The best bookshops and stationery stores in Dakar

In Dakar, a bookshop is rarely just a bookshop. It is also the neighborhood stationery store, the photocopy counter, the school bag seller and sometimes the only place holding the textbook a teacher asked for. Whether you are equipping children for the new school year, hunting for Senegalese fiction to take home, or settling into the city, this guide covers where to go, when to go and what to budget. You can also browse all shops and retail businesses in Dakar.

How the book trade is laid out across the city

The Plateau is the historic core. General bookshops, the deepest school textbook stock and the best African literature shelves cluster here, easy to reach from Petersen and Avenue Georges Pompidou. The blocks around the Khalifa Sall shopping centre are especially thick with stationery counters.

Residential districts such as Point E, Mermoz, Sacre Coeur and Liberte 6 move to the rhythm of the schools and universities next door. Expect small neighborhood stationers, binding and photocopy services, and well stocked revision guides. Ouakam, Ngor, Yoff and the Almadies serve a mixed crowd of Senegalese families and expatriates, which usually means more English language titles, educational games and art supplies.

Out in the suburbs, in Parcelles Assainies, Pikine, Guediawaye, Keur Massar and Rufisque, the logic flips. Markets and corner shops handle the bulk of supplies at tight prices, often sold loose or in bundles. You will clear a full school list faster there, but specific textbooks are still easiest to track down on the Plateau.

The back to school calendar

The Senegalese school year starts in early October, and both prices and stock levels follow a very predictable curve.

• July and August: the sweet spot. Full shelves, staff with time to help, and room to order a missing title.
• Second half of September: peak rush. Queues, half filled lists, certain notebook formats simply gone.
• October and November: second hand season, when families resell last year's textbooks.

One habit saves real trouble: photograph the school list and note the exact editions. Many textbooks exist in both a Senegalese and an international version, and the page numbering does not match.

What supplies actually cost

The figures below are typical Dakar ranges, outside promotions and not tied to any particular shop.

• 100 page exercise book: roughly 300 to 800 FCFA depending on paper quality.
• Pen, pencil, eraser and sharpener set: 1,000 to 3,000 FCFA.
• Sturdy primary school backpack: 8,000 to 25,000 FCFA.
• New textbook: 4,000 to 15,000 FCFA depending on level and publisher.
• Paperback novel: 3,000 to 9,000 FCFA, with illustrated books and essays well above that.

Three habits keep the bill down: buy consumables in bundles, skip licensed character covers for plain ones, and save the new copies for the textbooks a child will keep all year.

Beyond the school list

Dakar has a genuine reading culture. Bookshops downtown and in the residential districts carry Senegalese and West African literature, social science essays, religious texts, children's books in French and English, and occasionally titles in Wolof. For diaspora visitors these shelves are often the best thing to carry home: light, lasting and hard to find anywhere else.

Do not overlook the side services most stationers offer, from lamination and thesis binding to printing application files and business cards. For large print runs, a dedicated printer will serve you better.

Recommended addresses on SeneFinder

• Chez Alpha Books : Dakar
• Librairie Papeterie Ndamal Darou : Dakar
• Librairie Aux 4 Vents Ouakam : Dakar
• Librairie Clairafrique : Dakar
• Librairie Ibnoul Qayyim : Dakar
• Chez MonAmi - Plateau : Dakar
• Librairie Plumes du Monde : Dakar
• Bëgg Lire : Dakar
• Librairie Aux 4 Vents : Dakar

To go further, see all addresses in this category or explore the Dakar directory neighborhood by neighborhood.

Useful tools

• Plan your route so you can chain several shops together instead of losing a morning to traffic.
• Convert your currency into FCFA before setting a supplies budget.
• Check the practical guide for transport, emergency numbers and everyday essentials.
• Also worth reading: our roundup of the best schools in Dakar and ideas for weekend activities with children.

Frequently asked questions

When should I buy school supplies in Dakar?

Aim for July and August, while stock is complete and shops are calm. The last two weeks of September concentrate the entire back to school rush.

Where can I find English language books in Dakar?

Bookshops in the Almadies, Ngor and Ouakam, close to the international schools, usually carry the widest English selections for both children and adults.

Can I buy second hand textbooks?

Yes. Used textbooks circulate mainly in October and November, through markets and neighborhood booksellers. Check the edition and the condition of the pages before paying.