Get read-y, it’s World Book Day!

With some 1,000 titles annually, FAO is one of the largest publishers in the UN system. Not all of these titles are strictly speaking books. But many of them are.

Then again, what is a book? As content migrates to digital platforms, the borders between formats blur. The good thing is, when it comes to FAO, it doesn’t matter a whole lot. Pretty much all of our content is open access: as an organization set up to produce knowledge, we might as well ensure it’s there for the taking.

So go root around our online resources for your next reading hit: in addition to the device-responsive formats offered for FAO’s major titles (see the latest digital publication of The State of the World collection and FAO's digital-first corporate brochures), try out our e-books for easy offline reading on your phone, tablet or e-reader.

Look out for the mention “EPUB” (and occasionally “MOBI” for Kindle, though we are phasing that out) on the preview page of the publication that catches your eye. Or, if you are browsing any of the major e-reader platforms, such as Smashwords, Apple Books or Amazon, search for “FAO”, “Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations” or “FAOoftheUN” to access the growing collection of FAO e-books – available free of charge (or at minimal cost) on most platforms.

You can also follow @FAOKnowledge on X to keep on top of our latest e-book releases.

Digital dissemination possibilities continue to develop, so we’ll be adding more platforms as they emerge (or, indeed, as we get savvy enough to use them).

So here’s wishing you a happy World Book and Copyright Day. And thanks for spending it with us!