The #ikleesthuis campaign in which publishers, booksellers, librarians, authors and readers share tips to encourage enjoyment of reading during the COVID-19 lockdown has been extended until the end of May. The widely used hashtag is uniting readers in these challenging times.
The CPNB Foundation, which organises collective campaigns and events to promote reading and book ownership, is hoping that the #ikleesthuis campaign will promote reading for pleasure particularly during these challenging times: “Books are a source of enrichment and offer deeper understanding. But reading can also be an enjoyable form of relaxation and a great escape when this cannot be provided by other social and cultural activities.” Since it was launched on 19 March, the hashtag has frequently been one of the top 20 trending topics on various social media sites. The Hebban.nl reader community has formed special ‘read at home’ book clubs as a way of taking part in the #ikleesthuis campaign.
The #ikleesthuis campaign is a joint initiative by the CPNB Foundation, the General Publishers Group (Groep Algemene Uitgevers (GAU)), the Royal Booksellers’ Association (Koninklijke Boekverkopersbond (KBb)), the Dutch Foundation for Literature (Letterenfonds), the Dutch Reading Foundation (Stichting Lezen), the Dutch National Library (Koninklijke Bibliotheek) and the NBD Biblion library support service. The campaign was inspired by author and Children’s Reading Ambassador Manon Sikkel, who came up with the idea for the hashtag.
