Workshops for Mothers at Gilan Libraries

The Public Libraries Office of Gilan has organized workshops where mothers will be trained how to read books and tell stories to children.

The story-telling and book-reading workshops are part of a larger program titled ‘Winter Soiree with Book.’ Its purpose is to promote reading culture among families in Gilan Province, IRNA reported.

When it comes to families, “mothers play a significant role in promotion of book-reading culture,” said supervisor of the provincial Public Libraries Office, Zahra Badanara.

“The workshops will run for two months from January 4-March 5 and participants should be members of the public libraries in the province. They will be informed of the latest methods, techniques and achievements in story-telling and book-reading by experienced specialists,” she added.

A number of efficient methods in story-telling are based on plot summaries, the writing of which will be taught at the workshops. Participants will be invited to a competition and winners will receive awards from the public libraries.

The briefing session for the workshops was held January 3 at the public library of Ahl-ol-Beyt in Astane-Ashrafieh city. The session was attended by Badanara, Shahrbanou Bidmeshk Haqiqi, a specialist in story-telling at the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) in Tehran, a group of selected librarians, library experts and cultural officials.

At the session, Badanara specified that each public library should cover a radius of 1,500 meters in its cultural activities.

Haqiqi defined story-telling as “an oral, direct, live and physical narrative of a tale.

A story-telling artist uses facial expressions and body language to convey the elements and imagery of the tale to the audience. The lively ritual of story-telling establishes a bilateral connection between narrator and listener which helps the latter to complete the details of the tale in his/her mind.”

More information is available at the public libraries or via internet on the website of the Public Libraries Office of Gilan (www.gilanpl.ir). There are a total of 102 public libraries in the northern province.