Suffolk Community Libraries is getting behind the National Year of Reading campaign by launching a two-month amnesty to encourage people to borrow and read more books from the county’s libraries in 2026.
2026 has been announced as the National Year of Reading with the theme of ‘Go All In’. The campaign aims to tackle the decline in reading amongst children, young people and adults.
The National Year of Reading has been commissioned and funded by the Department for Education, working in partnership with the National Literacy Trust. Many more partners including schools and libraries across the country will be involved too with various initiatives and events throughout 2026 to promote reading to people of all ages.
Suffolk Community Libraries aims to ‘Go All In’ by making the National Year of Reading the library service’s big campaign for 2026. The aim is to increase reading for pleasure, literacy levels and library use across Suffolk during the year.
A new library charges amnesty launches in Suffolk this week and will run until the end of February. During this time, Suffolk Community Libraries will be waiving fines or coming to an agreement on a lower payment for people who cannot use their library account due to the accumulation of significant fines.
The amnesty has the aim of increasing library use by reducing the barriers of accumulated fines. This will hopefully stimulate book loaning and encourage some customers to start using libraries again. It will also hopefully encourage the return of books which people may have been afraid to return.
If anyone is interested in making the most of the amnesty they can talk to staff at their library. The amnesty only applies to adult books as overdue charges were removed from children’s books in 2019.
There is more information on our amnesty page with a dedicated new webpage set up to promote the National Year of Reading. This is already packed with recommendations and reading ideas. On top of the fines amnesty, Suffolk Community Libraries will also be focusing on the health and wellbeing benefits of reading during January and February and there are already some specialist book collections to enjoy.
More information about Go All In – The National Year of Reading
A new national website has been launched to support the campaign. Go All In is being launched to tackle the decline in reading for pleasure amongst children and adults, as highlighted by the National Literacy Trust annual survey in 2025.
Fewer children, young people and adults are reading for pleasure each year, and many say they don’t feel motivated to read. Reading isn’t just a skill it’s a way to explore your interests and what you care about and discover more about the world around you. Declining reading deepens inequality – when people read less, gaps in confidence, skills and opportunities grow.
There will be more events and activities coming later in 2026 with a formal Suffolk launch event in February. The big summer reading campaign for children – Reading Quest – will be back in 2026 and there will be many more ways for people to get involved and to get reading.
What better time to sign up and get a free Suffolk Community Libraries account and library card? You can sign up at any library or via the website suffolkcommunitylibraries.co.uk/join
The National Year of Reading is a Department for Education initiative, delivered by the National Literacy Trust in collaboration with The Reading Agency, BookTrust, World Book Day, Bookmark and the Queen’s Reading Room. The campaign will also work closely with libraries, school and other organisations.
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