Reading is vital to a healthier, happier, more connected nation. A research review conducted by Australia Reads outlines the significant benefits of reading for pleasure, which include reducing depression and dementia, and increasing empathy, self-esteem and awareness of other cultures. Adults who read books, magazines, and newspapers almost every day had a substantially lower risk of being diagnosed with depression. They also scored lower on the loneliness scale. However, despite these benefits, 44% of Australians have low or very low literacy, and approximately 25% of Australians did not read a single book over the course of a year.
All 51 of Victoria’s public library services participate in the campaign which aims to:
• inspire adult readers to make more time for reading over winter
• engage our library communities in a shared reading campaign
• raise the profile of our library services in our communities
• promote the benefits of reading for wellbeing to our communities.
Each year, Warm Winter Read invites eight prominent, diverse Victoria authors to be campaign ambassadors by recommending books to read during the campaign and lending their name, image and latest book to the campaign bookmarks. The design is refreshed annually and 30,000 bookmarks featuring the author-ambassadors and their recommendations are printed and distributed to libraries ahead of the campaign. Digital assets including social media tiles, reading journals and posters are also provided to libraries.
The Warm Winter Read is managed and delivered by the Reader Development Special Interest Group, with funding from the Victorian Government and sponsorship from Overdrive, developer of the Libby library reading app. The challenge is hosted on the PLV reading challenge website Read Books.
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