BQFP Morning Book Fair Events Appeal to Children and Librarians to Revive the Passion for Reading and Writing

Doha, December 23 (QNA) - During the 23rd annual Doha International Book Fair, Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP) was able to reinvigorate love and motivation for reading and writing. This year, BQFP set up interactive morning events that were divided into two tracks, specifically catering to children and librarians from 13 to 22December, 2012 at the Doha Exhibition Center. In order to develop children s interest in books, issues with local library cultures were addressed in the morning library workshops. In the sessions, BQFP Educational Programs Developer, Amira Abed, led workshops that invite independent school librarians to build their skills and further enhance their sessions, "A major part of our Reading and Writing Development Program is mentoring librarians in the areas of library development, communication with children and recommending books to them," states Abed. Librarians explored a variety of methods that engage children through the use of fun, educational activities. "We explore the use of storybooks in classrooms to develop children's awareness and reading skills, and to acquire a literary richness to improve their writing," Abed explains. The sessions were a sample of other informative workshops BQFP offer throughout the year, but the book fair provided special opportunities. Abed explains, "Holding our librarians' workshops in the book fair has an additional benefit of discussing library collections and providing resources to help librarians 'shop smart' for their school library s individual needs." Subsequently, BQFP and Maktaba Qatar collaborated on crafting special sessions for school children who were able to enjoy storybooks and get creative with writing activities. During the weekends, dual-language activity sessions led by Maktaba Qatar were open to the public. For her part, Lana Shamma, BQFP s Acting Head of Reading and Writing Development, commented, "For children, taking reading and writing workshops outside of the classroom setting allows them to let go of academic constraints and get creative. The Book Fair takes them out of their element so that reading and writing become synonymous with fun, rather than exams and studying." (QNA)