OBJECTIVE
To provide a forum for communication and cooperation within the industry in order to promote its development, with a high standard of ethics and service to the community, and to provide an industry view on relevant national issues.

FUNCTIONS
Membership is open to individuals and organisations working in any of the three sectors of the industry: publishing and production, promotion, and distribution. Associate membership is available to persons and organisations working in areas related to the book trade like libraries, cultural agencies and educational institutions.

The general membership meets four times per year in quarterly general meetings and an annual general meeting where its Executive Committee is elected, comprising President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer and three sectoral representatives.

FUTURE PLANS
The BIAJ intends to continue on its present path of building membership, extending its range of activities and working with government and other organisations to build the Jamaican book publishing industry and enrich the cultural life of our country.

ACHIEVEMENTS
The BIAJ has enabled the various sectors of the industry to discuss common problems and conflicts within the industry and work out strategies to overcome them.

The BIAJ has collaborated in improving the quality of service to the public through joint exhibitions, seminars, lower book prices and improved delivery.

The BIAJ cooperates with all public and private agencies interested in promoting the reading habit, as well as the local and export market for books, the development of libraries and of an indigenous publishing industry.

COLLABORATION
Every two years the BIAJ collaborates with the National Book Development Council and the Jamaica Library Service in the organisation of National Book Week, a week-long programme of activities aimed at highlighting the importance of books and reading.

Activities include a National Book Fair with a variety of awards to promote and reward excellence in book publishing, promotion and distribution, as well as overall service to the industry.

The BIAJ promotes the development of an indigenous Jamaican publishing industry, with an important role to play in national development. The BIAJ encourages the publication of local textbooks written to the specific requirements of local curricula, reflecting our own culture and making education of our young people more relevant and meaningful.

The BIAJ is represented on all Government advisory bodies relating to books, including the National Council on Libraries, Archives and Documentation Systems (NACOLAIS), the National Copyright Implementation Task Force, the National Book Development Council (NBDC) and the Textbook Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Education & Culture
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