The last two decades have been characterized by studies and reports regarding the decline of students’ skills in reading and reading comprehension. In 2025 this led to an alteration of the Swedish school law; every school unit is to havea school library staffed by a licensed librarian. During the last years we can also see an increase in the publication of handbooks intended to guide and inspire school librarians in their everyday work. However, studies and reports also show that the reading promotion with time has become more institutionalised and forced. This has affected the promotion of leisure reading and created a paradox; students must learn to read, but self-willingness and reading enjoyment can’t be promoted by force. The purpose of this study is therefore to give new insights to how Swedish school librarians describe the reading experience in the work of reading promotion. This is done by a qualitative text analysis of five handbooks written by and intended for school librarians. The analysis is done through a combination of Rita Felski’s (2008) and Gitte Balling’s (2016) theories of the reading experience. The analysis of the handbooks shows that the reading experience and its aspects constitute some elements in the reading promotion work, however the work does not seem to originate or build from the reading experience. The results show a potential for further studies, for example interviews with school librarians and students.