What happens when a Netflix hit takes viewers back to the book it came from?
Netflix has teamed up with the British Library to bring the books behind some of its biggest films and series to public libraries across the UK. The partnership aims to encourage more people to pick up a book after watching its screen adaptation.
As part of the new national partnership, Netflix and the British Library will provide collections of books adapted into Netflix films and series to 100 public libraries across the country.
The initiative comes as the UK marks the National Year of Reading 2026. The campaign aims to address declining levels of reading for pleasure.
From screen to shelf
The new library collections will feature literary works such as Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, Heartstopper, One Day, The Thursday Murder Club and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Netflix will also provide funding to support the British Library’s literary conservation and archive work.
The partnership goes beyond book donations. Netflix and the British Library will host events exploring how filmmakers transform books into films and television series. Libraries across the country will also stream the program for their communities.
The events have already featured Q&As with stars of Frankenstein, The Thursday Murder Club and The Seven Dials Mystery.
On September 21, Florence Pugh, Zoe Kazan, Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist joined a discussion about East of Eden, Netflix’s upcoming limited series based on John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel.
Can a TV hit bring readers back?
The partnership arrives as reading for pleasure among young people in the UK faces a significant decline.
The UK National Literacy Trust’s 2025 Annual Literacy Survey found that children’s enjoyment of reading had fallen to its lowest recorded level.
The survey also found that books connected to favorite films and television series can encourage reluctant readers, Variety reports.
The connection works for adults, too.
Nielsen BookData found that 12% of adult fiction bought by occasional readers was discovered through, or chosen because of, a film or television adaptation.
Netflix has also pointed to the effect its adaptations can have on book sales.
After the release of the “One Day” series in 2024, sales of David Nicholls’ novel reportedly rose by 4,452%, from 3,216 copies in the 26 weeks before the series premiered to 143,193 copies in the following 26 weeks.
That makes the partnership less about choosing between books and screens and more about how one can lead audiences to the other.
Keeping the story going
“Every great adaptation starts with a great story,” Anne Mensah, Netflix’s vice president of content, UK, said, adding that the experience does not have to end when the credits roll.
For the British Library, the partnership also supports its work preserving literary collections while bringing adapted works to new audiences through public libraries.
The idea is simple: watch the story, then find where it began.
And this time, Netflix is helping put that next chapter on the library shelf.
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