'Our libraries will use any opportunity to cultivate, and encourage a love for reading and books. Books give flight to our imagination and makes the ordinary a magical experience. They inform, enlighten, enthral and help us understand and live our history and culture. World Book Day celebrates all of this and this year encourages everyone to embrace all that books do,' said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia van der Ross.

Also known as World Book and Copyright Day, 23 April is a symbolic date in world literature as it's the date on which several prominent authors – William Shakespeare, Miguel Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega – all died.

This made the date the choice for the UNESCO general conference in 1995 to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors, encouraging as many people as possible to access books and share ideas.

'It is our duty as adults to encourage a love for reading and there is no better way than to lead by example. A passion for reading starts with hearing stories being told. We cannot expect our children to enjoy reading when parents and other adults do not set them on a book journey. It is never too early to start reading to a child and to give them the lifelong gift of a love of books,' said Councillor Van der Ross.