Creative Reading Charter

We are joining together with the Arts Council, and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council to produce a Creative Reading Charter. We hope to set a new agenda for reading's place in the cultural landscape, and libraries' role in promoting it.

The Charter's aims are to:

  • Help the Arts Council explore how reading and libraries can be part of its new mission - 'great art for everyone' and re-inforce the value of reading in people's creative lives.
  • Make sure reading and libraries are included in key creative policies and funding opportunities.
  • Get more cross-party commitment to creative reading within Parliament.
  • Create a new band of champions who will demonstrate how reading can be a creative activity and how libraries' support this.
  • Set out an inspiring redefinition of the role of libraries in the 21st century in supporting reading and nurturing and growing the achievements of the reader development movement.

We plan to set this new agenda by publishing a Creative Reading Charter this autumn, after a period of research, debate and new thinking.

We will be working closely with the Society of Chief Librarians and running a conference with the Time to Read Network.

To kick start our work on the Creative Reading Charter we asked six people to challenge us with their thoughts on the future of reading as a cultural pursuit and libraries' role in spreading it.

The briefing document pulls out some of their thinking. You can download the briefing paper and the full texts of these 'Provocation papers' from the Resources section of this page.

The provocateurs are:

  • Victoria Barnsley, CEO, Harper Collins
  • Tony Durcan, president, Society of Chief Librarians
  • Jonathan Drori - director, Changing Media Ltd
  • Ekow Eshun, director, ICA
  • Alan Gibbons, author and organiser of Campaign for the Book
  • Miranda McKearney, director, The Reading Agency
  • Kate Mosse, author and co-founder of the Orange Prize for Fiction

Why now?

There are a number of reasons why a Creative Reading Charter is needed now.

  • We want to capitalise on the momentum from the National Year of Reading to galvanise support and action to make sure creative reading and libraries are at the heart of a new social, technological, policy and funding landscape.
  • The Arts Council has a new emphasis on public participation in the arts, and wants to explore how reading and libraries can be part of this.
  • The government will publish a modernisation review of the public library service in spring 2009.
  • Libraries are working within new local authority performance regimes and are sometimes struggling to make the case for the relevance of their reading work.
  • The reading landscape is changing dramatically with the rise of new technologies and an increase in social reading experiences.
  • There is a new understanding of the importance of creativity in education, but reading does not feature strongly in this agenda.
  • Cultural planners are striving to make sure young people have an active cultural life. Reading is often missed out of the equation.

We will post updates on this page so check back soon for more information.