Jersey Library has been selected as an East and South-East England Regional & Country Finalist for Library of the Year in the British Book Awards.
The Library of the Year Regional and Country Winners will be announced on Thursday 12 March 2026. These will form the shortlist for the Library of the Year Award due to be announced at a ceremony on Monday 11 May.
Jersey Library’s selection is the result of their successful 2025 Summer Reading Challenge Outreach Project alongside local charity Every Child Our Future, whom they have worked closely with since 2022.
Jersey Library and Every Child Our Future work together to support after school literacy activities for over 100 pupils each academic year from four primary schools – two located within St Helier and two located outside of town.
The Book Buddy programme is designed to help children in Year 3 develop their literacy skills and encourage reading for pleasure through one-to-one reading with trained volunteers. The programme also provides an opportunity to loan books from a wider variety than schools can provide.
Initially only running during term time, in 2025 Jersey Library received grant funding from The Reading Agency to arrange twice-weekly transport arrangements throughout the summer holidays to transport children who attend the two participating schools outside St Helier to the library.
Children were collected outside their schools at 9.30am, accompanied by library staff, to take part in the Book Buddy programme twice a week during the summer holidays. The funding provided by The Reading Agency allowed Jersey Library to reach a total of 20 children.
All children were able to complete their Summer Reading Challenge.
Building on a successful first year, Jersey Library plans to double the scope of this project to link in with more primary schools and increase the number of volunteers.
Chief Librarian, Edward Jewell, said: “We are extremely proud to have been recognised by the British Book Awards, and this is in no small part due to the passionate commitment of our library staff and dedicated volunteers. The Summer Book Buddies / Summer Reading Challenge project delivered real benefits not just in terms of literacy but also in social inclusion and wellbeing and I’m looking forwards to building on the strengths of the project this year.”
