The Bookhouse Inclusiveness Project

In 2019 the Bookhouse secured a small grant from the UK Booksellers Association as part of its ‘Diversity & Inclusiveness’ campaign. We suggested to them that it is often older adults who are living in housing complexes or homes that become excluded from a lot of activities such as shopping on the High Street and browsing bookshops. They often have a love of reading but are less mobile and unable to readily access books.

As a solution to this, we propose to develop joint working relationships with sheltered housing facilities, residential care homes and other supported living accommodations to bring the Bookhouse to them once a month. This would initially be a pop-up bookshop which would offer books at a discounted price. We can also take orders and provide a book delivery service across the UK and abroad, perfect for sending birthday or Christmas gifts to relatives.

Obviously, the recent pandemic has put a temporary halt to this, but we would be keen to hear from anyone who works in one of these settings to discuss how the Bookhouse could help meet their needs.