2008 was the National Year of Reading for England. It was a year-long celebration of reading, in all its forms, and aimed to help build a greater national passion for reading in England – for children, families and adult learners alike.
The values which underpinned NYR were:
- Impact – both personal and social
- Celebration – positive, enjoyable experiences
- Diversity – of reading experiences and communities
- Participation – co-production of the year with communities and partners
- Creativity in development and delivery
- Legacy – to create a lasting change in lives and systems
Of course anyone in any country was able to take part in NYR, and we were delighted that the Welsh National Assembly provided funding for every secondary school in Wales to buy books to support the main focus of NYR there, which was a rollout of the Read a Million Words in Wales project.
The SLA is provided a range of resources to help Schools to support NYR:
Star ideas for activities to create enjoyable reading opportunities, taken from our "Guideline plus" Fully Booked by Eileen Armstrong.
Themed booklists to match the NYR monthly themes
Red Hot Reads – what is hot in your library? Share your students' favourites with us by e-mailing their top titles to mailto:redhotreads(at)sla.org.uk
Posters to download and use to create a buzz around reading
In addition there were several themes explored on the SLA Members' Forum. If you’re a member why not login and share your ideas and what you are reading?
See also the ideas on the Reading Connects website: http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/readingconnects/nyr.html
