The Cove is excited to announce the latest initiative in our partnership with Australian Bibliotherapy Foundation!
Since 2020, Australian Bibliotherapy Foundation (formerly Brothers’N’Books) has been promoting, implementing and advocating for the use of books as means to support mental wellbeing in Australian society, a practice known as bibliotherapy. A not-for-profit organisation founded by former Army officer Dylan Conway, Australian Bibliotherapy Foundation has provided over 130 Community Libraries with over 20,000 books across Australia.
The Cove has proudly partnered with Australian Bibliotherapy Foundation since 2022, through our joint Book Reviews page. Today, our message remains unchanged: reading makes us better, as people, as teammates, and as professionals.
Our shared mission is to make reading-based PME accessible, practical and meaningful for every soldier, by linking The Cove’s platform with ABF’s physical libraries, curated reading pathways, an unit-level culture building.
Today, we’re excited to take that partnership further.
The Cove & ABF’s Newest Initiative: Supporting Professional Reading in Army
Professional reading is an essential part of being an Army professional. From junior leaders learning from the experiences of others, to senior commanders sharpening their strategic thinking, reading gives us access to decades of wisdom and hard-won lessons in just a few hours. To paraphrase an old saying:
“A soldier who reads lives a thousand lives. A soldier who doesn’t, lives only one.”
That’s why The Cove is proud to announce the next phase of our strategic partnership with Australian Bibliotherapy Foundation; a collaboration designed to strengthen professional military education (PME) through reading.
Units across Army have already been benefiting from ABF-sponsored Community Libraries. These small, deployable book collections are designed to make reading accessible anywhere soldiers (and others) work. These libraries have been appearing in units since 2022. Community Libraries are a simple but powerful idea: if you make good books accessible, you make reading easier.
The Cove and Australian Bibliotherapy Foundation will work together to support a culture of ongoing learning, helping soldiers and officers engage with reading for education, cognition, and growth. In other words: supporting the intellectual edge of the Army Profession.
Request an Army-Only Community Library — Directly Through The Cove
Here’s the big news!
As part of our partnership, units can now request Army-only Community Libraries from Australian Bibliotherapy directly via The Cove. Just look for the “Request an Army Community Library” button, and submit your unit’s details, sent straight to the ABF team.
These specially tailored Army versions of the Community Library include:
- The full ABF reading collection you’d find in any standard Community Library; and
- A dedicated PME shelf featuring books drawn specifically from the Chief of Army’s Professional Study Guide.
PME made easy. It’s now easier than ever to do your professional reading.
Whether you want to tick off the readings from the CA Study Guide, provide resources for unit personal development through reading, or start a unit bookclub for PME, we’ve got you covered – and it’s completely free!
Other Ways to Get Involved with ABF
If you’re keen to get more involved in the reading community, the ABF offers a range of opportunities beyond the Community Libraries.
Their flagship event, the World’s Coolest Readathon, happens every year and is open to anyone keen to read more, challenge themselves, and join a national movement built around books. Many units already participate together, turning the Readathon into a fun, competitive, and meaningful PME activity.
Join the Movement
The Cove and the Australian Bibliotherapy Foundation are committed to one simple idea: a smarter Army is a stronger Army. Reading is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ways to grow as an Army professional, and as a person.
So whether you’re requesting a Community Library, joining the World’s Coolest Readathon, or simply picking up one new book this month, you’re contributing to a culture of learning that strengthens the force and makes you a better Army professional.
Look for the Community Library request button on The Cove and bring the power of reading to your team.
Because a book in a soldier’s hand is a force multiplier.
