The idea behind the “My First Library Card” project is to encourage parents of all newborns and children aged 0-5 to join the library. Cllr Winters said it was appropriate that the launch should be held in Blessington library as it has been the heartbeat of the community since it opened in 2006. There are 3,000-plus members while last year set a new record with 73,000-plus items borrowed from Blessington library.

What inspired us most was the children’s own designs at our workshops in the libraries. We were particularly impressed at how creative the children were at such a young age. They helped us to understand what children liked best in a creature. Reading books and singing rhymes with young children is crucial to early years development. It helps children to build their language skills, imagination and understanding of the world. Reading regularly to children, particularly at a young age can have a positive lifelong impact, benefiting their health and wellbeing, creativity and education.” It’s never too early to start reading to your baby. That’s why we are giving all newborns their very own ‘My first library card’.A new character was required as the national figure used by the BookTrust which had been in use by our libraries for 17 years has been discontinued.

Greatest need. As a statewide organization, the Original Six Foundation is positioned to identify and invest in areas of greatest need. From September, there will be a new addition to the Hertfordshire library family, as ‘Tala the Storyteller’ is unveiled. A bright, vibrant creature, Tala is set to capture the imagination of babies and young people making their first foray into the wonderful world of reading. Starting school is another key milestone and all children starting nursery or reception in September are invited to visit a Hertfordshire library to be awarded their My First Day at School certificate to celebrate this new adventure. My First Library Card”came about as a direct result of the national library programme “Right To Read”campaign which is all about embedding the development of literacy into our communities through the local authority. Through My First Library, kindergarten students are invited to choose ten high-quality, grade-level summer reading books at an end-of-the-year book fair. The program is distinct from other reading programs in these ways:

Tala will be the star of Hertfordshire libraries’ new promotion ‘My Firsts’ to inspire families with babies and young children to visit the library regularly, to borrow books and to join in with the variety of early years family activities, such as Rhyme Time. My First library Card is free, all children can borrow up to 12 books at a time and libraries no longer charge fines. The initiative sees the launch of an attractive and colourful library card, designed by award-winning author and illustrator Chris Judge.

If you read a child a book a day from being born to the age of five, it equates to nearly 2,000 books (1,825 in total) – that’s a lot of words, pictures and ideas to stimulate their imagination. For free! Hotjar sets this cookie to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether it was the first time Hotjar saw this user.Visiting a Hertfordshire Library or attending a library event was voted as the top 50 thrifty adventure by Hertfordshire residents in a poll carried out in August 2022.