People were encouraged to leave the books at different locations around the city or further afield once they had finished reading them, she said.
"I'm excited to be part of what becomes an engagement of people having the books and deciding where to leave them. We want to involve as many people as possible so they can enjoy the gift of reading."
On the local front, favourite places to leave books were on the bus and in doctors' waiting rooms.
"What I love is last year two women were walking away and had a great discussion on where they were going to leave their books."
In 2013, 184 learners received literacy or numeracy assistance from Literacy Bay of Plenty including employed workers wanting to improve workplace skills, Industry Training Organisation apprentices and Open Polytechnic students.
So far this year, the organisation has helped 149 learners and had about 70 tutors on its books.
It's estimated 43 per cent of New Zealanders did not have the required levels of literacy for the workplace and the Bay had been flagged as a high need region.
Books up for grabs in Tauranga included children, history, fiction and te reo titles, she said.
Literacy Aotearoa chief executive Bronwyn Yates said in 2013 more than 8000 students were enrolled in their programmes.
"Many learners come to Literacy Aotearoa with a fear of picking up a book. Over time, they gain confidence and take the opportunity to choose, read and enjoy books."
Books had been found in airport toilets at train stations and some had reached Australia, Uganda, Birmingham, Nepal and Los Angeles, she said.
New Zealand Post brand and community investment manager, Nicola Airey, hoped members of the public would get into the spirit of Travelling Books. "Travelling Books take on a life of their own, making their way into people's homes and lives."
