Explore York Libraries and Archives Annual Review 2022 - Report - Page 9
Sharing the joy
– online
“Books have
always been a
lifeline, and to have
them available
digitally, all the
more so at the
moment”.
Use of e-books more
than doubled during
lockdown, valued both
by adult readers and by
families with children.
Generous donations
from publishers, and
cash grants from City of York Council and
central Government meant Explore kept up
with the increased demand for e-books.
PressReader giving free access to a wide
range of newspapers and magazines
online – including some we could never
have offered in hard copy – delighted
many customers. Explore is grateful to City
of York Council for providing emergency
funding to buy the subscription in April
2020. PressReader’s ongoing popularity
means Explore will continue to fund it in
2021-22.
“I only discovered
the e-library in
November... its fab!!!
And I link my tablet
to the Google hub so
the boys can listen to
audiobooks in bed.
Fantastic!”
Sharing the joy – with children,
families and schools
The Summer Reading Challenge 2020 was
digital only. To support the challenge we
provided additional online craft activities
and videos. But we knew that many
children would not be able to participate
online, so we are grateful for the
City of York Council Ward Funding
for providing 840 Summer Reading
Challenge bags of books and craft
activities as an alternative to the
digital challenge.
Explore created two videos on
YouTube to support schools. One
focused on Time To Read the book
gifting scheme for every reception class
child. The second video was a virtual
library visit aimed at older children. Online
activities for families included Hoglets
storytelling for younger children, and John
Kirk’s stories for older children.
EXPLORE ANNUAL REVIEW 2020-21
9
