Children to get library membership from birth

My First Book Bag
Image caption,

Parents and carers visiting the Superintendent Registrar, will be given a 'My First Book Bag'

  • Published

Parents and carers visiting the Superintendent Registrar to register the birth of their baby, will be given a membership to the library.

From Monday 29 July, they will receive a 'My First Book Bag', which contains a Jersey Library card, two board books, activity ideas for under-fives and information on the ways to support baby’s speech, language, and communication development.

On receiving the bag children would be signed up to Jersey Library, meaning that all children and families born in Jersey will be able to access Library Services from birth.

The new initiative has been created by Jersey Library, in conjunction with the Office of the Superintendent Registrar.

Superintendent Registrar Claire Follain said: "We are really pleased to be part of this important initiative for new parents and their babies and to be working closely with our colleagues at Jersey Library.

"Fostering a love of reading and books in young people is something we, in this traditional registration service, fully support and are excited to encourage."

'Boost the development'

Chief Librarian Ed Jewell said: "It has been proven that sharing books early with children helps significantly boost the development of speech, language, and communication skills.

"My First Book Bag will form the corner stone of a framework we are working to create, to ensure our libraries support literacy and learning for everyone in our community.

"We are delighted to be working with the team at the Office of the Superintendent Registrar to make sure every family has the chance to access Jersey Library’s resources and services."

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