Last month, Essex County Council’s four- year vision for the library service became a reality as the Everyone’s Library Service 2022-2026 plan was launched, marking the next step in an exciting future for the county’s libraries.
Helping children and adults improve their literacy, encouraging people to enjoy reading for pleasure and increasing the range of online resources available to customers are just some of the commitments in the plan.
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Louise McKinlay said: “Last month we launched our four- year plan for Essex Libraries and as part of the plan we announced how we would support adults and children in Essex with literacy.
“We know that 16% of adults in England have ‘very poor literacy skills’ and around 2% to 6% of children have significant reading difficulties.
“For adults and children this can lead to low self-esteem as well as their ability to access information that can have a serious impact on their life chances. We believe in giving everyone the best possible chance in life by making sure they have the tools and support available to help them achieve.
“These new literacy areas will make a real, positive, difference to our residents that need that extra bit of support. I am so pleased the first phase have now launched and I would urge residents to pop in and explore what they have to offer."
Literacy areas will continue to open across libraries in Essex in the next few months. It is hoped that all 74 libraries will have open Literacy Areas by the end of June 2022.
You can read more about ECC’s plans for Essex Libraries here.