This paper offers an estimate of the impact of small public libraries in villages in Burkina Faso on reading habits. A survey of secondary school students was conducted in March 2005. Students were selected in eight villages that matched the criteria ‘with library’ and ‘without library’. Overall the reading level of students in the sample was quite low, but the results indicate that the presence of a well-functioning library leads to an increase in reading on the order of 50%.