The culture of narratives experienced through reading can forever stimulate our minds and hearts. Some stories draw us back into the past, while others propel us into the future. Some stories brighten our day while others take us into the darkness of human behaviour. Storytelling engages our curiosity, interests, fears, expectations, and desires. The best storytellers lighten and enlighten the paradoxes and uncertainties of life. Fundamental to the act of reading is a commitment to living vicariously within a world created by another.

Young people need stories to make sense of themselves and their world. Encounters with books – as well as being sites for enjoyment, and critical and creative thinking – play a significant role in the formation of young people’s identity. Marcel Proust, one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century suggests, ‘Every reader is, while he is reading, the reader of his own self’.

Given the critical importance of reading, it was wonderful to see the number of people who attended our Parent Library event last Tuesday evening. This was an opportunity for parents, carers, teachers and students to peruse the huge range of pre-loved books donated by the Mount Carmel community and to take as many as they wished. Consequently, over two hundred and fifty books found new homes.

The following morning, the library staff kindly allowed students to come and collect as many books as they liked from the remaining supply of donated material. The library was packed with excited students from all years, busily looking at what was on offer. Students were choosing books for themselves, their parents, grandparents, and younger siblings. I have not felt that joyous energy nor witnessed such delight in that space in a long time. Books are not dead!

Clare Murphy

English Coordinator and Literacy Instructional Coach