BRADFORD Libraries is supporting a new campaign to tackle loneliness and support mental health through the power of reading.

The Reading Agency launched their new campaign Read, Talk, Share, an initiative to combat loneliness and promote wellbeing through the proven power of reading during the Covid-19 pandemic this winter.

Enabled by a £3.5 million award by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Read, Talk, Share will expand The Reading Agency's already successful Reading Well and Reading Friends programmes.

Reading Friends brings people together to read, share stories, meet new friends, and have fun, tackling the big life challenge of social isolation.

As part of the Reading Friends project Bradford libraries will be working with children, young people and adults.

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Adults will meet online over Zoom and there will be a postal element for those who are not confident with or cannot access the project digitally – the Library Service will send reading material by post and the participant can reply by post or have a chat over the phone. Bradford Libraries will be inviting people who use the established Home Library Service to join in and will be working with partners to direct people who would welcome the opportunity to read, talk or share with others.

Libraries will also run the project with two secondary schools and the Service’s reading group for home educated pupils, to reach young people who have been socially isolated during lockdown.

To encourage and to increase the enjoyment of the experience by young people, each participant will receive a small refreshment pack with their reading materials to use during the group meeting. The young people will meet online initially with a view to meeting in person eventually.

For all age groups there will be the opportunity to have guest authors or poets.

To encourage take up of the digital offer some of the funding will be used to provide tablets that can be borrowed, and will come with easy instructions or socially distanced instruction from staff when possible.

Reading Well supports people in their journey towards better mental health by making helpful books, recommended by health experts, easily accessible to readers of all ages.

The Reading Well Collection will also be available in all Bradford libraries and on the e-book service Borrowbox.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Healthy Places, said: “We know how important libraries are to people and the local community and they can offer a real lifeline to people.

"We know that the services that our libraries have offered during this pandemic have helped so many people.

"We hope that by working with the Reading Agency and with this extra funding we can offer more support to more people so that we can help to reduce loneliness and improve wellbeing at this time.”