There is a generation of children born just before or during the pandemic who will have never visited a library before. No chance to lose themselves in a world of books or see their local librarian bring stories to life.

Even before, many families were not engaged with their local library. Our survey of 1,000 families in poverty with a child under five across England, NI and Wales revealed that less than half are registered with a public library.  Families tell us they don’t visit libraries because they may not know what to do when they walk inside. They don’t know that libraries and the activities they provide are free and are worried their children may make noise inside.