Manchester Libraries wins Library of the Year Award!

Manchester Libraries has won Library of the Year at the British Book Awards 2025, for its partnership with Blue Peter Book Club.

The revival of the Library of the Year award at this year’s event was awarded to Manchester Libraries in recognition of its multi-strand and city-wide Blue Peter Book Club Live programme which made ‘superb’ use of the revered Blue Peter brand to bring children and families into contact with libraries and reading.

The #BluePeterBookClubLive programme of activities last summer included a ‘takeover’ of presenters and authors at a launch event at Central Library and book hunts around the city. During the campaign, children’s library membership increased by 33% compared to the same period in 2023, and 12,308 people become new library members during the campaign period.

The judges praised the “really committed team” and said “the engagement levels were phenomenal.”

Find out more about the programme here.

The programme engaged with people who had never or very rarely visited a library, resulting in an 88% visitor increase at the launch event compared to a typical Saturday, with 60% of these attendees living in an area of high deprivation. Connecting with readers via local schools, the incentive saw children’s library membership increase by 33% during the campaign compared to the same period in 2023, and 12,308 people become new library members during the campaign period. 

The team also created a badge trail to connect 13 cultural venues, distributed 20,000 trail maps and enlisted local partners to act as champions as part of the event programme which spread across the city,.

Describing the levels of engagement as ‘phenomenal’ the judges also commended the library on the committed team who saw the opportunity to work with Blue Peter and run with it grabbing the attention of children and young people who had never been into that library and kept hold of them afterwards.

Councillor John Hacking, Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure said:

“This is a truly phenomenal win. For Manchester Libraries to be crowned Library of the Year at the British Book Awards is just fantastic news for our libraries team who worked so hard to make these events a resounding success.  We are privileged in this city not just have the magnificent Manchester Central Library but numerous neighbourhood libraries that serve their communities, providing literary nourishment as well as a huge array of additional benefits to the communities they serve. We took the opportunity to work with Blue Peter and with thanks to them and all our partners, we delivered an exceptional programme of events which has been recognised at the highest levels .”

Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and chair of judges, said: 

‘In the Library award’s return year, Manchester Libraries is a truly worthy winner, showing how to use resources, access and breadth to change lives through reading. That it did this at scale, should not be off-putting to other libraries, but rather indicates what can happen when a range of partners pull together. We hope this winner provides a template for others to follow, whatever the size.’

Karen Napier MBE, CEO, The Reading Agency said:

 ‘Congratulations to Manchester Libraries for winning with their city-wide Blue Peter project. The project drove a huge number of children from areas of high deprivation to the library and many for the first time, opening the doors to so much opportunity and the 33% increase in children’s library membership is a remarkable achievement. I do also want to acknowledge every library service that submitted to the award this year, which demonstrated the innovation at the heart of the sector. Libraries are lighthouses for the future, and spaces where knowledge is curated, truth is protected, and communities are strengthened. They are powerful community hubs, places where everyone is equally rich in access to ideas, creativity, and where the transformative power of reading connects us to worlds beyond our own.’

Jen Cleary, Director North West, Arts Council England:

“Many congratulations to Manchester Libraries on their Library of the Year award for the Blue Peter Book Club Live. It is so important for children to discover the joy of reading and this was a fantastic opportunity to do so on their doorstep and in a fun environment. We’re pleased to have supported the project through our National Lottery Project Grants programme and to see how many children were engaged with it. I hope they are all continuing to enjoy discovering new books at their local library.”

Main photo credit: David Monteith-Hodge and Graham Turner