Every Child a Member

School Children in Wales encouraged to use their local library with automatic membership.

Staff at Tredegar Library yesterday giving a warm welcome to local children

Yesterday (19th March 2014)  saw the launch of a new initiative from the Welsh Government to support childhood literacy. The Minister for Culture and Sport John Griffiths AM, speaking with school children at Tredegar Library explained how Welsh libraries and primary schools are joining forces to provide every primary school child with a free library card - starting with children aged 8/9 in six local authorities - Blaenau Gwent, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Powys and Swansea.

In a Welsh Government press release the Minister said
"The link between library usage and literacy levels is well documented - over 42,000 children in Wales took part in last year’s Summer Reading Challenge which ran in 245 libraries across the country.
"Those children that took part maintained or improved their reading levels and we are hoping to build on this by giving every child the opportunity to use their library to borrow books and access all the other services available to them.”

Patron of the scheme, Dr Rhys Jones, star of BBC Series ‘Rhys to the Rescue’ and ‘Dr Rhys Jones’s Wildlife Patrol’ also spoke to children from Bryn Bach Primary School about the importance of libraries in developing imagination and future life skills. Dr Jones delighted the audience with tales of his animal adventures.

The library card will allow the children to borrow books straight away and get a free goodie bag to carry their books home with them. Once proof of address is provided, they can then have access to thousands of free books as well as many more resources to help improve their school work and enhance their leisure time, including:

• FREE fiction, non-fiction, comics, graphic novels and talking books
• FREE homework help - online and in the library
• FREE e-books and e-magazines
• FREE computer use and internet access
• Clubs, games, events, activities and classes in the library
• Friendly, helpful library staff
• Somewhere safe to meet friends

The project is led by CyMAL (Museums, Archives and Libraries Wales) and the Welsh Libraries Audience Development team and compliments the Welsh Government’s 'Make Time to Read' campaign, just 10 minutes reading a day can make a big difference and reading outside of school can help raise literacy levels and lead to higher achievement in school.
http://www.betterreading.co.uk/

For more information about Every Child a Member, please visit:
http://welshlibraries.org/reading/schools

You can view a video of the launch day here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo5ZaENRlwE&feature=youtu.be

Mandy Powell,
CILIP Policy Officer, Wales
http://www.cilip.org.uk/about/devolved-nations/cilip-cymru-wales

Youth Libraries Group Wales CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Awards Day 2013

Meet Gill Lewis, author Of Sky Hawk & Moon Bear

• Friday 18th October 2013

• Civic Centre, Swansea

• Free event with refreshments throughout the day.

• All staff providing services to children & young people are welcome to attend.

Short lists for the awards discussion & further details from angelanoble@monmouthshire.gov.uk

http://www.cilip.org.uk/youth-libraries-group/youth-libraries-group-committees/regional-committees/wales-0

Conference build-up begins

With less than three weeks until the CILIP Cymru Wales Annual Conference we will be posting content here, as well as on Twitter and Facebook, to help you prepare for the Conference.

First off ... the Tir na n-Og Awards.

The Conference Drinks Reception forms a social high point in the proceedings for the conference. It is also the stage for the announcement and presentation of the Tir na n-Og Award for Best English Language Book. For nearly forty years the award, organised by the Welsh Books Council, has celebrated and championed the best books published for children and young people in Wales. CILIP Cymru Wales is delighted to support The Council and Tir na n-Og through a annual funding from the Kathleen Cooks Bequest. 

"The Tir na n-Og Awards were established in 1976 with the intention of raising the standards of children’s and young people’s books in Wales, and to encourage the buying and reading of good books. Three awards are presented annually by the Books Council and are sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals Cymru/Wales and Cymdeithas Lyfrau Ceredigion".

This year’s shortlisted titles for the Best English-language Book are:

Friends at War  –  Alan Lambert (Pont)
The Gardening Pirates  –  Ruth Morgan and Chris Glynn (Pont)
Tree of Leaf and Flame  –  Daniel Morden with illustrations by Brett Breckon (Pont)

Having just read David Almond's Skellig for the first time recently I'll be trying to get my hands on these titles prior to conference. Might this be an opportunity for you to broaden your professional horizons, or just spend some time re-living childhood?

Further information:

This Year's Tir na n-Og shortlists via the Welsh Books Council New Pages and details of past winners are available here

Celebrating childrens literature

The shortlisted titles for this year's CILIP  Kate Greenaway and Carnegie Medals have been announced today. The awards mark excellence in illustration and writing for children in the UK. This is a key milestone, and represents extensive work to date. Judges have narrowed down impressive long-lists of eligible titles to provide an indication of the best new children's books published in the UK over the last year. Why not expand your horizons and read one or two of the shortlisted titles?

CILIP Carnegie Medal

The CILIP Carnegie Medal is the oldest and most prestigious accolade for children's writing in the UK. The 2013 Carnegie Shortlist:

• Sarah Crossan THE WEIGHT OF WATER Bloomsbury
• Roddy Doyle A GREYHOUND OF A GIRL Marion Lloyd Books
• Sally Gardner MAGGOT MOON Hot Key Books
• Nick Lake IN DARKNESS  Bloomsbury
• R. J. Palacio WONDER  Bodley Head
• Marcus Sedgwick MIDWINTERBLOOD Indigo
• Dave Shelton A BOY AND A BEAR IN A BOAT David Fickling Books
• Elizabeth Wein CODE NAME VERITY Electric Monkey

CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal

Also announced today is the shortlist for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, which rewards outstanding illustration in a children's book - the only prize of its kind in the UK. The shortlist highlights the enormous range of style in contemporary children's illustration.  The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2013 shortlist:

• Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb, Macmillan Children's Books
  
• Again! by Emily Gravett, Macmillan Children's Books
  
• Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton, Walker Books
  
• I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, Walker Books
  
• Pirates 'n' Pistols by Chris Mould, Hodder Children's Books
  
• King Jack and the Dragon by Helen Oxenbury (illustrator) and Peter Bently (author), Puffin Books
  
• Black Dog by Levi Pinfold, Templar Publishing
  
• Just Ducks! by Salvatore Rubbino (illustrator) and Nicola Davies (author), Walker Books

The winners for both the CILIP Medals will be announced on Wednesday 19^th June 2013 at an afternoon ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London. The winners will each receive £500 worth of books to donate to their local library and the coveted golden medals. Since 2000, the winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal has also been awarded the £5,000 Colin Mears Award cash prize.

CKG Press release - click here
For further information about the shortlisted titles see the CKG website

You don't have to be a childrens, school or youth librarian to appreciate great new fiction and illustration. Why not expand your reading horizon and take a look at one or two of the shortlisted titles. You're guaranteed a great read!

The Youth Libraries Group in Wales will also talk about the collaborative, professional skills involved in selecting titles for the long- and short-lists for the Kate Greenaway Medal at the CILIP Cymru Wales Annual Conference in a workshop on Friday 17 May. It's going to be an interesting, entertaining, hands-on session! More information here.