Smoking rooms to turn over a new leaf?

Rochdale employers have been urged to convert old smoking rooms into mini libraries in the latest Government campaign to encourage reading.

The move would usher in a renaissance in reading for both adults and children, Schools Minister Ed Balls said.

It would mean employees would be encouraged to bring in books and share them with colleagues, even enjoy “quiet reading” in the quest to become a bookworm.

His call came as he launched the National Year of Reading — a campaign that encourages everyone of any age to discover the joy of burying their nose in a book.

“We are without doubt, a nation with a great literary heritage and I want that to continue. I want 2008 to be the year of the book,” Mr Balls said.

“It’s never too late to improve your reading skills, I want employers to make their work place more reader-friendly by turning their old smoking rooms into mini libraries and arranging places for ‘book-crossing’ or quiet reading.”

Mr Balls said more than a third of children leave primary school with a higher reading age than 11 and The National Year of Reading was an “ideal opportunity” to build on this success.

He urged Rochdale parents to spend ten minutes a day reading to their children. Mr Balls said: “As a parent myself I know how hard it can be to find time, but just ten minutes a day can make a difference to a child’s future and create a love of reading from a very early age.”

The National Year of Reading will involve a series of national and local-level events focused around themed months, such as “father to son”, “alternatives to books” and “classics and modern literature”.

It will be run by the National Literacy Trust.