Thank you to all the babies who joined us in September in marking our Centenary – 100 years of lending books in July 2024.
We gifted nearly 300 books to babies born in July 2024 and registered in B&NES by The Registration Service. Gifting took place during July and into August and early September, as parents have 41 days to register a birth.
Winnie the Pooh was first published in 1926 and is part of our Centenary Book Collection marking 100 years of public lending in Bath.
The events
As well as receiving a book, babies were invited with their parents/carers to a special morning at Bath Central Library, Midsomer Norton or Keynsham Library in September. The mornings provided an opportunity to introduce families to our weekly, term time Baby Bounce and Rhyme events.
The events were great fun and offered families a chance to meet other babies and new parents. We gave provide information about joining the library and spoke about the free services we offer. Centenary babies and their families were encouraged to join the library and received special edition centenary library cards.
Gifting the books
Preparing the books for gifting was hard work but great fun. From sticking bookplates in the books, to cutting 300 pieces of wrapping paper, wrapping the books and invitations, and then delivering them to The Registration Service at the Guildhall in Bath ready for distribution to other registration locations, we’ve been busy! We are very grateful to Registration Services for their support with gifting.
We know that becoming a parent and having children can bring adults back to the library for the first time since they were children themselves. However, lots of families do not use their local library service and it is estimated that only 18% of the B&NES population are library members.
We would love every resident to be a library member, benefiting from our free services. By gifting these books and inviting families to a special event, our aim was to reach residents who may not think to use libraries or know what we offer.
Libraries offer books, yes, but also a safe and welcoming space, information and access to advice and partners, electronic resources like eBooks, audiobooks, and digital newspapers but also cultural and creative activities and events, plus sensory spaces.
What is Baby Bounce and Rhyme and what are the benefits?
These are free, short library-based activities which usually run every week during school terms in Bath Central, Midsomer Norton and Keynsham Libraries. Baby Bounce and Rhyme helps language and number development, bonding between parent or carer and child and children’s understanding of the world around them. Over 400 babies attend our Baby Bounce and Rhyme sessions per month. It is one of our most popular offers.
We’ve also recorded some Baby Bounce and Rhyme sessions for you to watch at home!
The LGA says
“Taking part in Rhyme Time sessions with parents or carers means that children are spending time with other adults and children. Building their confidence in new surroundings, being in large groups and practising sharing and taking turns are all important skills for school and beyond.
As they sing rhymes together, children practice new sounds and explore the patterns and rhythm of language. They also develop their vocabulary, learning new words and complex phrases.”
Why did the Library Service gift books to babies?
Whilst we are in the business of lending and have been for 100 years now, we also understand the importance of owning your own books and feel everyone should own at least one. Having deliberated how to mark our centenary and include our youngest residents, we discussed the items we like to gift our friends and family on the birth of a new baby. Being book lovers, it’s no surprise that a few of us enjoy gifting a hardcopy book to a newborn in the hope that it stays in their book collection for years to come.
As a library service, we are here to support residents through all phases of life including the earliest. We didn’t just want to gift books and move on, so we chose to hold special events for our July babies in September to introduce them to the world of libraries in B&NES.
We hope our centenary babies will treasure their copy of Winnie the Pooh, maybe even passing it on to their own children one day. A child’s earliest years are crucial to their development and life chances, and we wanted to give the gift of loving and reading books to our youngest members.
*We would love to hear from the families of our centenary babies*
Are you reading Winnie the Pooh to your baby? What’s your baby’s favourite book? Will you keep in touch with us and come to future events? Share pictures of your Winnie the Pooh book with us on our social media or email them to Library_Events@bathnes.gov.uk
If you came to one of our Centenary Baby events, please take five minutes to give us some feedback about the gifting and events by clicking here and filling in our feedback form.