Sparking a new chapter in young readers lives

2025 sees the return of the fantastic My Little Library Book Bag initiative. If you have a young family member who is starting national school this year, drop into your local library and pick up your free Book Bag . This specially designed bag is full of goodies, including a book on starting school and a book on making friends. The bag also contains resources for parents and family members to help the whole family adjust to the changes which come with starting school.

Library membership is free and this is the perfect time to start the reading habit. Children can use the My Little Library wallet to store their library card safely and their bag provides an easy way to carry their favourite books to the library, home, to school and further afield. We hope that once they visit the library to pick up their book bag, the family will take the opportunity to join and that our new library members will come back regularly to keep their bag filled up with borrowed books and to take part in story-times, classes and all the other events we have to offer at the library.

Book bags are available in both Irish and English and additional resources are available to help parents who may not be confident with their Irish language skills.

Paula Leavy McCarthy, County Librarian, Westmeath Libraries, commented “The First Five Strategy wants to see children in literacy rich households. The Little Library Book Bag is a fantastic way to start children building their own book collections and introducing them to the library and all the service has to offer.”

Nationally, the My Little Library initiative 2025 is expected to lead to tens of thousands of families in picking up their book bags and joining their local library. Since its launch, an average of 20,000 4-5-year olds have joined their local libraries annually.