Love Libraries: Peter Andre and Mayor of London Boris Johnson recruit Library Champions
Last updated 12/8/2011 3:09:28 PM
Peter Andre and Mayor of London Boris Johnson recruit Library Champions
Pop star Peter Andre teamed up with Boris Johnson as the Mayor of London announced that he wants to recruit 2,000 'Library Champions'.
The singer, who's also a published author, popped into Shepherd's Bush Library with the Mayor, for the Love Libraries scheme, which is a Team London project.
It's designed to help local communities get even more out of their local library through new services and activities.One hundred thousand pounds is being invested into the scheme, which will see people recruited over the next six months to help provide a range of library based activities in at least ten boroughs.
This includes supporting Londoners of all ages with reading and literacy and helping to set up reading groups and get people online. It will also include help with job searches, skills and education. Libraries throughout the capital have been using volunteers to provide these services for a number of years already.
The Mayor's new scheme will build upon this innovative practice, which has led to more Londoners using their libraries and more books being taken out. In Merton, for example, where they have partnered with the local Volunteer Centre and now have over 350 volunteers, library usage has risen by over 15% and stock issues by over 200,000 in three years.
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "Public libraries offer a fantastic range of books to inspire and open minds, just as great Victorian philanthropists like Carnegie envisaged. Today they also can help with a host of other invaluable activities and services, such as reading support, free internet access and even help with job searching. Our Team London Love Libraries volunteers will help these great institutions share their valuable knowledge and information, building on the excellent work they already do and, I hope, strengthening their place at the heart of our communities."
Peter Andre has just published a series of books for preschool children with Ladybird and earlier this year helped launch the Mayor's Team London Young Readers scheme, which will help children aged three to five and their families to develop literacy skills.
Speaking about reading to his children, Peter said: "That last 15 minutes before children go to sleep, that's what they're going to remember through the night. "That's why it's bad if they've been playing a video game or something like that, but if they've been listening to a book they'll wake up feeling clear. That's why reading's so important, I'm a strong believer in that."