Lochaber library supervisor highly commended for Bookbug Hero Award
A library supervisor in Ardnamurchan has been highly commended at the 2024 Bookbug Hero Award for her dedication to delivering Bookbug sessions in remote areas and for her mental health support work across the peninsula.
Helen Tait who works for High Life Highland as the Library Supervisor at Ardnamurchan Community Library, and Education Officer for local mental health and wellbeing charity Ewen’s Room, has made a huge impact on the local communities through her Bookbug work.
Facilitating sessions in Gaelic, and driving miles around the peninsula delivering outreach sessions funded by Ewen’s Room, she also arranged a local sign language tutor to introduce both Gaelic and British Sign Language to young children at Bookbug.
The wider impact of her work has been referred to as the ‘ripple effect’. Year-on-year more peninsula pupils are taking part in the Summer Reading Challenge and Strontian primary school has recently been awarded Gold Level Reading Accreditation (the first primary school in Highland) due to the emphasis on stories and reading in schools from such a young age developed through Helen’s devoted work for Bookbug.
Older children are also engaging in the library during weekly youth clubs, and many accompany younger siblings to join in with the songs and rhymes.
The Bookbug Hero award is run by Scottish Book Trust, the national charity changing lives with reading and writing, and the winner, Jane Putsey from the Isle of Mull, was announced during this year’s Bookbug Week (13 to 19 May).
Bookbug is Scotland’s universal book gifting programme for 0–5-year-olds, through which every child in Scotland receives four free book bags by their first year at school. Free Bookbug Sessions take place all over Scotland in libraries and community spaces, and Bookbug for the Home practitioners support families on a one-to-one basis.
Helen Tait said: "It has been a privilege to deliver Bookbug sessions over the last ten year, both through the library service, and now also in collaboration with Ewen’s Room, whose funding makes outreach sessions possible in our remote area.
"It makes me so happy to see the joy Bookbug brings to so many children and their parents."
Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: "I would like to offer my warm congratulations to Helen, one of our highly commended in the Bookbug Hero Awards.
"It is fantastic to see how she goes above-and-beyond in championing Bookbug sessions in all areas as well as her dedication to supporting mental health in her community.
"Our thanks also to Walker Books for making this award possible."
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