The City Council creates eight reading points in health and care centers

Benidorm City Council, through its Library Network, has launched eight reading points in health centers and in those that offer care services such as the retirement home and the Foietes Day Center. Today, the acting mayor and Councilor for Historical Heritage, Ana Pellicer, and the head of Social Welfare, Ángela Zaragozí, went to these last facilities to present this initiative with which "we intend to take reading to places where this activity may be more appropriate for a therapeutic issue, or it may simply make waiting times more enjoyable”.

Specifically, these reading points are active in the health centers of La Cala, Foietes, Rincón de Loix, and Tomás Ortuño; the retirement home; the Specific Center for People with Mental Illness (CEEM); and the headquarters of Asmibe and AFA Marina Baixa.

Each one of these points "is made up of approximately a hundred works, among which there are illustrated albums, story books and short narratives, magazines, audiovisual material, or thematic and children's books." Pellicer clarified that "the bibliographical references of these reading points are adapted to the characteristics of the users of each center and will be renewed according to the demands of each one of them." Thus, for example, in health centers with a Pediatric area, priority is given to children's and youth literature.

During this morning's visit, the acting mayor pointed out that "some residents of Foietes have been regular users of our library, so we know that they are great fans of reading who have enthusiastically received this initiative."

Pellicer transferred to the users of the residence and the day center that "they can send the technical staff of the library suggestions regarding genres that they want to read or even specific works to adjust the progressive renewal of funds of this point of reading to their likes". This same technical staff has informed those responsible for the residence of the physical and online resources available to them in the public network of Valencian libraries.

In addition, and as a result of today's visit, the collective loan will be enabled in the name of the residence so that "they can access the works they want, that has a larger typeface to facilitate reading or even audiobooks for those people who want to get closer to literature but who, for different reasons, have visual or other difficulties that prevent them from reading”.

For its part, Zaragozí stressed that "the City Council are always attentive to actions that, like this, can improve the well-being of our elderly, actively collaborating with those responsible for the retirement home and Day Center".

In addition to these eight reading points, the Benidorm Library Network develops other initiatives to promote reading in different areas with projects such as 'Espera llegint', hand in hand with the Department of Commerce and the Bromera publishing house, or ' The traveling suitcase', with which the libraries of Secondary schools are provided with material.