The National Book Development Board (NBDB) is expanding its Book Nook Project for 2026, launching 25 new community reading sites, bringing the program’s total to 163 active hubs across the country. The new cohort adds 16 sites in Luzon, four in the Visayas and five in Mindanao.

Established in 2021 under the NBDB’s Readership Development Division (READ), The Book Nook Project operates on a founding conviction that “Aklat Para Sa Lahat,” or books for everyone, should not be an aspiration but a basic right. The initiative supports the NBDB’s mandate under Republic Act 8047, the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, to build a functional, nationwide network of reading spaces, with a particular focus on rural, underserved, and marginalized communities.

“By empowering local schools, indigenous communities, and local organizations, we are ensuring that children and neo-literates across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao have a safe space to discover homegrown, Filipino-authored literature,” said NBDB executive director Charisse Aquino-Tugade.

The selection process for the 2026 cycle, led by the READ Partnerships Committee, drew 130 applicants from across the archipelago. Shortlisted candidates completed Tuklas Dunong, A capacity-building workshop series covering site management, resource mobilization, community development, and basic book cataloging, equipping each partner with the foundation needed to sustain their reading space well beyond its launch.

The final roster of approved sites reflects the wide scope of that reach: local government units (LGUs), public elementary and high schools, state colleges, cultural museums, and youth-led grassroots organizations, each bringing a different vantage point to the same purpose.

“It is through these local hubs that we empower communities to take ownership of their own stories and nurture a deeply rooted, nationwide culture of reading,” said NBDB READ officer-in-charge Daniel Mariano. “These spaces are the hearts of our neighborhoods. We are not just handing out books, but planting seeds of critical thinking and creative expression.”

The 25 new Book Nook sites are in the barangay of Poblacion Sto. Niño; DepEd-Villa Santiago Elementary School; Compassion International Inc.; Umingan Central Elementary School; North Fairview Elementary School; Romblon National Institute of Technology; Kirayan National High School; Don Marcelo C. Marty High School in Zambales; Abra State Institute of Sciences and Technology; National Museum of the Philippines-Marinduque; Vicente A. Javier Memorial Community College in Antique; Pilar Elementary School; Ibajay Integrated School; V. Bagasina Sr. Memorial High School; Maayon National High School; Francisco Ramos National High School; Keamanan Inc.; Pili National High School; Dr. Yanga’s Colleges, Inc.; DaluBASA/PSHS; Kinabuhayan Elementary School; National Museum of the Philippines’ Office of the Director of Southern Luzon National Museums (Daraga, Albay Section); Talaonga National High School; Oro Christian Grace School; and Malinao Ilaya Integrated National High School.

Many of these sites are positioned to close longstanding literacy and geographical gaps in areas where resources have historically been scarce. Several partners cited real and ongoing challenges: geographic isolation, extreme poverty, and a shortage of learning materials. Others are still recovering from environmental disasters or structural hardship. For each of them, a Book Nook is not a supplementary resource; it is often the first.

By establishing these reading spaces, the NBDB equips local institutions and organizations with the capacity to make reading genuinely accessible within their own communities, contributing to a citizenry that is more informed, more engaged and more inclined to reach for a book.

With the selections now finalized, the 25 new sites will move into the setup, cataloging, and launch phases this year.

With 163 active Book Nook sites now established across the country, the NBDB continues to bring Filipino-published books within reach of students and young readers nationwide, one community at a time.