Librarians and Health Visitors in the county are working together to promote the scheme, which is being administered nationally by The Book Tust and sponsored by Sainsbury's plc. The aim of Bookstart is to give every baby in the county a free pack, which consists of a strong cotton bag containing two booklets on reading, information about Buckinghamshire Library Service, an attractive plastic place mat and two good quality board books. All parents who bring their babies for an 8 Month Check at one of the county's clinics, are offered a free Bookstart bag. Part of the idea of Bookstart is to encourage all parents to enrol their babies as members of their local library. The Library Service has a great deal to offer children of all ages and we would love to see all of the 6,000 babies born each year in Bucks join us.
Membership is free.
The first Bookstart scheme began in Birmingham in the early nineties. Research carried out by Birmingham University into this scheme showed that sharing books with very young children makes a very real difference. Bookstart babies have a headstart when they begin school. Make sure that your baby is a Bookstart baby.