>Book Development Council of Tanzania (henceforth: BAMVITA) was established in 1999 to coordinate and stimulate the activities of all stakeholders in the book industry of Tanzania. The purpose is, in the final analysis, to procure more and better books of all kinds and make them available to readers of all age throughout the country.
>The idea of giving the book a nationally planned, systematic development and promotion was first launched by UNESCO worldwide in the 1960’s. In 1966 book experts from Asia held a conference in Tokyo and suggested, among other things, the establishment of central coordinating bodies (now know as national book development council) to stimulate the production and distribution of books, the key instrument for educational, social, cultural and economic development. The idea of National Book Development Councils has spread worldwide, Tanzania being among the emulators.

• To support, encourage and liaise with associations involved in the development of a reading culture, books, and urge for the formulation of such associations where there is a need;
• To formulate plans and policies regarding book industry development, and present the plans to the government and private stakeholders, as a means of coordinating efforts of all the concerned parties;
• To improve performance in the book sector by identifying training needs and facilitating the provision of such training;
• To establish and maintain a data bank, and issue publicity materials on the Tanzania book industry;
• To encourage and support the production and provision of childhood reading materials throughout Tanzania;
• To promote books, literature and reading thorough exhibitions, fairs, children’s rural outreach reading programmes and children’s reading tents, literary and book prizes;
• To promote gender balanced literature.

Funding
The sources of funds of BAMVITA are donation from supporters of book development and promotion who include international co operations such as Sida (Sweden), UNESCO, the Tanzania Culture Trust Fund (Mfuko wa utamanuni and the government of Tanzania through the Ministry of Education and Culture. Member association and institutions pay entry and annual fees, moral and material support is welcome from both local and foreign supports of book development.

Structure
The Book Development Council of Tanzania operates through the General Council, the Executive Committee, the Secretary and Project Committees.

The General Council
This is BAMVITA policy making body, which meets annually to discuss and issue policy guidelines, receive and evaluate annual and periodic performance, financial and audit reports. It reviews and approves the council’s general plan, budget and programme of activities.

The General Council is composed of two representatives from each of the following member association, organization and institutions, who constitute the stakeholders of BAMVITA.

There are a number of functions, among which are:
• Coordination of the various activities of the council member associations, institutions and organisations, and lobbying the government for action and support;
• Promotion of the book industry through book fairs, book and library weeks, literacy and literary awards, advertisement and other activities;
• Collection of information and data on all aspects of the book sector through research, consultation and periodic sector surveys, and processing and disseminations such information through reports, publications, news releases on book activities, news bulletins to council members and others in the book sector, catalogues, brochure, etc;
• Regulation of practice in the book sector by standardizing codes of ethics of member associations, Institutions and organizations by publicizing transgression and seeking legal action when necessary and possible, against violation of copyright and other laws relating to the book sector,
• Improvement of professional skills by encouraging the establishment of training facilities, courses and seminars to upgrade the personnel in all facts of the book sector;
• Support to the development of suitable infrastructures in order to encourage indigenous authorship, editing, illustrating, printing and publishing, and to provide opportunities for local book production.