National Year of Reading in County Durham Libraries
County Durham Launch Event
The County Durham NYR Event took place in Durham Marketplace on Sunday 13 April. The fun began at 11.00am and continued until 3.00pm, with local authors Adam Bushnell, Elizabeth Gill and Fadia Faqir signing free copies of their books. There were craft sessions with a prize, a marketplace quiz and storytelling taking place throughout the day, while Durham Clayport Library offered more crafts and face painting to compliment the outdoor activities. Anyone joining the library on the launch day was given a complimentary NYR duffel bag full of giveaways and a free book of their choice.Make 2008 your Year of Reading!
We want to rekindle your passion for reading! Whether it’s books, newspaper, online reviews, we want everyone to love reading, any time, any place, anywhere. That’s why during 2008 we’re celebrating NYR with lots of events in our libraries. During April, Durham libraries will promote two major book awards. We will stock the books nominated for the Galaxy British Book Awards until the end of May. You can read these and vote for your favourite through the Channel 4 Richard and Judy programme. April also brings the announcement of the Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist. Why not pick up a previous winner or a nominated book at the library? With 39 libraries to visit and thousands of books to choose from, there’s something for people of all ages and with all kinds of interests.Read all about it in April
Gossip, miracle cures, disasters and more. Find out about your Community's history from archive newspapers in Durham Record Office. Contact us or telephone 0191 383 3253 to make an appointment.
Reading – it’s Good for your Health!
Reading is great exercise for your mind. Not only that – but even the busiest person needs some ‘me-time’ and reading a good book can certainly help you escape to another world! During 2008, our libraries are promoting good health and wellbeing with special displays of books and information in all libraries focusing on health. Look out for the adverts about this in Countywide.Wheely Great Service
Do books have wheels? In Durham they do. We offer a home delivery service of books and information, called Books on Wheels, to people who are unable to get to the library. Every three weeks, volunteers pick up books from their local library and deliver them to the homes of older people or those with disabilities, and return the books they have read.
Maria Bradley has used the service for six years. "It’s an absolutely great service, so convenient. There’s always a good choice of books that I like"
she said.
But the service does rely on volunteers and we need more of them. Betty Hoskins, who recently retired as volunteer co-ordinator after 37 years, says the work is fulfilling. "The service is an invaluable lifeline to housebound people. It doesn’t just deliver books, it also delivers care to the community. Volunteers get 10 times more out of it than they put in!"
If you would like to volunteer or use the Books on Wheels Service, call 0191 3706241.
Picture Perfect
Thank you to all you budding young artists who sent in pictures of your favourite children’s book characters to Countywide. We love them all! We’ll print the winners and some of our favourites in the next issue of Countywide. Thanks again!Recommended Reads
We caught up with Carl Joyce and Sandra Brown at Horden Library to find out what their favourite books are. Carl, 23, picked Scar Tissue - the autobiography of Anthony Kiedis, singer with the Red Hot Chili Peppers."I was already interested in the Red Hot Chili Peppers so that’s what made me want to read the book. Anthony Kiedis has had a really interesting life and the book is all about what happened to him and his struggle to keep the band together through all their troubles".
Sandra chose Terry Pratchett’s Sourcery. "I like Terry Pratchett’s sense of humour and his take on magic. The hero in this book is a really good character. For someone who’s meant to be a hero, he’s actually a bit of a coward"
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