May 25, 2026
Oldham Library’s “Study Well: The Young People’s Exam Hub” and Lewisham Libraries “Downham Library SEND Families Sessions” are our two winners of the NAG Public Library Project Grant for 2026.
This NAG Grant, launched in 2019, aims to enable public libraries to explore a project without requiring a lengthy application process and with the flexibility to cover a range of circumstances. For 2026 we offered two grants of £1,500 thanks to the sponsorship of Open Fifth who are supporting one of the Grants.
“Study Well” has emerged from the busy study environment of Oldham Library where, every spring, it becomes a vital study space for hundreds of teenagers, many of whom have no other quiet or safe place to revise. These teens need to balance academic demands with their wellbeing and this programme is designed to address this need, combining wellbeing‑focused resources, short drop‑in activities, and light‑touch emotional support at the moments students need it most.
Lewisham Libraries project builds on an existing successful project at Downham Library with their specialist SEND Families sessions and aims to better resource this popular library activity and roll it out across the borough with mobile “party starter” kits for their Signs and Symbols Disco and specialist training for the library staff delivering the sessions.
The two projects will each receive £1500 to enable them to buy resources, pay for external trainers and facilitators and create promotional resources.
The projects impressed the NAG Executive Committee when measured against value for money, sustainability and innovation as well as the potential for sharing and replicability for the wider NAG community.
