When chancellor Rachel Reeves announced £5 million for books in secondary schools as part of the 2025 Autumn Budget, it seemed the government was acknowledging that school libraries matter.

But when seen through the lens of sheer scale and student need, the gesture is negligible. To be precise: dividing £5 million by the approximate 3,452 secondary schools in England works out at roughly £1,448 per school.

That might buy a modest handful of new books, but certainly not enough to turn an understocked, under-visited school library into a resource that supports reading culture, literacy development or a broad enrichment offer.

According to guidance from the School Library Association, a healthy secondary school library provision requires between 13 to 18 books per student aged 11-16, rising to 17 to 25 books per sixth-form student.

Cultivating a vibrant reading culture

To give a sense of scale: even a school of 1,000 students would, under School Library Association recommendations, need 13,000 to 18,000 books to meet the lower threshold or far more if sixth form numbers are high. Under the Budget’s allocation, £1,448 would purchase perhaps a few hundred books at best.

The timing of this modest investment is not coincidental. The government has signalled 2026 will be a National Year of Reading, a campaign intended to boost literacy, reading for pleasure and lifelong learning. The £5 million is evidently meant to contribute to that ambition.

Yet, the inadequacy of the funding undermines the credibility of the wider aim. If the government seriously wants every secondary school to cultivate a vibrant reading culture, then symbolic funding is not enough. It will need sustained, substantive investment commensurate with the scale of need.

Schools desperately need proper library provision

There are several reasons why well-resourced libraries matter and why a modest one-off payment will not suffice:

• Reading for pleasure and equity: a well-stocked library gives all students access to a wide range of texts, including books they may not otherwise encounter at home. For many disadvantaged students, the school library may be the only source of quality reading material.
• Curriculum enrichment and cross-curricular learning: libraries support not only English and literacy, but cross-curricular research, independent study, exploratory reading, enrichment activities (book clubs, libraries as safe spaces), and support for whole-school initiatives (eg, reading weeks, academic research, personal development).
• Improved outcomes: evidence, including from international studies of school library provision, points to a positive association between a well-supported library (with a qualified librarian or library manager) and improved reading attainment, wider literacy, information-handling skills and general academic engagement.
• Sustainability and upkeep: libraries are not a “one-and-done”. Books wear out, go missing, become outdated; new cohorts arrive; reading tastes and curricular requirements shift. A proper library requires regular replenishment.

What real support should look like

If the government is serious about unlocking the potential of a National Year of Reading - and addressing literacy gaps, educational inequality and enrichment - schools need the following:

• A dedicated, ring-fenced annual book fund per school: enough to build and sustain a broad, balanced library collection over time. This fund should consider school size, student numbers (including sixth form) and demographic need (eg, pupil premium and disadvantage).
• Investment in library staffing and management: the presence of skilled librarians, or at least resourced library managers, is vital for curating the collection, promoting reading, organising events and embedding the library in the life of the school.
• Regular refresh and expansion of stock: to reflect curriculum needs, reading for pleasure (fiction, graphic novels, diverse voices) and emerging issues (mental health, wellbeing, social justice, diversity).
• Support for outreach and reading culture: reading clubs, author visits, loan schemes, links with public libraries and parent engagement all contribute to embedding reading beyond the classroom.
• Long-term sustainable funding aligned to inflation and school pressures: to ensure libraries do not get sidelined when budgets are tight and to safeguard equity among schools with very different starting points.

Library funding is a drop in the ocean

Yes, £5 million is better than zero, especially in a time of deep financial strain, rising costs and stagnant or falling per-student funding.

But in practice, the funding fails to recognise the scale of need. For many schools, particularly those with large cohorts or historically poor library provision, it will be virtually invisible.

If the government’s declared ambition for the National Year of Reading is to mean anything, schools need sustained investment that treats libraries not as nice-to-haves, but as essential infrastructure fundamental to reading, literacy, equity and lifelong learning.

Until that happens, £5 million is, at best, a token gesture.

Prof Michael Green is visiting professor in the School of Education at the University of Greenwich and head of quality improvement planning at Buckinghamshire New University. He is on X at @Michael_S_Green

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