Reader Development in Cheshire West and Chester Libraries:
"Reaching new parts of the community"
Picture: New Wharton Community Library
Cheshire West and Chester Libraries are committed to promoting books and the love of reading to people of all ages. Our libraries are constantly buzzing with a variety of events which include baby and toddler rhyme and story times; craft events; reading group meetings; poetry and writer's workshops; author visits; and family/adult learning events such as computer and ancestry workshops.
Cheshire West and Chester, formerly part of Cheshire County Council, is a new unitary authority which covers the areas of Northwich and Winsford to the north, and Chester, Ellesmere Port and Neston to the south. There are 26 libraries and centres and three mobiles in the authority.
- A designated reading group collection supports community reading groups, and there are library based reading groups at Bishop's High, Blacon, Chester, Ellesmere Port, Frodsham, Helsby, Great Boughton, Northwich and Winsford Libraries; a science fiction reading group at Chester Library; a teenage reading group at Chester Library; Chester also has a talking book group for visually impaired people. In addition, there are Relish bibliotherapy reading groups at Northwich and Winsford Libraries.
- National initiatives such as Bookstart Bookcrawl, National Bookstart Day, Summer Reading Challenge, World Book Day, Six Book Challenge, Orange Prize for fiction, TV Book Club, are supported with events and displays.
- Recent events have included visits from Jo Bell to Neston and Winsford Libraries and Susi Osborne to Chester Library.
- Many staff have frontline training in reader development and are actively involved in display and promotion work, supported by a high quality book stock. Access to books from both Cheshire West and East is available through our reservation system and through our online catalogue. See link below.
- We have special collections and equipment for people with visual impairment and those who are deaf and hard of hearing. Our Books on Wheels service is run in conjunction with the WRVS and our Fully Booked project and Reminiscence boxes provide resources for reading activities in older people's day centres.
For more information on Cheshire West and Chester libraries visit:
www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk or contact:
Carol Maplesden
Specialist Librarian
Ellesmere Port Library
Civic Way
Ellesmere Port
Cheshire
CH65 0BG
Librarians in the North West have pioneered partnership working to encourage new readers into libraries. Time To Read is a partnership of librarians engaged in reader development activity in public library authorities in the North West Region. All 23 public library authorities in the region currently support Time To Read.