Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley has released new figures today revealing that almost 40,000 young children have benefited from the Little Library initiative this year.

Each year, every one of the 50,000 children leaving pre-school and starting primary school are invited to visit their local library to pick up a free book bag and take the opportunity to join the library as part of the My Little Library Initiative.

So far almost 40,000 young children have collected their bag and taken the opportunity to join the library if they weren’t already a member. While many of them are already members of their local library, nearly 20,000 children across Ireland will join the library this year because of the My Little Library funded by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality.

The books and resources in the book bag, which is available in both English and ‘as Gaeilge’, support parents and their children in the transition to primary school.

Ireland has 330 public libraries, which are managed by the local authority in the area in which they are located. The focus of the My Little Library Initiative is to build strong links between young children, their families and their local library.

Books in the My Little Library Initiative are available in Irish and English. A glossary of the language in the Irish books is included.

A collection of resources and information is also provided in each bag. This includes a library social story card, First 5 Guidance for Parents of Children Moving from Pre-School to Primary School, Dyslexia and the Younger Child by Dyslexia Ireland and Bookshare Ireland by Vision Ireland.