Welcome to The Harbour Library
A Space for Emotional Healing Through Literature
You Found Your Harbour
Whatever you are carrying right now, you are welcome here.
Maybe you are having a hard week. Maybe something happened at home, or at school, or inside you, and you are not quite sure how to name it. Maybe you just need somewhere quiet to go that is not a classroom and not a screen full of noise. This is that place.
We are not like other libraries. We do not organize by genre, age group or alphabet. We organize by how you are feeling today because any book can heal.
The Harbour Library is a multilingual home for readers, offering collections in all six official languages of the United Nations: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish, alongside a growing German collection. Wherever you call home, there is a story here waiting in your own language.
Not sure what you need? Chat with our Library Assistant at the bottom right of your screen, they will help you find the right book, in the right language, for how you're feeling right now.
Eaux Françaises · Deutsche Gezeiten · Aguas Españolas · 中华潮汐 · مواج عربية · Русские Волны
A NOTE JUST FOR YOU
You do not have to be in crisis to come here.
You do not have to be falling apart.
Sometimes a book is the first safe conversation you have had all day.
We are glad you are here. Take your time. Take whatever you need.
Books in The Harbour Library are drawn from trusted open digital archives. All are free and require no registration.
Open Library - millions of free books
Project Gutenberg - over 70,000 free ebooks
LibriVox - free public domain audiobooks
African Storybook / Storybooks Canada - (Creative Commons licensed)
Free Kids Books - (Creative Commons licensed)
StoryWeaver: Pratham Books (Creative Commons licensed)
We are also proud to feature original works by our founder, Olapeju Okungbowa, a published author whose e-books are available directly through The Harbour Library.
Browse by Feeling
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Calm Waters: Light reads for rest, comfort and gentle joy
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Safe Harbour: Books for navigating grief, loss and big emotions
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Rising Tides: Stories about resilience, courage and finding your voice
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Still Waters: Mindfulness and calming reads for anxious minds
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New Horizons: Books about identity, belonging and self-discovery
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Open Seas: Stories for navigating family change, conflict and transition
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Rough Seas: When the world feels unsafe
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Visual Tides: Graphic Stories for the Soul
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Eaux Françaises: French Literature for Wellbeing
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Deep Waters: Faith, Hope and healing
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Deutsche Gezeiten: German Literature for Wellbeing
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Aguas Españolas: Spanish Literature for Wellbeing
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中华潮汐: Chinese Literature for Wellbeing
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مواج عربية: Arabic Literature for Wellbeing
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Русские Волны: Russian Literature for Wellbeing
Meet Our Founder
I lost my entire family while in college. There are no adequate words for that kind of loss, especially when the world still expects you to show up, keep functioning, keep going to class. I didn't have language for what I was carrying, but I had books, and in that grief; I discovered what they could truly do - heal.
I became a teacher afterwards, and the idea for The Harbour Library was planted in my classroom, watching students carry invisible burdens no lesson could reach. I built this library so no young person has to search for that book alone.
I bring both this personal history and 15+ years as a qualified educator and librarian, registered with the Teaching Council of Ireland and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, UK, to everything The Harbour Library does.
My published works include Ewaoluwa, Gardens of the Cosmos, The Escapades of Ahmed and Amina, Lessons from Mr Joe, and Just Another Chapter, all available free through The Harbour Library.
- Olapeju Okungbowa, Founder
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WHAT WE OFFER
How We Can Help
At The Harbour Library, every resource we offer is built around one simple belief: that books have the power to heal, restore and transform.
Digital Book Access
Explore our extensive library of free digital books chosen for their potential to heal, comfort and restore. Our themed collections designed to reflect various emotional experiences, helping you to find the right book for your current state of mind. Available to anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Bibliotherapy Training for Schools
Equipping librarians, teachers and school counsellors with the knowledge and tools to use books as instruments of healing, building emotionally intelligent library spaces that support student wellbeing.
Reader's Theatre
The Reader’s Theater Workshop is available as a standalone school visit programme. One of our representatives will visit your school to launch the programme, introduce students to The Harbour Library collections and guide them through their first Reader's Theatre experience.
KEEP THE HARBOUR LIBRARY FREE
The Harbour Library will always be free for students. But running it, growing it and taking it into schools takes resources. If this project matters to you, please consider supporting us. Every contribution, however small, keeps the library free and puts healing books into the hands of young people who need them most. No amount is too small. Every donation matters.
JOIN THE HARBOUR BOOK CLUB
Read Together. Heal Together. Grow Together.
Our virtual book club brings together students, educators and readers around the world to explore books that matter. Every month we read one carefully chosen title from our bibliotherapy collections and gather to share reflections in a warm, judgment free space. Reading is powerful on its own. Reading in community is transformative.
GET IN TOUCH
We would love to hear from you. Whether you have a question, a book recommendation or simply want to say hello, your message is welcome here.