannot wait to welcome you there! 💙

24/07/2026

A heartfelt thank you to our board member, Sally, and her incredible team of friends and family for choosing to support Biblionef South Africa this Mandela Day.

Every year, Sally brings people together to make a difference, and every year their generosity grows. This year they raised an incredible R8,340 in support of our mission to ensure more children have access to quality storybooks in their home languages.

These funds will go towards our GivenGain campaign and fundraising efforts to reprint Three Friends and a Taxi, helping us bring another much-loved children's story into the hands of young readers.

We are still finalising just how many books this generous donation will make possible, but we can promise one thing... something exciting is on the way.

📚 Stay tuned as we share how your kindness will help create many more moments of reading, learning and imagination. Thank you, Sally and team, for showing that when a community comes together, every contribution helps write a brighter future ✨

18/07/2026

This Mandela Day, we celebrate the power of small acts of kindness to create lasting change.

Every book shared, every story read aloud, every library opened, and every teacher supported helps build a future where more children discover the joy of reading.

At Biblionef, we are reminded every day that literacy changes lives. It builds confidence, sparks imagination, and opens doors to learning. To everyone who has partnered with us, volunteered, donated, or championed children’s literacy, thank you for helping us create opportunities for young readers across South Africa.

Happy Mandela Day! 💙📚

03/07/2026

Just a few weeks ago, we shared the transformation of the library at Phakama Primary School in Mpumalanga. Today, we are delighted to share that the final stage of the project is complete.

Our facilitators have spent the past week bringing the library to life. The shelves are now filled with a carefully selected collection of fiction, non-fiction, and reference books in isiZulu and English, giving learners access to resources that support both reading for enjoyment and their schoolwork.

The team also catalogued the entire collection and worked alongside teachers and librarians, providing practical training on covering and cataloguing books, managing the collection, and using the Libwin library management system. These skills will help ensure the library remains organised, accessible, and well-maintained for years to come.

A library is a space that grows through the people who use it and those who care for it. By investing in both the library and the people responsible for it, we hope this space will continue to inspire a love of reading while supporting teaching and learning for many years to come.

Our sincere thanks once again to Komatsu South Africa for making this project possible, and to everyone who contributed their time and expertise to bring it to completion.

We cannot wait to see this library filled with children discovering the joy of reading ✨📚