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Library bribery

A Spanish mayor has offered children a cash incentive for going to the library but there is little support for such a scheme in Bournemouth.

Agustin Jimenez, mayor of Noblejas in central Spain, has proposed to pay children €1 (75p) an hour for reading books in their local library.

The idea was suggested following a recent European Commission study, which showed Spain to have a high school dropout rate and a child reading ability below the EU average.

Leader of Bournemouth’s labour group Cllr Ben Grower said: “You could never tell if they were actually reading or not,” claiming that encouraging reading and the use of libraries should be done early in primary schools.

Cllr Anne Rey, who was mayor of Bournemouth in 2003-04, said: “I would suggest rather than giving money, have a competition where a book voucher was a prize.”

A scheme introduced in 1999 means that children in Bournemouth can earn a certificate or medal for the time they spend reading.

Bournemouth’s Children’s and Learning Services manager Heather Young said: “These incentives work really well with a summer reading game and it’s not a matter of monetary reward.”

Ms Young identified that children loaned 18,000 books from Bournemouth’s libraries in December last year alone and said: “We’ve got top quality children’s authors these days who have really raised the profile of reading.

“Children’s reading, children’s books, visiting libraries, it’s all very much on the up.”

Liberal Democrat Cllr Roger West proposed that introducing more unpaid workers in schools, to assist children with reading, would aid in promoting the activity.

Cllr West said: “This helps to break down barriers between ages and children gain confidence. I am trying to re-establish a VRH [Voluntary Reading Help] system in Bournemouth.”