The alarming statistic that just under half (46%) of adult Australians cannot read confidently was a stimulus for Australian libraries to found the National Year of Reading (NYR). The idea for this campaign was based on the success of the United Kingdom's National Year of Reading (National Literacy Trust 2008), a campaign that aimed to build a greater national passion for reading. In Australia, the initiative began with libraries and has subsequently been well supported by government as a key strategy contributing to the goal of a "Literate Nation" (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012). This article explains literacy rates in Australia, explores the aims of the National Year of Reading in 2012 and describes how, through its activities, it is contributing to making Australia a nation of readers. The article also considers more generally how libraries contributed to this aim, and how the campaign aims to improve the literacy landscape in Australia. (Contains 1 figure.)