“For a gay youth growing up in the early ’70s a library was a way of showing that I was not alone … They are still to me places of incredible glamour, possibility, power, excitement and pleasure.” Stephen Fry, The Library Book
We’re celebrating all things library, reading and literacy as it’s National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 Feburary. The Day is devoted to promoting all the types of libraries that are around us and what they do – from the library in your town to prison, school, college, workplace and hospital libraries. So why not surprise yourself on National Libraries Day by going down to your local library and discovering for yourself all the wonderful things on offer there.
Why libraries are important
If you’ve ever wondered why libraries are so important and about the crucial role they play in our local communities, then you may want to take a look at The Library Book, published on National Libraries Day.
From Alan Bennett’s Baffled at a Bookcase, to Lucy Mangan’s Ten Library Rules, famous writers tell us all about how libraries are used and why they’re important. They are joined by 20 other of our most outstanding writers who describe libraries real or imagined, past, present, and future – why they matter and to whom. The Library Book’s contributors recognise that without libraries we would not have the writers of today and tomorrow. They include Anita Anand, Julian Barnes, Bella Bathurst, Alan Bennett, Michael Brooks, James Brown, Anne Cleeves, Stephen Fry, Seth Godin, Susan Hill, Tom Holland, Hardeep Singh Kohli, Lucy Mangan, Val McDermid, China Mieville, Caitlin Moran, Julie Myerson, Adele Parks, Bali Rai and Lionel Shriver.
Supporting library reading programmes
All profits from The Library Book are going to The Reading Agency – a charity whose mission is to get more reading to more people. The Reading Agency run big UK-wide reading programmes through libraries and monies raised from the book will be going towards:
The Summer Reading Challenge – Last year over 750,000 children took part in reading six books over the summer holidays, visiting their local libraries and collecting rewards as they read. This year’s Story Lab challenge is part of the Cultural Olympiad so we’re aiming for more children to get a buzz out of reading and to love their local library.
The Six Book Challenge – There are over 5 million adults in the UK with low literacy skills and the Six Book Challenge engages people who struggle with their reading but want to do something about it. Over 18,000 took part last year through their local library, college or workplace.
If you are interested in donating to The Reading Agency to get more people reading, please do get in touch.
Support libraries, reading and literacy
* Find a National Libraries Day event near you.
* Join your local library and access their wealth of free books, events and information
* Buy, read and chat about The Library Book
* Join a reading group
* Add a reading group to Reading Groups for Everyone
* Check out all the good things libraries do for families and take part in the Summer Reading Challenge
* Know someone who’s struggling with their reading? See if your local library is running the Six Book Challenge to help them on their way
Follow National Libraries Day on Twitter hashtag #NLD12
Photo credit: www.fenris.co.uk
