Minister O Sullivan launches Summer Reading Programme in Public Libraries

Summer Reading Programme in public libraries - launched Wednesday, 30th of July

This years Summer Reading Programme in public libraries was launched by the Minister for Education and Skills, Jan OSullivan, T.D. in the Central Library, ILAC Centre, Dublin on Wednesday, 30th of July.

The programme, which is free and open to all children, encourages them to read four or more books over their summer holidays. Each child chooses the books they wish to read, keeps a record of their progress and gets recognition for each step along the way. At the end of the challenge, all children who have read the target number of books get a certificate of achievement at a special awards event. Last summer, several thousand children took part in the programme.

At the launch, Minister OSullivan said: If you can give children a lifelong love of reading then I think youre giving them a priceless gift.

The Summer Reading Programme provides the whole family with an opportunity to explore the full range of events and facilities which are available in their local library: story time sessions, book clubs, childrens activities, access to talking books and games, workshops, computers and internet access, and of course childrens books for all ages.

Parents can also get advice from library staff about the types of books and other items that are available to borrow to support their childrens reading skills as well as meeting other parents and children and exploring the services available for adults such as books for loan, CDs, DVDs, magazines, newspapers and online resources.