Rebecca Gediking, Library Services Director for GLL, explains how partnerships between libraries and leisure are creating new pathways into reading.

Reading opens doors to new ideas, different perspectives and new experiences. The National Year of Reading is an opportunity to inspire more people to make reading a regular part of their lives. At GLL, we're creating new pathways into reading by meeting people where they are and making reading part of everyday life.

Libraries remain at the heart of reading in our communities, but inspiring more people to read means reaching beyond the traditional library setting into the places where people already spend their time.

As a charitable social enterprise and employee-owned workers' co-operative, GLL operates 124 public and prison libraries alongside more than 250 leisure centres across the UK. Our integrated model connects libraries with health, wellbeing, sport and culture, introducing reading to new audiences while strengthening their role within communities.

Supporting Authors. Inspiring Readers. Championing Public Libraries.

Across our library partnerships, we identified two connected challenges. Children's reading for pleasure has fallen to its lowest level in a generation, while many early-career children's authors are finding it increasingly difficult to build sustainable careers. Research also shows that meeting authors makes stories more accessible and encourages children to read.

For many years, the GLL Sport Foundation has helped thousands of talented athletes overcome barriers. Its success prompted us to ask whether the same model could support emerging children's authors while delivering wider social benefit through our libraries.

The result was the GLL Literary Foundation, bringing together librarians, business start-up advisers and partners across the publishing and literacy sectors. The Foundation supports early-career children's authors with a £750 bursary and up to £4,000 of in-kind support. In return, authors deliver events in libraries, schools and community settings, connecting children with the people behind the stories they read.

In its first year, the GLL Literary Foundation supported 20 children's authors to deliver more than 60 events, reaching over 3,000 children and 500 adults. For many children, meeting an author is the moment reading becomes personal and enjoyable. Eighty-one per cent of participating children said they were more likely to visit their local library after meeting an author, while 79% said they felt more motivated to read.

Building on that success, the GLL Literary Foundation is now supporting 42 children's authors who will deliver more than 80 events during the National Year of Reading. Its innovative approach was recognised with the 2026 London Book Fair Trailblazer Award.

We recently marked the GLL Literary Foundation's first anniversary at the House of Lords (gll copyright picture attached), hosted by Baroness Floella Benjamin. The event celebrated the Foundation's partnerships and our ambition to inspire more people to read.

Partnership is at the heart of GLL's approach. By bringing together libraries, leisure, local authorities, publishers, literacy organisations and community partners, GLL's integrated model is creating new pathways into reading and helping more people make reading a regular part of their lives. 

Connecting Reading, Sport and Wellbeing

During the National Year of Reading and the Summer of Sport, GLL is bringing reading into leisure centres and sport into libraries.

Working with the National Literacy Trust, we have launched free author events in leisure centres, beginning with Formula 1 writer Maurice Hamilton at Woolwich Waves Leisure Centre.

We're encouraging people to connect reading with their interests, whether that's running, football, swimming, cycling or Formula 1.

These initiatives build on an established offer that already connects leisure centre users with curated e-books, audiobooks and online magazines through our library service.

Research commissioned by GLL found that 36% of active adults already choose reading to relax after sport or exercise, ahead of scrolling on social media. Reading and physical activity complement each other, contributing to healthier, happier lives. We hope these new initiatives will encourage more of the remaining 64% of active adults to discover reading as part of an active, healthy lifestyle.

The National Year of Reading offers an opportunity to strengthen those partnerships, reach new audiences and demonstrate how integrating libraries with leisure can connect reading with health, wellbeing, sport and culture. Together, we can help ensure more people discover the lifelong benefits that reading can bring.

Sponsored by GLL.