Claire Perry donates books to Devizes library

Today, Claire Perry MP has presented Devizes library with free books as part of the Reading Agency's Summer Reading Challenge.

Created and run by The Reading Agency Charity, this year's Summer Reading Challenge encourages children to read six books over the summer holidays and participate in the social activities. Every child completing the Challenge receives a certificate or medal.

97 per cent of UK library authorities are participating and over 760,000 children are joining in the challenge. The Summer Reading Challenge has a proven impact on children's literacy and enjoyment of reading and is a pivot for developing better joint literacy work between libraries and schools. This year's circus-themed initiative focuses on reading for pleasure as a means of building literacy skills.

Commenting Claire Perry said:

"I'm a great reader myself and am delighted to support this initiative: anything that gets our children reading is a great idea and research shows that those who use libraries for pleasure get better jobs than those that don't.[1] I therefore fully support the Campaign and am delighted to be donating books to Devizes library."

Notes

• The Reading Agency is an independent charity working to inspire more people to read more. It specialises in helping libraries make more social impact through reading. It is funded by the Arts Council and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
• 97% of UK library authorities are taking part in this year's Summer Reading Challenge. See www.summerreaddingchallenge.org.uk for professional support materials. For more information about Summer Reading Challenge volunteering opportunities for young people, please visit www.readingagency.org.uk/young/volunteering
• Resources: the Circus Stars website for children supports the Challenge with the games, author blogs, children's message board and live "book choice help" from real librarians: www.cicusstars.org.uk. There are also large print Summer Reading Challenge materials available for visually impaired children, thanks to the support of the RNIB National Library Service. Also available in a variety of languages are special "family leaflets" full of advice and support on how to take part over the summer.

[1] Reading for pleasure linked to better job prospects, Mark Taylor, University of Oxford, 2010

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