The National Year of Reading 2026 is a campaign to address the steep decline in reading amongst children, young people and adults. As part of the campaign, The Reading Agency was appointed to deliver and support public library engagement. Today The Reading Agency are sharing how libraries are creating new routes into reading during the National Year of Reading
Beyond the bookshelves: how libraries are creating new routes into reading during the National Year of Reading
Libraries across England have been using National Year of Reading microgrants to bring reading into schools, parks and community spaces, create new experiences for children and families, and make their services more welcoming to people who might not ordinarily visit.
The £150,000 fund, provided by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and delivered by The Reading Agency, is supporting projects across 72 library authority areas facing high levels of deprivation, weaker social infrastructure and low library engagement. The grants are providing library teams the resources and capacity to develop locally-led activities that can reach new audiences and open up more opportunities to enjoy reading.
Stockton-on-Tees LibrariesBuilding connections through schools in Suffolk
In Suffolk, funding enabled libraries to offer additional staff hours so librarians could visit local schools and introduce children to Reading Quest, the county’s summer reading programme.
The additional capacity was particularly valuable for smaller libraries, whose staff were able to spend dedicated time meeting pupils and building relationships with local schools. Librarians brought examples of the books, crafts and activities planned for the summer, spoke to classes about what they enjoyed reading and answered questions about taking part and visiting the library.
Meeting library staff in a familiar school environment helped remove some of the uncertainty children might feel about entering a library for the first time. When pupils later visited during the summer, they recognised a friendly face and already knew what to expect.
Libraries that visited schools experienced greater uptake of Reading Quest, alongside stronger engagement and a more positive response to the wider library offer.
Taking the library into the community in Wigan
Wigan Borough Libraries used its microgrant to deliver Picnic in the Park, a free family event based at Ashton Library’s temporary location and the neighbouring Jubilee Park.
The event combined reading and literacy with activities designed to appeal to a broad range of local families. Visitors could take part in Gruffalo story times, crafts, African drumming and pickleball taster sessions, visit a mobile gaming van and learn more about library and council services. Families also received a free Library in a Bag containing a storybook, craft activities and information about library services and membership.
Wigan Borough LibrariesBy taking activities into a busy community park, the library connected with families who might not traditionally engage with its services. The event raised awareness of the library’s temporary location, encouraged membership and introduced reading in an accessible and welcoming setting.
Wigan Borough LibrariesBringing stories to life in Northumberland
Northumberland Libraries drew on the popularity of crime fiction to create an experience specifically for readers aged 11 and over.
The service partnered with North East author Rachel Pattinson, whose Hachette Children’s Novel Award-winning debut, Seven: Distracted Detective, provided the inspiration for an immersive, Cluedo-style event.
School classes, young people’s book groups and families watched characters step off the page before taking an active role in the unfolding mystery. By following clues and helping to drive the action, participants encountered storytelling as something social, playful and participatory.
The sessions enabled young people to experience books as more than words on a page and helped position the library as a lively space in which they were welcome to explore their interests.
Creating lasting momentum in Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees Libraries developed a series of themed Library Fun Days, beginning with Take Your Child to the Library Day and continuing with events inspired by Elmer Day, the Summer Reading Challenge, Book Lovers Day, Tell a Joke Day and Green Libraries Week.
Activities included crafts, storytelling, digital equipment and reading challenges. Local residents were also involved in shaping events, with schoolchildren helping to choose books for story times and the local Men’s Shed creating props for Tell a Joke Day.
The events attracted 700 additional visitors alongside the libraries’ usual Saturday footfall and generated more than 600 book issues. Their success has also created a longer-term legacy: one branch now presents every Saturday as a family fun day, while themed Fun Days will become a regular part of Stockton’s library programme.
Stockton-on-Tees LibrariesLocal ideas with lasting impact
Although each library service took a different approach, the projects shared a common principle: reaching people on their own terms.
The funding gave library staff the capacity to build relationships outside library buildings, respond creatively to local interests and offer welcoming routes into reading. It also enabled services to test approaches that can continue beyond the funded activity - from stronger school partnerships to recurring family events.
Together, these projects demonstrate the role libraries can play at the heart of the National Year of Reading: creating accessible opportunities for people to discover reading, connect with their communities and see their local library differently.
This initiative is supported by UK Government funding as part of the National Year of Reading 2026 programme.
seen at 18:44, 16 October in DCMS Libraries.