Text 1: The library that comes to the harbour, by Eleri Vaughan
An original contemporary newspaper article.
Every Thursday, a blue library van parks beside the harbour wall at Cwm Glas. For some residents, it is the only library they can reach without a long bus journey. At half past three, children arrive from the primary school, while older residents come later with lists of books they have been meaning to read.
Librarian Nia Rees knows many regulars by name. She keeps a box of large-print books near the door and will order a title if it is not on the shelves. ‘People tell me what they enjoyed last time, and we look for something together,’ she says. The van is small, so visitors often take turns moving along the shelves.
On a wet afternoon last week, the steps became slippery and Nia brought books outside to a woman who could not manage them. By six o’clock, the van was ready to leave. Several children waved as it pulled away, already asking what would be brought next Thursday.
Text 2: An evening at the reading room, by A Correspondent
An original newspaper report written in a nineteenth-century voice; a period simulation, not an archival document.
In this newspaper report from 1891, a journalist visits a reading room established for workers in a busy manufacturing town.
The new reading room in Mill Street admits its members each evening from six until nine. A brass notice on the door requests silence, and the attendant sits at a desk beside the lending register. A member may borrow one volume for a week, provided his name is entered in the book.
When we visited on Tuesday, the room was nearly full. Men arriving from the foundry hung their coats by the entrance and chose newspapers from a long table. Others sat beneath the lamps with novels or books of instruction. One young worker asked the attendant to find a book on engines; the request was met with patience, though the room’s collection is not large.
The rules are strict: no food is allowed, and a book returned late incurs a small charge. Yet the room offers a warm, quiet place to read after a day’s work. At closing time the attendant rang a handbell, and the members returned their books before setting off into the dark street.
Using information from both texts, explain briefly what it was like to borrow books.
You should make it clear which text you are referring to.
123 exam-style questions on Eduqas GCSE English Language 2.3 Summary and synthesis, covering 2.3.3 Synthesising from more than one text. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.