In spring 2024, a new strategy was launched in Norway to enhance the joy of reading among children and young people: ‘Sammen om lesing - Leselyststrategien 2024–2030’. The strategy was developed in collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and Equality, and the Ministry of Education and Research, and aims to create a stronger reading culture among children and young people through several different initiatives. An important element is to ensure that children and young people have good access to a variety of literature, to invest in school libraries, to strengthen the distribution of literature and to prioritise printed books in schools. The strategy should be seen in the context of the national library strategy, which also contributes to strengthening reading promotion (Kultur- och likestillingsdepartementet och Kunnskapsdepartementet 2024; Kultur- och likestillingsdepartementet 2023). The Ministry of Culture and Equality will allocate approximately NOK 30 million annually to follow up the measures in the strategy during the period 2024–2030. A new national initiative, ‘Tid for lesing’ (Time for reading), is also being established to strengthen reading instruction in schools and contribute to good literature provision in preschools, schools and leisure centres. To implement the initiative, the Norwegian government has allocated NOK 27.5 million over the past two years to the Norwegian Reading Center. Additional funds, NOK 115 million in 2023 and NOK 300 million in 2024, have been allocated to give teachers more room for manoeuvre when choosing learning materials, and a better balance between screen and book, print and digital learning materials in schools.
To support municipalities in developing school libraries, the Government has increased the grant scheme for school libraries from NOK 14.5 million in 2021 to NOK 50 million in 2024. The funds will be used to increase human resources and competence development to strengthen reading promotion and ensure that school libraries are an arena for the joy of reading and better reading skills for all groups of pupils and in all subjects (Kultur- och likestillingsdepartementet och Kunnskapsdepartementet 2019, p. 19). The increased funding will also be targeted at socio-economically disadvantaged areas (Proposisjon 2022–2023:1; Proposisjon 2023-2024:1). Since 2020, the Arts Council has had a special ‘purchasing scheme’ (“innkjøpsordninger”) for the purchase and distribution of books to school libraries with funding from the Norwegian Cultural Fund. The funds were increased by NOK 5 million in 2023. In 2024, the scheme was changed from a pilot programme to a permanent scheme. 380 school libraries in primary and lower secondary schools participate in the scheme during the period 2024–2026. The books purchased and sent to school libraries are titles purchased through the Arts Council's purchasing scheme for children's and young people's literature. The aim is to broaden the range and increase the joy to read (Kulturdirektoratet 2024).
To further contribute to the interest in reading among children and young people, the government has increased grant schemes and project funding for organisations and the voluntary sector by NOK 2.5 million to a total of NOK 10 million. The funds can be used for reading projects, author visits or reading competitions, for example. In 2023, the government increased project grants to organisations that can contribute in various ways to achieving the ministry's goal for reading promotion. Foreningen !les, Leser søker bok and Norsk barnebokinstitutt each received NOK 1 million (Proposition 2022–2023:1). For 2024, the grants are further expanded, with the three organisations receiving around NOK 34 million in 2024. Foreningen !les, Leser søker bok also receives funding from the Ministry of Education and Research (Proposisjon 2023–2024:1).