Baby Summer with mum Lucy Gildroy and Lowestoft Library staff member Debs Pullum.
When new mum and schoolteacher Lucy Gildroy took her newborn daughter Summer into Lowestoft Library, she did so with one goal: to sign Summer up for her very first library card.
Ms Gildroy, who is a schoolteacher and is a regular borrower at Kessingland Library, visited Lowestoft Library as her friend, Debs Pullum, worked at the library.
“I brought Summer into the library for a visit and Debs said ‘We can open up Summer’s library card!’ and I was like ‘Are you sure? She’s only 11 days old.’ And she said ‘Yeah, there’s no limit!’
“I just think children need to be reading more. I’m hoping that [Summer] will be a real bookworm in the future.”
James Powell, Suffolk Libraries marketing and communications manager, said: “We’d like to welcome Summer to Lowestoft Library and to our countywide library service. We hope she enjoys all the free services that we have to offer as she gets older.
“It’s never too early to get a library card and it’s free and easy to do. Reading with your baby is a wonderful way to give them the best start in life. The earlier they are introduced to books and start to learn to read, the earlier they will develop literacy skills and a love of reading. We also have lots of weekly activities for babies and toddlers on offer across the county.”
Anyone of any age can sign up for a Suffolk Libraries library card if they live in Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire or Essex, or if they work in or regularly visit Suffolk. A library card allows you to borrow titles from any Suffolk library and download eBooks, eAudiobooks, access online magazines, video streaming, newspapers, magazines and music for free.
You can apply for a library card by visiting your local library or signing up online.