Libraries' update - open for longer, stay for longer!

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heading for newsletter new for 2021

Open again for borrowing, browsing, computers and studying

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Normal opening hours resume and no time limit to visits

We have been really pleased to welcome you back into libraries and hope you have enjoyed being able to visit and browse again. 

From Monday 17th May, all our libraries will return to their normal opening times, including opening times to 7pm on certain days. See our website for up-to-date details of library opening hours.

There will be no time limit for how long visitors to the library can stay. Advance booking will not be required for using public computers or using study tables.

All customers entering any library building are still required to wear a mask and sanitise their hands, and your presence in the library must be recorded either using the NHS Test and Trace app or by library staff recording your name and phone number.

Reservation charges

Now all nine of our libraries are open charges for reservations have been reintroduced. They only apply to new reservations.

Library events

With the gradual relaxation of restrictions, we hope to be organizing more events inside and outside our libraries. Some of our events continue to run online. Check our library website for the latest news on library events.


Dinosaur-themed craft packs

dino crafts

Dinosaur packs are now available for purchase from Bracknell LibrarySandhurst Library and Crowthorne Library.

The pack includes:

  • craft materials for making dinosaurs
  • wordsearches
  • colouring sheets

The packs cost £2. Please bring the exact change.


Events

knitting

Knit and Natter virtual group

Tuesdays 2.30pm-3.30pm (change of time from Tues 18 May)

On Zoom

Find new friends, share tips, chat in a relaxed way and enjoy some company.

Prepare your material and needles, have a cuppa ready and just chat along the way.

Book on Eventbrite

Tai Chi

Tai Chi

Tuesdays 11am-12 midday (starting 18 May)

Sessions will be held outside Bracknell Library- Weather permitting.

£5.00 per session – pay on the day with the exact money.

Please contact Bracknell Library to book your place. Attendees must book the first session and each subsequent session a week in advance.

Book cover of The Other Woman by Sandie Jones

Online Book Group

Thursday 7pm on Zoom (next dates 20 May and 17 June)

Meet up with other people who enjoy reading and discussing books through an online chat. Everyone is welcome!

There's still time to read Ken Follett's Lie Down with Lions for 20th May.

We will be discussing The Other Woman by Sandie Jones on 17th June, an addictive psychological thriller about finding the man of your dreams and the mother who won’t let him go. The e-book is free to borrow from BorrowBox with unlimited access, so no waiting lists. 

Book your place on Eventbrite.

Elmer Day

Elmer Day

Saturday 29 May

Elmer makes the world a much brighter place! So for this year's Elmer Day, we are spreading the positivity of Elmer craft packs and a hunt around the library. Pick up a craft pack (£2) from Binfield, Bracknell, Crowthorne, Great Hollands, Sandhurst and Whitegrove Libraries and join in the Elmer fun. There will also be an Elmer Hunt around Bracknell Library. 

picture of a mother and child

Bounce and Rhyme

Weekly sessions starting at Crowthorne and Sandhurst Libraries. (term time only)

Crowthorne Library: Mondays 9.30am-10am, Tuesdays 2pm-2.30pm

Sandhurst Library: Fridays 9.30am-10am

Join in our friendly and fun singing and music session for babies and toddlers 0-2 years.

Please contact the library to book your place. Places must be booked in advance because a maximum of 4 adults can attend each session.

Your own bag with your musical instrument and cuddly toy will be provided. Masks must be worn. 

50p a child


Ideas for reading...

Check what’s available at our online library catalogue. You can pick up from a library or download many of these as an e-book or e-audio book from BorrowBox. 

Reading Well mood-boosting books

Getting lost in a good book is an great way to lift your mood. Reading Well, which provides access to books for health and wellbeing, has promoted a collection of mood-boosting and uplifting books which are all recommended by readers and reading groups. These include novels, poetry and non-fiction.

feel good

Reviewed on TV - new books and must-reads from last year

BBC2’s book group Between the Covers is back on television. Every week they discuss a big hitter book from last year as well as a newly published book.

book covers of books discussed by Between the Covers television programme

Shortlisted titles for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021

This year’s fabulous selection of novels explore themes such as race identity, addiction, oppression, sacrifice, loss and betrayal. You have until 7th July to decide which is your favourite from the shortlisted titles.

book covers of shortlisted titles for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021

Feel-good music with Freegal Music

Download and stream music ad-free!

Whether you want to relax, workout, dance around the lounge or study, there’s some great playlists on Freegal Music. There's over 15 million songs, with artists from every era and genre, including Sony Music’s catalog of legendary artists.

Library members can stream 3 hours a day or download 3 song tracks per week via the Freegal Music app or on a computer.

Just sign in with your library card and PIN to get started.

If you want to have a copy of downloaded tracks in your iTunes library as well as on the Freegal Music app, you can download a song again from the Freegal Music website on a computer within 2 weeks of your original download.

Playlists available on Freegal Music

Research your family history with Ancestry and Find my Past

Access from home continues

We’re delighted that library members can continue to access the websites Ancestry Library Edition and Find my Past from the comfort of home for exploring your family history, not just using library computers. For Ancestry, login to your library account with your library card number and PIN on the library catalogue and click on the link for Ancestry. For Find my Past, please email Bracknell Library  for access details.

image of old family photos and logos for Ancestry and Find my Past

Community Learning

I can do it

Moving on from Lockdown

With the further easing of restrictions, Community Learning’s  Moving on from Lockdown course is for anyone who has mixed feelings about going ‘back to normal’.  What are you happy to leave behind and what are you looking to keep? It’s an interactive session with the opportunity to discuss various lockdown experiences.  It’s relevant to people who are having to go back to a workplace after working from home, or people who have been shielding and are worried about being back in busy places.

Organised by Community Learning, this two-part course is running online on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 June, 7 – 9pm and at just £10 offers great value for money.  You will look at how lockdown has affected family and work life, how to keep going with positive changes and explore what you have learnt about yourself during lockdown.  Click here to book your place.


Keep up to date

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