Reading Challenge

Irish Library News, July 2007

In 2006 Clare County Library linked up with An Garda Síochána, Canadian libraries and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and 20 of the county's national schools to promote reading to children through The Reading Challenge which forms part of the Adopt-a-Library programme established 10 years ago in North Brunswick.

Between November 2006 and June 2007, school children in Clare and Pictou and Cumberland Counties in Nova Scotia read their way through 632,259 books. Children from the 20 participating schools in Clare read almost 72,000 books, with Moyasta National School recording the highest number of books read per pupil. Ms Bláthnaid Laffan, a teacher at Moyasta school said: “The children really enjoyed the project from beginning to end, with each child having an opportunity to participate at their own level. The challenge most definitely encouraged the children to read more than ever before and the boys in the school were every bit as enthusiastic as the girls”.

Clare County Library has expressed its intention to promote the challenge to local authorities across Ireland.

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