Books and More has been in Amman, Jordan for over 9 years. In that time we have seen growth in many ways. Our first days were in a small rented building in a very commercial area. The doors opened and  their was anticipation of what would be the response and impact on the community. Within a few weeks dozens of families and children were calling this home. They were signing up for events and checking out stacks of books.

The differentiating factor of Books and More versus other libraries in the country of Jordan is the opportunity for patrons to take books home. While this may be a common practice in Europe and the United States, it is rare in the Middle East for libraries to allow patrons to take books home and or be open to families at all. Many libraries do not run any programs or have a children’s section.

Within 3 years we had outgrown our small rented space and were able to expand to the rest of the two floor structure. Camps and activities began to fill those rooms while plans for expansion began to take form. Books and More Jordan acts as both a traditional library and a community center. Running after school programs, hosting seminars, conversational english classes, cooking classes, chess club, mommy and me classes and many summer programs. Much of the population does not have access or can afford to attend private children’s programs or private community centers.

Unexpectedly in 2016, Books and More learned the lease was being broken by the owner. Though it was a legally a lifetime lease, the owner choose to break this and rather than spend months and thousands of dollars in court to fight this decision, Books and More began the preparations to move. In May 2017 an abandoned building was found to rent. Months of renovations and repairs were invested, but soon Books and More had a beautiful new home. This building has offered even more programming and has seen unprecedented growth. This building is in the final six month of the lease agreement. It is available for sale at a very reasonable price if we can secure it by April 2019. $600,000 will make this the permanent home for Books and More and allow this project to be in Amman for generations to come.