07:30PM, Friday 26 February 2016
TV legend Sir Michael Parkinson was on hand to officially reopen a revitalised library at a Windsor school this week.
The former chat show host visited The Windsor Boys’ School, in Maidenhead Road, on Wednesday to see the work that has been done since he answered a plea for support to help renovate the library in November 2014.
Donations of more than £15,000 from Sir Michael, The Foyle Foundation, The Friends of The Windsor Boys’ School and The Prince Philip Trust Fund paved the way for a new web-based library catalogue to be introduced.
The library’s book collection has also been updated and its old fixed-bookcases have been replaced with bookcases on wheels.
Addressing students and staff at the unveiling, Sir Michael said: “Books have been a very important part of my life and I read from an early age.
“There’s a huge world out there and this might be the doorway into it.”
Sir Michael donated some of his books and art catalogues too.
Amanda Gibbon, library assistant at the school, added: “When I started working here you could barely set foot in the room.
“We’ve now really brought it back to life.”
A plaque with the words ‘The Sir Michael Parkinson Library’ was also unveiled.
Amanda added: “We wanted to give the library an identity and as Sir Michael was the first person to offer financial support and as a local resident and former parent at the school we felt it only right to name the library after him.”
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