Winners announced and milestone celebrated

The Gunnedah Shire Library celebrated big on Tuesday with multiple challenge winners announced and a milestone acknowledged.

The 10th anniversary of the 1000 Books Before School program was recognised. The date fell last year, but those winners who participated in celebration challenges were announced on Tuesday.

Since its beginning in 2014, the program has spread nation-wide, with local libraries partaking in the challenge that started in Gunnedah thanks to local librarians including Christiane Birkett.

It was a throwaway remark by a parent to get an initiative going to encourage reading before primary school. The team sat down and figured out the logistics of reading 1000 books before school.

It did not take long for the initiative to take off in other libraries. Hume libraries in Victoria had reached out to learn more before the Victorian Premier launched the program in 2015.

Multiple ideas from Gunnedah’s library have taken off in other parts of Australia. Christiane gave full credit to the staff for bringing them to life.

Included in the festivities run last year was a bookmark design competition open to people of all ages.

Twelve winners were selected to be professionally printed. Each bookmark will have its month in the spotlight including a shout out on the library’s Facebook page.

Each winner went home with a stack of their crafted bookmarks to give out generously to family and friends.

People aged anywhere between four and 80-years-old gave the challenge a go with children and adults winning.

People may recognise a certain wriggly creature at the library, made of paper mache and a keen reader.

A bookworm mascot crafted by staff member Robyn Draper is a newer addition to the library and was in need of a name.

The library was proudly able to announce the mascot’s name on Tuesday, Mr Books, fittingly given by young Kayla Weilbach. The name was selected from about 100 entries of people wanting to give identity to the newest helper.

Another challenge winner was Gilda Rozemulder for the 2024 Reading Challenge.

Each year the library sets a new reading challenge, with last year being words in book titles beginning in each letter of the alphabet.

A special guest of honour at the celebration was Gunnedah Shire Council mayor Colleen Fuller, who presented each lucky winner with their prize.

In other library news, February is National Library Lovers Month, where people are encouraged to stop by their local library and document what they love about it.