Bookbug star Kirstie is a hero... and that’s official
Award joy as thousands enjoy her online sessions
A Renfrew mum’s online Bookbug sessions have been watched by thousands of families across the country .
Kirstie Burns has been a volunteer Bookbug leader at Renfrew Library for the last nine years and regularly posts new songs and rhymes on her YouTube channel.
Since the lockdown, she has been posting full Bookbug sessions, her views have rocketed and she now has double the amount of subscribers.
She said: “It’s been fantastic, people have been tuning in from all over the country. Every Tuesday at 11am I do a new session and go live for 30 minutes. It’s there on the channel afterwards as well so people can watch it whenever they want.
“Loads of the families who normally come along watch it live and I’ve been getting messages and photos from families all over the country. I get messages from people in London who love my accent and I have had some from Tiree.
“One of the early sessions has been watched 10,000 times.
“I know lots of children and their families look forward to our Bookbug on a Tuesday so this is a way of keeping that routine going.”
Mum- of- two Kirstie is still working as a biomedical scientist and started volunteering for Bookbug nine years ago when the previous librarians were moved on. She said the sessions helped her as a new mum and she hopes the online sessions will help other new parents.
“I’m worried about the new parents because Bookbug is one of the first things many of them come along to,” she said.
“It’s such an important lifeline for parents so I want to spread the word that it’s there if they need it.
“It’s very odd doing the session and not having children crawling over me or trying to take a bite of my book. But it has been a nice thing to do. It’s a wee something I can do to help.”
Kirstie’s sessions are popular with parents and their wee ones and her hard work has been recognised by the Scottish Book Trust, which gave her a Highly Commended award at their recent Bookbug Hero awards.
She was nominated by families and Renfrewshire Libraries staff for the first ever Bookbug Hero awards alongside 70 others.
She was one of the top three Highly Commended.
She said: “I was so chuffed because this is something I was nominated for by the families who come along to the sessions as a thank you for what I do.
“I got lots of messages from families telling me they’d nominated me which was lovely. There are fantastic people all over the country involved in Bookbug so to be recognised among them is very special.”
Scottish Book Trust said: “When Kirstie isn’t working as a biomedical scientist or looking after her children, she devotes her time to deliver Bookbug sessions in her local library, which are clearly adored by all the families who attend.
“Kirstie’s passion and enthusiasm for Bookbug has encouraged family bonding and created a love of stories, songs and rhymes for all the children who attend. She is a real ambassador for Bookbug and for libraries.”
Renfrewshire Libraries also congratulated Kirstie for her success., saying: “Congratulations to Kirstie Burns, the amazing volunteer Bookbug session leader, who has been highly commended by Scottish Book Trust at the Bookbug Hero awards. Kirstie’s sessions in Renfrew Library and online are so engaging and loved by so many families. Thank you Kirstie – you are a Bookbug hero.”
To watch Kirstie’s videos, go to YouTube. com/ kirstieburns and click subscribe to find out when new content is added.