Card scheme to get kids reading

We have a fantastic Warwickshire library service and dedicated staff, who organise many activities for adults and families all year round. However, research by the National Literacy Trust shows that despite the link between library use and school attainment, nearly half of all young people do not use the public library. In addition, the research showed that more than 27 per cent of the 17,000 children surveyed do not have books of their own.

Warwickshire’s young children under school age are now being catered for by the excellent Bookstart scheme, which provides a library card for babies in the Bookstart bags given to parents.

My scheme will provide for a library ticket to be issued to every Warwickshire child of primary school age, along with a personal invitation to visit a local library to choose some books.

I know that many families already use the library; I hope this initiative will encourage even more families to visit and for their children to be able to borrow books (now including children’s ebooks), as well as have access to all the online reference resources to help children with their learning.

Jenny St John, county councillor for Warwick North