CHAWTON House Library has launched a new ‘Adopt a Book’ programme, opening up an interesting new way of supporting the library and the work carried out there in promoting early women writers.

The aim, according to a library spokesman, is to have secured 2,017 ‘adoptions’ by the end of 2017 – a momentous year for bibliophiles everywhere, since it will be the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death.

The scheme is a way of directly supporting the work of Chawton House Library and helping take care of more than 15,000 volumes – all accessible to use for research – in the library’s unique collection.

John Turner, a longstanding supporter of Chawton House Library, has given this initiative a significant boost by donating £2,500 for a bespoke adoption of the library’s first edition of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, in memory of his wife Jean.

He was assisted in his selection by librarian Dr Darren Bevin.

John has now ‘adopted’ 150 books toward the target of 2,017 by 2017.

For more details or to get involved with the ‘Adopt a Book’ scheme, visit chawtonhouse.org.