30/07/08 - Choose Your Favourite Book For The New Central Library

Campaign Launched To Make Sure People’s Favourite Books Are In Swindon’s New Central Library

Everyone is invited to share their favourite book and has the chance to see it in Swindon’s new Central Library.

Swindon Borough Council is buying more than 17,000 books for the award-winning new building. People are now being asked to name their favourite book and the council will do its best to make sure it is on the shelves for everyone to enjoy, when the new £10million facility opens this year on Monday, October 20.

It can be any book - fact or fiction, adult or children's - for any reason.

Postcards for people to fill in and return are available at all 15 libraries plus the mobile library, leisure centres, community centres across the Borough and also the One Stop Shop, on the ground floor of Wat Tyler House, in

Princes Street

, Swindon. Alternatively people can tell us about their favourite book request online at www.swindon.gov.uk/favouritebooks

To get people started, some Council staff and Cabinet Members have revealed what they like to read.

Councillor Justin Tomlinson, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Recreation is a firm believer that football is poetry - and indeed literature - in motion.

He said: “It has to be Lovejoy On Football: One Man’s Passion For The Most Important Subject In The World, by Tim Lovejoy. I’m a big football fan so just anything which relates to the beautiful game gets my approval.

“This campaign is a fantastic opportunity to really engage with residents and make sure that this wonderful new facility reflects their reading tastes. I look forward to hearing all about people’s favourite books.”

Gavin Jones, Swindon Borough Council Chief Executive, admits that his favourite book tends to change, but there is one which deserves special mention.

He said: “The trouble is my favourite book is often the one I've just read, but on balance I would say it was Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome. I first read it when I was about 16 and have read it a few times since. I think it is the only book that has made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion.”

Swindon Borough Council Leader Cllr Roderick Bluh and Deputy Leader Cllr Fionuala Foley are both avid readers. And it’s not just Council agendas which take pride of place on their bedside tables.

Cllr Bluh is a big fan of thrillers and his favourite authors include Dick Francis and John Grisham.

Cllr Bluh, Swindon Borough Council Leader, said: “Proof, by Dick Francis, was a great read – full of drama, suspense and intrigue, like all his novels. I particularly like his books because they are based around horse racing. Haved lived in Newbury right by its racecourse for many years, I can relate to this subject – the books really bring it to life.”

Cllr Foley’s reading tastes are varied – from crime fiction by authors including Simon Kernick and Peter James to the Irish novelist Cathy Kelly.   

Cllr Foley, Swindon Borough Council Deputy Leader, said: “Books are a brilliant way to switch off and escape. I like thrillers – something that gets the heart going and Cathy Kelly, true to my Irish roots, is perfect for a beach read. 

“One book which made a really lasting impression was In The Absence Of Angels, by Elizabeth Glaser. It shows the amazing strength and fortitude of a mother in the face of huge adversity. That book is still on my shelf at home.”

As Head of Library Services, books are a big part of Allyson Jordan’s working life – but she still finds reading a brilliant way to relax at home.

She said: “I started out as a children’s librarian, so have always had an interest there. My all-time favourite would have to be the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. The way he develops characters is fantastic – it takes you to another world.”

Completed postcards can be handed in at all 15 libraries in the Borough plus the mobile library, the One Stop Shop, in

Princes Street

or alternatively posted to: Favourite Books, Allyson Jordan, Head of Library Services, Premier House, Swindon, SN1 1TZ.

It may not be possible to purchase books that are no longer available, or not suitable for public loan.