Two members of staff from Wiltshire Council’s libraries service have been announced as finalists in prestigious national awards.
The UK's Libraries Connected Awards celebrate the achievements of ordinary people working in public libraries who have gone above and beyond to deliver in their communities.
The awards which highlight the importance of public libraries are more important than ever as libraries across the country have come under constant threat from funding cuts.
Basil Nankivell, who established Wiltshire Libraries' Visually Impaired Person's Reading Group is just one of those shortlisted for his innovation and commitment to making sure that reading is accessible to everyone.
The visually impaired reading group meets monthly to discuss the audiobooks they've been listening to, and has been a hugely positive way to encourage a love of reading and socialisation for those who can often feel very isolated.
Basil has been shortlisted for the Vision and Print Impaired People Award.
Fellow nominee Peter Waterman has also been shortlisted in the national awards for his work developing and launching the Warm and Welcome Libraries offer in Wiltshire.
Peter's scheme, which has led to him being shortlisted for the Health and Wellbeing Award, provides warm spaces for people to access support during the cost-of-living crisis.
Users can go to any Wiltshire library and find a warm friendly environment, and be met with a hot drink, people to chat with and books to read, as well as signposting to support services.
“I’d like to congratulate both Basil and Peter for the outstanding achievement of being shortlisted in these prestigious awards, which demonstrates their dedication and hard work," said Councillor Ian Blair-Pilling, Cabinet Member for Libraries.
"It is well deserved and I wish them the very best of luck.
“Our libraries are well-connected with our communities and provide the opportunity to meet and engage with each other," he added.
This is a key aim of our business plan and it's thanks to innovative schemes such as these, developed by our hard-working and caring staff and volunteers, that we’re making this a reality.”
The winners of the Libraries Connected Awards will be announced in June 2024 at a ceremony during the Libraries Connected annual seminar in Warwickshire.
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