To kick off the occasion Laurieton Library held a morning tea, the first of many events to celebrate reading this year.

Library Manager Jim Maguire encouraged people of all ages to discover the wide range of free services available at local libraries in Port Macquarie, Wauchope and Laurieton.

“We have over 120,000 items available for people to borrow and, in addition to traditional print materials, we have a host of online resources including language courses, ebooks, computer courses and family history databases,” Mr Maguire said.

Young bookworms got an early start on the National Year of Reading, turning the pages of more than 2000 books as participants in the Australia-wide initiative, Summer Reading Club.

Supported by the Port-Macquarie Hastings Library Service, over 130 young adults immersed themselves in the written word over the Christmas holidays, an increase on last year’s participation.

Laurieton library topped the reading statistics, with Young Adult Fiction racing off the shelves. The 29 participants from the Camden Haven between them read 347 books. Fantastic!

Librarians said many explored fact books and families were hiring book CD’s and enjoying stories as a family.

This year’s initiative put students in the draw to win library surprise packs for reading and keeping a log of the books read. Top of the honours list was avid reader Melanie Jenkins who read a staggering 90 books during the summer holidays.

“Reading to children at a young age dramatically improves their pre-literacy and early literacy skills, giving them a great head start when they go to kindergarten,” said Laurieton Librarian Kate Forrest.

“Laurieton Library has a huge range of children’s books and has Storytime for Pre-schoolers every Wednesday at 10.30am (during the school term). We also have a fun session of song and rhymes for babies, called Baby Bounce, on the first Thursday of each month at 11am. All welcome!”

National Year of Reading is a federal initiative created to help promote the importance of reading, both to improve literacy and as a source of enjoyment for all ages. Libraries within the Local Government Area will be supporting the campaign with promotions and events to be staged throughout the year.

For more information about the National Year of Reading see www.love2read.org.au and visit your local library online at www.mnclibrary.org.au