Books Abroad was begun in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, in 1961. Mary Bender was the first coordinator, until her death in 1977. Then Elizabeth Showalter became its coordinator and director, 1977-1988. In 1971, when Showalter moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia, she also started a Books Abroad operation in the Shenk's Hatchery on College Avenue. By 1992, the program had grown to include three more locations in the United States: Lancaster, Pennsylvania (Mary Ella Herr); Goshen, Indiana (Alice Dye); and Eureka, Illinois (Doris Yoder); with Milford and Winifred Paul the contacts at Scottdale, Pennsylvania; and Marian Hostetler, the contact at the WMSC Office, Elkhart, Indiana. This programs was first officially sponsored by the Mennonite Board of Missions' Overseas Department, from 1964-84. Then the Women's Missionary and Service Commission adopted it, on November 9, 1984.
