Thursday,
21 November 2024
Plot twist at Cowra Library as young borrowers choose books

Borrowers were doing the work of librarians at the Cowra Library, helping select new Young Adult Fiction to stock the shelves for future readers.

Matt from Collins Booksellers in Orange brought the latest fiction books to the library, during an evening of snacks and good company, helping inspire more young readers to pick up a book and explore other worlds.

“Everyone wrote their book choices on the old type of borrower card adding their name and CWL Library borrower number to reserve the items,” library staff shared on social media. “Once the items have been purchased & sent to Technical Services for processing, the titles will be reserved for the selectors to collect from Cowra Library.”

The event comes as a survey conducted by the British National Literacy Trust made international headlines, finding that only 35% of five to 18-year-olds enjoy reading in their spare time.

The lowest number since the survey began spoke with more than 76,000 young people across the United Kingdom, with commentators reflecting the broader change away from reading across OECD nations.

The report found a strong link between children and young people who enjoyed reading, and those who had higher average reading scores, and a link between children who read each day and reaching higher reading scores.

“So much work is already being done across all corners of society from authors, educators, influencers and families, to schools, libraries, charities, publishers, businesses and government - but we recognise that we need to work together to make reading for pleasure a national priority,” the report said.

New books ordered by Cowra’s young readers will be available on library shelves soon.