Record year for Haltwhistle Library in annual Summer Reading Challenge
09 Oct 2023 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
Haltwhistle Library is celebrating a record-breaking performance in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge.
Having aimed for a target of 45 registrations from children living in the small villages and towns across the Hadrian’s Wall corridor, staff at Haltwhistle Library were overwhelmed when 63 children signed up to take part in the annual event, with 40 going on to complete the challenge.
Designed to foster a lifelong love of reading and tackle the drop-off in reading that can happen during the school summer holidays, the Summer Reading Challenge has been run nationally by the Reading Agency in partnership with public libraries for the past 24 years.
To complete the challenge, children were required to read a minimum of six books from the Summer Reading Challenge collection and visit their local library at least three times. Each year has a different theme and 2023’s theme was Ready, Set, Read! with a focus on sport and games of all kinds.
A special ceremony was held last week where each child who completed the challenge was awarded a certificate and medal for their efforts by Councillor Glen Sanderson, Leader at Northumberland County Council. He said:
“We are incredibly fortunate in Northumberland to have such a well-established and widespread network of libraries.
“Through initiatives like the Summer Reading Challenge, it’s fantastic to see so many young people, especially those in our rural communities, accessing these services and fostering a love of knowledge and reading that will futureproof our libraries for the next generation.
“I’d like to thank the staff and volunteers across Northumberland Libraries for their hard work and dedication in delivering the Summer Reading Challenge and its associated events and activities, and once again extend my congratulations to all of the young people who took part.”
Across Northumberland, 2,416 children in total took part in this year's Summer Reading Challenge, with 1,418 successfully completing it before the deadline at the end of September.
For more information about Northumberland Libraries, visit www.mylibrary.co.uk.