diff --git a/low/caching_paged_reader.go b/low/caching_paged_reader.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9c94aea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/low/caching_paged_reader.go
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+package squashfslow
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"math"
+)
+
+var errOutOfBounds = errors.New("out of bounds")
+var errUnexpectedOutOfBounds = errors.New("unexpected out of bounds")
+var errNilCollection = errors.New("nil collection")
+
+// readPagedItems calls readBLockOrPartial the correct number of times to cache
+// requestedItemIndex in currentItems, and then returns currentItems[requestedItemIndex].
+// Parameters:
+// - requestedItemIndex: The index of the item to be retrieved.
+// - blockSize: The number of items per block.
+// - currentItems: A slice of already-read items to manage in-memory storage. Must not be nil.
+// - readBlockOrPartial: A callback function that reads the next block. It takes the index of the block
+// to be read, and the number of items to read. It is normally passed block size, but if the last
+// block is incomplete, it will be passed the number of items in the last block.
+// Returns:
+//   - the T at requestedItemIndex
+//   - a non-nil error and the zero value of T if an error was encountered.
+func readPagedItems[T any](
+	requestedItemIndex int,
+	blockSize int,
+	currentItems *[]T,
+	totalItems int,
+	readBlockOrPartial func(idxBlock, numItems int) ([]T, error),
+) (T, error) {
+	var zero T // Zero value for the item type, used for default return in error cases.
+	if currentItems == nil {
+		return zero, errNilCollection
+	}
+
+	if requestedItemIndex < 0 || requestedItemIndex >= totalItems {
+		return zero, errOutOfBounds
+	}
+
+	if len(*currentItems) > requestedItemIndex {
+		return (*currentItems)[requestedItemIndex], nil
+	}
+
+	// Calculate which block contains the requested item
+	blockNum := int(math.Ceil(float64(requestedItemIndex+1)/float64(blockSize))) - 1
+
+	// Calculate blocks to read
+	blocksRead := len(*currentItems) / blockSize
+	blocksToRead := blockNum - blocksRead + 1
+
+	// Read and append new blocks
+	for i := 0; i < blocksToRead; i++ {
+		startBlock := blocksRead + i
+		itemsLeft := totalItems - len(*currentItems)
+		itemsToRead := blockSize
+		if itemsToRead > itemsLeft {
+			itemsToRead = itemsLeft
+		}
+		items, err := readBlockOrPartial(startBlock, itemsToRead)
+		if err != nil {
+			return zero, err
+		}
+		*currentItems = append(*currentItems, items...)
+	}
+
+	// Ensure the slice contains the requested index after reading
+	if len(*currentItems) <= requestedItemIndex {
+		return zero, errUnexpectedOutOfBounds
+	}
+
+	return (*currentItems)[requestedItemIndex], nil
+}
diff --git a/low/caching_paged_reader_test.go b/low/caching_paged_reader_test.go
index 203f6f8..1ea6b3b 100644
--- a/low/caching_paged_reader_test.go
+++ b/low/caching_paged_reader_test.go
@@ -124,4 +124,4 @@ package squashfslow
 // 		assertEqual(t, 512, item)
 // 		assertLength(t, 612, currentItems)
 // 	})
-// }
+// }
\ No newline at end of file