13 March 2018
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
While summer 2017 is a distant memory, Cork County Council’s Library Service is ‘basking in sunshine’ following the recent publication of the Summer Stars 2017 Report, the National summer reading programme for libraries.
Cork County Council, as the local authority, is responsible for running public libraries in Co Cork
Out of 29 library authorities across the country, Cork County Library topped the charts in registrations and books issued thanks to the thousands of children who took part. 54,180 children from 29 library authorities participated in Summer Stars 2017 with 35,754 receiving certificates at the end of the programme.
Summer Stars is a free programme is open to all children and aims to encourage reading during the summer months. Children receive their own Summer Stars Reading Card to record their progress and a Reward Stamp is added to their card at the library for each book read.
In 2017:-
Cork County Council’s Library had the highest level of participants nationwide for the second year in a row, with 6,889 children registering to take part across Cork County Library branches, the closest being Galway County Library on 5,480.
1,194 new juvenile memberships were added in Cork during July and August, the highest level recorded nationwide, the closest being Dublin City Library on 1,096.
Children borrowed 106,247 items from Cork County Library branches during these months, the closest again being Dublin City Library on 90,987.
The Summer Stars programme provides the whole family with an opportunity to explore the full range of services available in their local library, such as story time sessions, children’s activities, e-resources, computers and internet access, and of course our ever increasing, amazing collection of books for all ages.
Cork County Council is looking forward to hosting another record-breaking Summer Stars Reading programme through its library service this summer. Visit www.corkcoco.ie/library for further details.
