Secretary of State Mariëlle Paul (Fundamental Education and Emancipation): “Whether it is about further education, finding a place in the labor market, or participating in society, being able to read well is essential. I have committed to this – and I will continue to do so. It helps enormously if schools have a good collection of books and the expertise to inspire students to read. Because reading is not only very important, it is also incredibly fun. I wish every student a lot of reading pleasure.”

Minister Eppo Bruins (Education, Culture and Science): “Reading is useful in everything you do. Libraries play an important role in reaching people across the country, for reading pleasure and reading skills. It is good that they can also provide a rich reading environment for every child at schools. By investing structurally in the School Library, we ensure that it becomes even easier and more enjoyable for children to read more.”

The School Library is a collaboration between libraries and schools, carried out by the Reading Foundation, the National Library, and provincial support institutions, to promote reading pleasure and reading skills. Participating schools have a challenging and suitable collection of books for their students. Students can use these at school and are allowed to take the books home. Students also become better readers as teachers receive help from library experts in reading and media. And there is of course a lot of reading at these schools, preferably every day. Almost all libraries in our country now participate in the School Library.

Research shows that children in primary schools participating in this initiative start to enjoy reading more, read more often, and become more skilled readers. Reading also has a proven positive effect on their vocabulary and knowledge of the world.

Due to the great importance of reading and the positive results of the School Library, the cabinet has decided to convert the temporary subsidy of € 24 million per year into structural funding starting in 2027. In 2027, € 38 million will be available from the education budget; from 2028, it will be € 50 million annually. This is funding that has already been reserved for this purpose. The money will be distributed from 2027 between schools (through targeted funding) and libraries.

With the current subsidy, the focus is on schools with a complex student population. The target group will be expanded from the 2026/2027 school year to include all schools in fundamental education. Libraries can also use the structural funding for collaboration with childcare (BookStart), teacher training, or vocational education.

Promoting the School Library is one of the measures the cabinet is taking to enhance reading among students, thereby improving their reading skills.

In the current update of the curriculum, fundamental skills such as reading and writing are central. This means, among other things, rich texts in Dutch and in subjects such as geography, history, and biology. Furthermore, schools can receive additional resources and support from the Master Plan for Fundamental Skills to work purposefully on improving their reading education. Knowledge about effective reading education is also shared. To indicate how important reading and reading pleasure are to her, Secretary of State Paul started the Reading Room last year, a book club where she discusses a book with students at a different school every quarter, sometimes together with the author of the book.