‘Books On Buses’ for Ireland Reads 2023

Books on Buses for Ireland Reads

Monaghan County Libraries team up with TFI Local Link Cavan Monaghan to give away free books on buses.

On Friday 24th February passengers using Transport for Ireland (TFI) bus services on the M1, M2, M3 & 176 routes  noticed book bags placed on the seats.  These bags contained a ‘Quick Reads’ title which Monaghan County Libraries gifted to TFI Local Link Cavan Monaghan passengers.

This initiative was part of ‘Ireland Reads’, a campaign to get the whole country reading.   Irish libraries have teamed up with publishers, booksellers, authors, and others for the campaign, which is part of the government’s Healthy Ireland programme and aims to celebrate reading and all the benefits it can have for wellbeing and enjoyment.

The campaign is asking everyone to ‘squeeze in a read’ on Ireland Reads Day, Saturday, February 25th.

We would like to say a huge thank you to David McMullan and all the Local Link drivers for their help in co-ordinating this initiative.  For more information on routes and departure times for the participating TFI Local Link buses visit www.locallinkcm.ie

Karen Mc Cague, Executive Librarian with Monaghan county Libraries spoke to ‘The Wider View’ on Northern Sound radio about the initiative.  You can listen back here.

IrelandReads.ie

The pledge to read can be made at www.irelandreads.ie where you can also see how much time has been pledged by the Irish public so far and sign up for reading reminders.

The website also offers book recommendations suited to a person’s interests and the time they have available. There are more than 1,500 recommendations from librarians all around the country for all interests and reading levels.

Participants  can simply enter their favourite type of book and how long they would like to read each day and the website will offer the perfect book suggestion and work out how long it will take to complete – so you can set yourself a challenge if you’re finding it hard to get back to reading.

A number of well-known campaign ambassadors are on board to help promote the campaign, including Marian Keyes, Joe Duffy, Colm Tóibín, Rick O’Shea, Liz Nugent and more. You can find out what reading means to them and why they support the campaign at www.irelandreads.ie.

Photo of Library Staff and Local Link staff holding books that were placed on Buses for Ireland Reads Day 2023