LISNews: Librarian News

The Huddersfield Daily Examiner Reports on Christopher Marsden, a former librarian, turned magistrate who thinks reading could be a key to a new life out of trouble.
Marsden has drawn up a list of 80 suitable titles for Kirklees Youth Offending Team. They say Magistrates have been giving out referral orders to young people pleading guilty to first offences for the past two years.

"Most address topics such as racism, bullying and arson and are about a young person who's having a hard time, and how they learn to cope. Then it's up to them to put together a response - a written review, an audio recording, even prose or poetry.""Getting stuck into a book can give them new confidence. They might surprise themselves about what they can achieve."