Donating books and journals to less developed countries

The BMA/BMJ information fund welcomes applications from institutions

Both the BMA and the BMJ receive many requests for free medical books and journals from doctors and librarians in less developed countries and other areas of need. Until recently we have had no specific funding to meet these requests, and have arranged donations of secondhand journals and surplus BMJ books somewhat haphazardly. Since 2000, however, the BMA and BMJ have set aside £30 000 ($47 000; €47 000) a year, from the profits of the BMJ Publishing Group, to help institutions to choose the right health information for their users (see BMA/BMJ information fund's activity report for 2000–2 on bmj.com).

The BMA/BMJ information fund does not give money but donates and sends educational materials. And because we want our donations to help as many people as possible we consider applications only from institutions rather than from individual doctors and other health workers. We ask applicants to tell us about …