Patterson donates £50k to UK school libraries

19 September 2018 Books+Publishing

US author James Patterson is donating £50,000 (A$91,400) to school libraries in the UK, in partnership with Scholastic UK Book Clubs, reports the Bookseller.

£25,000 (A$45,700) will be made available to schools and teachers during each of the autumn and spring school terms. The donation will see 100 schools per term receiving £250 (A$460) as part of Patterson’s Big Book Giveaway. The winners will also receive 25% off the price of books purchased from Scholastic.

Patterson said: ‘Libraries are at the heart of every school, and I’m thrilled to be partnering with Scholastic to continue to underscore both the need to sustain them, and the vital role that school libraries, librarians and teachers play in transforming lives and fostering a love for learning.’

A survey of UK schools’ reading habits conducted by Scholastic found that although 87% of the schools that responded had a library, 77% of the libraries had fewer than the recommended minimum number of books for their size, and most replaced less than 10% of their book stock every year.

As previously reported by Books+Publishing, Patterson also donated £50,000 to the inaugural World Book Day Award in 2015, which gave school libraries in Ireland and the UK the chance to win funding to buy books from local bookshops.

Category: Library news International