Jersey Library Shortlisted for Regional Library of the Year Award

Jersey Library has been named a finalist for the East and South-East England Regional and Country category in the prestigious British Book Awards’ Library of the Year competition.

The winners of the regional and country awards will be revealed on Thursday, 12 March 2026, with the overall Library of the Year announced at a ceremony on Monday, 11 May.

The recognition follows the success of Jersey Library’s 2025 Summer Reading Challenge Outreach Project, run in partnership with local charity Every Child Our Future, a collaboration ongoing since 2022.

Together, the library and the charity support after-school literacy activities for more than 100 pupils each year across four primary schools—two in St Helier and two outside the town.

At the heart of the initiative is the Book Buddy programme, which helps Year 3 children develop literacy skills through one-to-one reading sessions with trained volunteers. The scheme also gives children access to a wider range of books than their schools can provide.

In 2025, thanks to funding from The Reading Agency, Jersey Library expanded the project during the summer holidays. Twice-weekly transport was arranged for children from the two schools outside St Helier, allowing 20 pupils to attend the Book Buddy programme and complete their Summer Reading Challenge.

Following the project’s success, the library plans to extend the scheme further in 2026, reaching more schools and recruiting additional volunteers.

Chief Librarian Edward Jewell said: “We are incredibly proud to be recognised by the British Book Awards. This achievement is thanks to the dedication of our staff and volunteers. The Summer Book Buddies programme has had a real impact—not just on literacy, but on social inclusion and wellbeing—and we look forward to expanding it this year.”