Judith’s Reading Room

Founded in 2010, Judith’s Reading Room is a 501(c)(3) organization located  in eastern Pennsylvania that champions the First Amendment’s guaranteed right to free speech by actively working to overcome restrictions on any person’s freedom to read. We energetically channel this message each day with our aspiration of  “Freedom Through Literacy”. 

117

Libraries

28

Countries

136,042

Donated Books

$1.46

Million

The Judith’s Award

“The Judith’s Award,” originally the runner-up prize to the organization’s “Freedom Through Literacy Award” Grand Prize winner, will take front and center as Judith’s Reading Room moves decisively to honor authors, teachers, librarians and college students studying to teach and authors who make up the backbone of education in America. All applicants must reside in the United States. “The Judith’s Award” has been fortified by opening up the application process to college students studying in the United States and who are majoring in teaching, writing and literature.

  • Amy Allison – 2024
  • Amber Drinen – 2023
  • Dominique Zara – 2022
  • Joicki Flyod – 2021
  • Ty Allan Jackson – 2020
  • Vicky Xanthopoulou – 2019
To Learn More

“15 Libraries to Celebrate Its 15th Anniversary”

15 Years of
Instilling in Others a Life Long Love of Reading

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Judith’s Reading Room in 2025, the global literacy nonprofit founded in the memory of Judith F. Krug, cousin to the founders and a distinguished librarian, embraced a challenge: Dedicate15 new or enhanced Judith’s Reading Room libraries.

We proactively invited a diversity of literacy champions to tell us what they lacked so that we could fill that need and dedicate curated collections.

The 15 Libraries to Celebrate Our 15th Anniversary in 2025

  1. Bright School/TEACH Rwanda, Muhanga, Rwanda
  2. Escuela ‘Agustin Flores Contreras,’ Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
  3. Read for Literacy, “Real Men READ-y”, Toledo, Ohio
  4. Avery Chapel AME Church, Southaven, Mississippi
  5. Watch Me Grow Learning Academy, Grenada, Mississippi
  6. Mosaic Preparatory Academy, East Harlem, New York
  7. Louisiana Methodist Family & Children’s Services, Ruston, Louisiana
  8. Washington County Juvenile’s ‘Harkins House,’ Portland, Oregon
  9. Heavy Sound, Edinburgh, Scotland
  10. Janata Adharbhut Vidhyalaya School, Kathmandu, Nepal
  11. Vhulakanjhani Primary School, Limpopo Province, South Africa
  12. James Prendergast Free Library, Jamestown, New York
  13. Abundant Life Academy, Nutley, New Jersey
  14. Planting Hope, Navajo Nation, Chinle, Arizona
  15. Kirioruwa School, Marabedda, Bandarawela, Sri Lanka

Judith’s Reading Room is a 501(c)3 organization founded in 2010 to enrich lives and societies by proactively encouraging freedom through literacy.

  • Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive Benefits Kids in Need

    February 13, 2026 — Blandon, PA — Barnes & Noble Wyomissing PA customers were more than generous this past holiday season as the store honored Judith’s Reading Room for the sixth straight year as its chosen charity.  

    Kids in need received a total of 822 children’s books with a total cover price of $7,500 that were purchased by generous and compassionate customers. Beneficiaries included  kids without many books at home who attend Paxinosa Elementary School in Easton, PA; elementary scholars at Mosaic Preparatory Academy in East Harlem, NY; Navajo children who live on the reservation without a library in Chinle, AZ; and, Louisiana United Methodist Children & Family Services, in Ruston, LA, an organization that serves rescued children caught up in the crime of child trafficking.

  • The Judith’s Award News Release

    January 26, 2026 — Judith’s Reading Room, a 501 (c) 3 literacy nonprofit organization founded in 2010 in the memory of Judith F. Krug, a distinguished librarian and first-cousin to the organization’s founders, announced that “The Judith’s Award” — established in 2019  — has been re-focused to recognize literacy champions in America.

  • Judith’s Reading Room Concludes 2025 with 9 New Libraries in 28 Countries

    December 20, 2025 – Blandon, PA.  Judith’s Reading Room announced its #117th eponymous library in its 28th country at the Kirioruwa School in Sri Lanka, an island country in the Indian ocean on the Asian continent with a population of nearly 22 million. 

    Plans to establish our library were completely disrupted when, in early December, Cyclone Ditwah brought devastating rain and flooding to Sri Lanka and southern India. More than one million people were affected and 220,000 were forced into safety centers.   

To Date: 117 Libraries, 28 Countries, 136,042 Books Donated Worth $1,461,871!

The Freedom Through Literacy Award celebrates a decade of honoring incredible champions of literacy. To date, the award has disbursed $58,600 to winners hailing from 18 countries: Australia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Greece, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, South Africa, the U.S.A. and Zimbabwe. Winners from the U.S.A. come from 11 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.