Well Worth Reading, ‘a reading scheme devised by librarians to bring you the best in modern novels’, produced the first large-scale book promotions designed by and for libraries. After a successful pilot phase from 1987-1990 in 3 authorities supported by Southern Arts, Well Worth Reading offered promotions for sale across the UK. The promotions offered recommended reading lists, chosen and reviewed by librarians, under inventive themes like The Empire Writes Back and Growing Pains.
The approach was ‘unashamedly qualitative’ rather than reader-centred but had similar aims to the work of Opening the Book in encouraging readers to try new writers alongside familiar names. Following a consultancy from Opening the Book in 1996, Well Worth Reading introduced extra elements such as reader comment cards. The driving force behind Well Worth Reading was Miranda McKearney, who went on to found The Reading Partnership and Launchpad, organisations which joined with Well Worth Reading to form The Reading Agency in 2002.
