Young children in Offaly to get free book bag
Children leaving pre-school in Offaly are invited to visit their local library to pick up a free book bag on starting school as part of the Little Library Initiative, a Fine Gael TD has said.
Deputy John Clendennen said the books and resources in the book bag, which is available in both English and ‘as Gaeilge’, will support parents and their children in Offaly in the transition to primary school.
“From Friday, May 8 all children completing the Government funded pre-school programme (Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme) and starting primary school are invited to visit their local library and pick up a book bag. The bags will be available throughout the summer,” Deputy Clendennen explained.
“The scheme seeks to build strong links between young children, their families and their local library.
“These books and stories help each child prepare for this big step in transitioning to primary school. Books are a great way of helping parents support their children with their early language and literacy development.”
Acknowledging the central role of the national library service in ensuring the success of the initiative, Fine Gael Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Jerry Buttimer said: “I warmly welcome the launch of the 2026 My Little Library Initiative. I’ve visited so many libraries around the country in the last year, and I know that our public library staff nationwide share my enthusiasm for connecting young families with our excellent national library service.”
Since the initiative was rolled out for the first time in 2022, tens of thousands of young children have picked up their book bags and joined their local library. Last year alone, 20,000 young children benefited from the initiative and became library members.
“The bag contains books for the children to keep, with topics such as starting school, making friends and big emotions. It also has some very useful information for parents on supporting that start in primary school and what’s on offer at each local library,” concluded Deputy Clendennen.