The David Vaisey Trust (also known as the Vaisey Trust) is a small charity that makes awards to public and state school libraries in Gloucestershire.

We know that libraries play a vital role in helping more people read more books.  This is a social justice issue and we see the role of librarians, particularly those serving school libraries, as vital to strengthening a culture of reading. Since 2016, The David Vaisey Trust has supported many varied library initiatives that bring people and books together. Our awards, presented each year at the Cheltenham Festival of Literature, celebrate the creativity and energy of librarians. The money we award goes directly to support the work of these librarians within their communities. Funds raised this year will support our expansion into the school sector in order to increase our impact and continue our vital work to support the life-enhancing love of reading.

Thank you for your support.

‘Thanks to the David Vaisey Award, we successfully combined creativity and literacy to bring families together, foster a love for learning, and expand the reach of library services into underrepresented and isolated areas. Planning for next year’s festival is already underway, promising even greater impact.‘

Holly Lovelock, on behalf of last year’s public library award winners. A group of libraries received £5,000 towards the cost of running Family Festivals across Gloucestershire.

‘Thank you so much for your recognition of the importance of this and the opportunities winning this award has given us: even after several months and a lot of work we are still so excited and passionate about the project‘.

Maggie Jones, Dene Magna School, after winning the maximum award of £5,000