The Life-changing Libraries Launch

Meet the 6 schools taking part in the Life-changing Libraries campaign

The Life-changing Libraries project spotlights the four pillars of a successful ‘gold standard’ school library – space, book provision, expertise, and whole-school and community involvement.

HRH the Duchess of Cornwall and Cressida Cowell at one of the new libraries. Photograph by David Bebber.

Each of the six schools selected for the project has a dedicated library space created by BookTrust and the sponsors of the campaign, and this stocked with 1000 titles, selected by BookTrust’s expert book selection team with guidance from the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), and donated by publishers. The project will monitor the impact of the new libraries on pupils' engagement and reading behaviour over the course of the following year.

Take a look at some of the incredible transformations below.

Take a look at some of the amazing transformations that took place at these school libraries

Benwick's school library before the transformation
"Our library space was incredibly cramped, outdated and under-resourced." Benwick's school library before the transformation

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Waterstones Children's Laureate: Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Frank Cottrell-Boyce is the Waterstones Children's Laureate for 2024-26.

The role of Children's Laureate is awarded once every two years to an eminent writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field. Find out what Frank's been up to.

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