Libraries key to community and literacy, says deputy culture minister

Libraries have a powerful role to play for which the government wishes to invest in, Deputy Culture Minister Vasiliki Kassianidou said on Friday during a conference at the University of Cyprus.

Titled ‘reading tours in libraries’, Kassianidou underlined that open and welcoming libraries promote good mental health. They empower readers to make choices, express their opinion, have a voice and develop critical thinking.

The deputy minister said they were investing in the role libraries have in developing research skills, while it is imperative that librarians are empowered.

Libraries “are not only a place to store and read books or carry out research. They are a welcoming place, where one can feel they are part of a broader community with similar interests and aspirations.”

The government’s aim through the pilot scheme ‘reading tours in libraries’ is to promote libraries as places of research and creative expression, as well as places that cultivate and support literacy, Kassianidou said.

This year, six municipal and community libraries are involved in the scheme, where there are lectures, presentations, workshops and school visits at libraries. They can attend structured interactive literacy programmes and activities with parents, adults and seniors to encourage literacy.