VOLUNTEERS and staff at Dursley and Wotton-under-Edge libraries are waiting with bated breath to see if they are one of the finalists for a prize that aims to invigorate the service and encourage young and old to read more.

The shortlist for the first David Vaisey Prize, which recognises an outstanding library scheme, will be announced on Tuesday.

More than 20 ventures from Gloucestershire’s 39 libraries are being scrutinised by a panel of judges who will award a £5,000 prize to the winner and three runners-up prizes of £1,000.

With 20 libraries in the running the judges will pick the initiative which has best demonstrated more borrowing of books, reading and discussions of the titles from readers of all ages.

The libraries must also encourage community support and help from volunteers. The winner and runners-up and can use the prize money however they wish to further the trust’s ambitions.

The initiative has been launched with support from Gloucestershire Library Services, the Booker Prize Foundation, the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire, playwright Alan Bennett and writer Jilly Cooper, among others.

Jane Everiss, head of Gloucestershire Library Services, said: “We are pleased to work closely with the trust to encourage initiatives in libraries where reading has a real impact on people’s lives.

"We are equally pleased that we can recognise the invaluable contribution that volunteers make to our libraries.”

The annual awards aims to reward some of Gloucestershire’s 39 libraries - eight of which are managed by the community - and almost 500 volunteers.

Broadcaster Anne Robinson chairs the charity’s judging panel, with Marianne Hinton, Cheltenham Music Festival chairman Edward Gillespie, author Jamila Gavin, and Trevor Lee, head of literacy at Kingshill School in Cirencester.

The winner will be announced at the Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival on October 8.

David Vaisey CBE, who the prize was named after, was the son of a Tetbury gardener who has devoted his life to libraries.

He won scholarships to Rendcomb and to Oxford and became the head of its Bodleian Library. It is hoped he will attend the award presentation in his wheelchair.