It is now easier than ever for families in Westmorland and Furness to start their child’s reading journey from birth. Parents registering the birth of their baby are now being offered the opportunity to get their baby’s first library card at the same time. This exciting collaboration between our Libraries and Registrars highlights our shared commitment to supporting early literacy and family wellbeing.
The benefits of reading to babies and young children are well established. Sharing books together helps to build strong emotional bonds between parent and child, support cognitive development and develop language and communication skills. Promoting early reading also plays an important role in helping to close the achievement gap and supports families in establishing positive routines from the earliest stages.
As part of the standard birth registration process, parents are now asked if they would like to register their baby for a library card. Each baby who joins will receive:
- A special ‘My First Library Card’, featuring Peep the Sheep from the book by local author Jon Buxton
- A free book, kindly donated by BookTrust
- An information card highlighting activities and resources available for babies and children in local libraries
We are very grateful to Jon Buxton for allowing us to use Peep the Sheep on these unique cards.
Families have access to a wide range of free library activities for little ones, including:
- Baby Bounce sessions
- Rhyme Time
- Storytots
- Story sacks to borrow and share
- A wide selection of books for all ages
The first baby to given library membership whilst being registered was Eimpha who received her library card in Barrow. Early feedback shows that the uptake of library memberships through registry offices has been very encouraging.
Parents, carers, and older siblings are also warmly encouraged to visit their local library and join—membership is completely free.
Councillor Helen Chaffey, the Cabinet Member for Communities said: “Reading together with your baby creates special moments of closeness, which help babies feel secure, loved, and connected – and are lovely moments for parents that become lifelong happy memories. This project is a wonderful way of laying the foundations for a lifelong love of reading.”
Councillor John Murray, the Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services including Registrars, added: “We are proud to be working together across services to promote the importance of reading and to give every child the best start in life.”