‘Across the UK there’s been an epidemic of loneliness and poor mental health, which libraries have an important role in combatting’ Shared Reading in Sefton

The Reader’s Shared Reading groups in libraries across Sefton have helped to play an important part in community cohesion and healing over the last 10 months. 

Six Shared Reading groups in Sefton Libraries have been an important place for people to connect and talk after the tragic events in Southport last summer, according to the council’s senior library development manager. 

From Bootle’s docklands to the seaside town of Southport these free to all groups, run by national charity The Reader and led by library staff, offer a welcoming, inclusive and non-judgmental space to connect, chat and share feelings over a story or poem.  

Lesley Davies, Senior Development Manager for Community Cohesion at Sefton Libraries, said: “It is important to us to provide a community hub where people can connect as there has been an epidemic of loneliness and poor mental health across the borough, especially after what happened in Southport last summer. 

“Southport Library was very quiet during the summer holidays, with very few children coming into our spaces, which was completely understandable. 

“We found an awful lot of people were really, really affected and looking for connection - places to chat to people.

Our libraries have been a natural place for people to come, particularly our sanctuary seeking community. Shared Reading groups provide a safe space to engage and talk about experiences and feelings which arise from the readings.” 

Lesley said Shared Reading groups in Bootle, Crosby, Formby, Maghull and Southport were very well attended. The two longest running groups, at Bootle and Crosby, have been up-and running for around 10 years.  

Lesley said: “At Formby we also run a Lost and Loved Shared Reading group for people who have experienced bereavement. The group is a welcoming space for anyone—whether they have experienced grief or not—to connect, share feelings, ideas and experiences around love and loss. There is no pressure for people to talk or read aloud. 

“Staff have found a real joy from running the Shared Reading sessions, especially when people really connect and engage in the groups. This can happen when a reading prompts a lively or sometimes forthright discussion when afterwards people say, ‘I really enjoyed that!’ 

“We certainly like to think our libraries go ‘beyond the book’. We are a contemporary library service with a vibrant community arts programme which has been running for the last eight years with artist-led workshops and commissions funded by the Arts Council England, alongside our community groups and activities.” 

Shared Reading and reading aloud is a natural fit for forward-thinking Sefton Libraries, which runs bespoke activities to meet the needs of its local communities.  

Events they run range from artist-led workshops, projects, and commissions to LEGO and board games, a teen graphic group, breastfeeding support and parents’ SEN group, as well as a visually impaired reading group, coffee mornings, IT one-to-one sessions, talks by local speakers and a gardening group. 

Lesley, a hugely popular community champion of the public library service, was awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Year's Honours in 2022 for her dedication and commitment.  

She said: “Our libraries are not particularly quiet places. We have been running our Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation At The Library for the last eight years. We would like people to walk in and say: ‘I never expected to see that in a library’ especially with cooking, gardening, sensory play and the occasional Gong Bath going on. 

“We want libraries to be vibrant places, we don’t want people coming in talking in hushed tones.

We want people to be able to take part in activities and have conversations, although we do also have spaces where people can sit and have quiet study time.” 

Liverpool-based The Reader, located in Calderstones Park, is the UK’s largest Shared Reading charity. It runs more than 490 Shared Reading groups across Liverpool City Region and the rest of the country, including 112 in libraries.  

Shared Reading has been shown to improve wellbeing, reduce loneliness and help people find new meaning in their lives, according to the charity’s research and annual feedback from group members and volunteers. 

The charity also works with children, families, adults in community spaces, people in dementia care homes, people with physical and mental health conditions, those coping with or recovering from addiction and people in the criminal justice system. 

Interested in joining a Shared Reading group in Sefton Libraries? Visit here.  

To find out more about Shared Reading in communities across the UK visit here. If you think your organisation or community would benefit from Shared Reading visit here.