Everything changes when you read.

We’re a UK charity with a mission to empower people of all ages to read.

The Reading Agency

Reading for pleasure and empowerment makes us more aware and informed. It helps us grow our imaginations. It makes us more empathetic and understanding of other people and cultures. It supports our health and wellbeing. It increases our ability to learn new skills. It helps us to communicate our ideas more effectively. It opens doors. It brings joy.

Please donate to support our work.

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£81 billion a year in lost earnings and welfare spending due to low levels of literacy.

Four icons of people. One of them is white, while the other three are navy.

1 in 4 children don’t reach the expected level of reading by the age of 11

Kirsten Barrett's Books of Belonging

For this year’s Teachers’ Reading Challenge we are exploring ‘Diverse Realities’ and have asked expert educators to give us their recommendations on topics within that…

Reading Friends Participation Monitoring Form

The new form for October 2024-October 2025. We encourage monthly submission of the simplified form, but there are two important dates highlighted (Jan 2025 and…

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Behind the scenes of the Radio 2 Book Club

We work with library staff from across the UK to choose the books for the Radio 2 Book Club. We’ve spoken to a few of our panel members to get a glimpse behind the scenes of selecting the shortlist.


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Library Facts

Explore key facts about libraries, including the numbers of libraries, the demographics of library users and the outcomes of using libraries.

A photo of an Asian man reading a small child a book. There are bookshelves behind them.

Reading Facts

We want to create a world where everyone is reading their way to a better life. Explore UK-wide reading statistics and facts.

The Reading Agency

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