*Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Pat Dowling, Clare County Librarian Helen Walsh and Cllr Mary Howard (FG) Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council.
A new campaign has been launched to get the people of Clare to put their head in the books ahead of a national day of reading.
Ireland Reads Day takes place this Thursday (February 25th). A dedicated website, www.irelandreads.ie has been set up where people can pledge to read on the day and offers recommendations suited to a person’s interests.
Clare County Libraries have teamed up with libraries nationwide, publishers, booksellers, authors and others for the campaign, which is part of the government’s Keep Well initiative.
This is Happiness, the novel by Kilmihil based author Niall Williams is the book being promoted by Clare County Libraries for the months of February and March. Over 500 copies have already been distributed free to Direct Provision centres, nursing homes and to members of the public through Clare County Library’s delivery service. There will also be a series of events exploring the themes of the book in March.
“It doesn’t matter how long you read for or what you read, it doesn’t matter whether you’re an avid reader, a reluctant reader, a lapsed reader or a new reader, this campaign is for you“, remarked Helen Walsh, Clare County Librarian.
She continued, “Right now, many of the activities we used to take for granted are not available to us, but you can always enjoy a good book, newspaper or magazine. These are all available free online and any time to library members. Libraries and library staff are waiting to welcome people back whenever that’s possible, but until then we always have books to remind us of other people, other places, and better days. So this month please pledge to take some reading time for yourself or to share with family”.
