diff --git a/poetry.lock b/poetry.lock
index 3cc5a88..b6b938a 100644
--- a/poetry.lock
+++ b/poetry.lock
@@ -4065,4 +4065,4 @@ files = [
 [metadata]
 lock-version = "2.1"
 python-versions = ">=3.10,<3.13"
-content-hash = "18a2f7863ccb1c5fe159a15206a14f392c08bdedfa78efbafbe93feef36552f9"
+content-hash = "a50f242afed67be822b9a16c17bab2b1140ee7685f9faf34f43a2a6eeb0fa9b8"
diff --git a/pymapgis/io/__init__.py b/pymapgis/io/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..834cb07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pymapgis/io/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+from pathlib import Path
+import geopandas as gpd
+import pandas as pd
+
+
+def read(uri: str, *, x="longitude", y="latitude", **kw):
+    """
+    Universal reader (MVP):
+
+    • .shp / .geojson / .gpkg  → GeoDataFrame via GeoPandas
+    • .csv with lon/lat cols   → GeoDataFrame; else plain DataFrame
+    """
+    path = Path(uri)
+
+    if path.suffix.lower() in {".shp", ".geojson", ".gpkg"}:
+        return gpd.read_file(uri, **kw)
+
+    if path.suffix.lower() == ".csv":
+        df = pd.read_csv(uri, **kw)
+        if {x, y}.issubset(df.columns):
+            gdf = gpd.GeoDataFrame(
+                df,
+                geometry=gpd.points_from_xy(df[x], df[y]),
+                crs="EPSG:4326",
+            )
+            return gdf
+        return df
+
+    raise ValueError(f"Unsupported format: {uri}")
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index df8aa54..78023c4 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,33 +1,28 @@
-[project]
+[tool.poetry]
 name = "pymapgis"
 version = "0.1.0"
 description = "Modern GIS toolkit"
-authors = [
-    {name = "Nicholas Karlson",email = "nicholaskarlson@gmail.com"}
-]
-license = {text = "MIT"}
+authors = ["Nicholas Karlson <nicholaskarlson@gmail.com>"]
+license = "MIT"
 readme = "README.md"
-requires-python = ">=3.10"
-dependencies = [
-    "geopandas (>=1.1.0,<2.0.0)",
-    "fsspec (>=2025.5.1,<2026.0.0)",
-    "leafmap (>=0.47.2,<0.48.0)",
-    "pydantic-settings (>=2.9.1,<3.0.0)",
-]
-
-
-[build-system]
-requires = ["poetry-core>=2.0.0,<3.0.0"]
-build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"
+packages = [{ include = "pymapgis" }]
 
 [tool.poetry.dependencies]
 python = ">=3.10,<3.13"
+geopandas = "^1.1"
+fsspec = "^2025.5"
+leafmap = "^0.47.2"
+pydantic-settings = "^2.9.1"
+# (add rasterio later, once the click conflict is solved)
 
 [tool.poetry.group.dev.dependencies]
-pytest = "^8.4.0"
-pytest-cov = "^6.1.1"
-ruff = "^0.11.13"
-black = "^25.1.0"
-mypy = "^1.16.0"
-pre-commit = "^4.2.0"
+pytest = "^8.4"
+pytest-cov = "^6.1"
+ruff = "^0.11"
+black = "^25.1"
+mypy = "^1.16"
+pre-commit = "^4.2"
 
+[build-system]
+requires = ["poetry-core>=1.9.0"]
+build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/test_read.py b/tests/test_read.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e065fba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_read.py
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import geopandas as gpd
+from pymapgis.io import read
+
+
+def test_read_shp(tmp_path):
+    gdf = gpd.GeoDataFrame(geometry=gpd.points_from_xy([0], [0]), crs="EPSG:4326")
+    shp = tmp_path / "pts.shp"
+    gdf.to_file(shp)
+    out = read(shp)
+    assert isinstance(out, gpd.GeoDataFrame)
+
+
+def test_read_csv(tmp_path):
+    csv = tmp_path / "pts.csv"
+    csv.write_text("longitude,latitude\n1,1\n")
+    out = read(csv)
+    assert out.geometry.iloc[0].x == 1