|
Library@Home volunteers provide a lifeline to people who cannot get out to their local library. They select books/audio-books, thoughtfully chosen according to each reader's preference. On each visit the volunteers and readers have a friendly chat, talking about books and life in general. The volunteers will often notice whether everything is alright or if the reader needs any help or support.
Our volunteers enjoy delivering the Library@Home service. Linda*, one of our volunteers says, “… I have always loved reading, so it seemed a natural fit after a long career in the NHS to become a volunteer with the Library@Home service and I have been volunteering for this service for 18 years now!
|
|
 |
During this time I have had the privilege of getting to know some amazing people - from the gardener of a national celebrity to a retired diplomat and his wife, and taking in a tractor driver and former WREN on the way. They have all welcomed me into their homes and happily passed on their book tastes; and what people value at least as much as the books is the opportunity to have a chat with someone.
Being a Library@Home volunteer has been both a challenge - how to find 10 more romances set in Scotland (thank goodness for the librarians!) and a privilege.”
The Library@Home service is one of 244 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups nationwide to receive the prestigious award this year. Their work along with others from across the UK, reminds us of all the ways in which fantastic volunteers are contributing to their local communities and working to make life better for those around them.
|
What happens next?
Volunteers and library staff will receive the award crystal and certificate from the Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire later this summer. And two lucky volunteers from the Library@Home service will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2023 along with other recipients of this year’s Award.
* Name has been changed to protect privacy
|
Our new What’s On brochure is in all libraries – make a date in your diary and join us! Browse the many events we have – you’ll find them all listed on our Library.Live page too.
|
Engage events are back!
Do you know that our Engage events have restarted in libraries? We’re really looking forward to having you back. Find out what’s happening at your library - ask at the library, have a look at https://www.library.live/whats-on or pick up a copy of our new What’s On brochure.
This summer look out for Cambridgeshire Libraries’ newest recruits: Bessie the Book Bike and Jessie the Jubilee Book Bike! They are on a mission to promote reading and fun around the county. They’ll be popping up at fairs, festivals and markets, or you might meet one of them at your local library.
When you see Bessie or Jessie out and about, come and say hello. We believe these are the first Library Book Bikes in the UK, so please take a selfie to share on social media and let your friends know you’ve met one (Jubilee Jessie even has regal dressing up costumes on board!). Chat to staff who’ll be happy to help you join the library or renew your membership and will let you know more about all the great things libraries have to offer. And, of course, we hope you’ll also enjoy a book or two from the Book Bike box.
Get your diaries out – we have Jill Dawson coming to St. Ives Library on Wednesday 20th July 7pm. Jill will be talking about her latest book The Bewitching based upon a true story set in Warboys.
There’ll be a signed hardback copy for one lucky reader on the night and Jill will be bringing some of her other titles too.
Tickets £3 are on sale at St. Ives library, email StIves.Referral@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or call 0345 045 5225
|
Last chance to grab your tickets for two fantastic events happening in Ely Library this month.
Just an Ordinary Lawyer a theatre performance by Tayo Aluko on 2nd July. Previous audiences have said ‘Very talented performer.’, ‘Brilliant!’, ‘Could not be faulted.’ The story is about Nigerian Tunji Sowande who quietly breaks through multiple barriers to become Britain’s first Black judge in 1978. Recalling heroic sporting achievements alongside epoch-defining political events, Tayo Aluko delivers “a brilliantly put together history lesson delivered as art.”
Twinpossible, on 23rd July 7pm is a show that can be thoroughly enjoyed by both adults and children, Kane & Abel perform magic and comedy based on being twins. ‘Both shine individually as magicians and comedians’, ‘The magic is good, the patter is funny, the boys are great!’, Seriously impressive’.
Both events have BSL interpretation provided and access to hearing loops. Book tickets: Library Live | The LIbrary Presents
|
The sculpture trail was designed by Oliver Jeffers, whose picture books are storytime favourites across Cambridgeshire Libraries. We hope to see you on Midsummer Common at the end of the month and keep an eye out for more exciting events!
As part of the festival, we were given the opportunity to ask Oliver Jeffers five questions as an exclusive for our newsletter. Here are his answers:
- What was the most exciting thing for you about taking part in Our Place in Space?
This idea has been in my head for so long, that firstly knowing it was finally going to happen was pretty exciting, but even though I designed them and knew exactly how they would look - walking into the fabricators and seeing the first one in real life was absolutely incredible!
- Which artists have most influenced you and why?
My inspirations come from EVERYWHERE not just art. I look at artists for techniques sometimes, but equally reading books, seeing films, listening to music, talking to taxi drivers are just as likely to lead to ideas as looking at art.
- Could you tell us about your favourite children's book that you’ve read recently?
The book ‘Square’ by Mac Barnett and Jon Klasson. Part of a series with a book about Triangle and Circle. Square is mistaken for an artist, and flukes himself into making a perfect piece of art. It's truer to life than Mac probably realises.
- If you could visit another planet in our solar system, which one would it be and why?
The Moon (even though it's technically not a planet) as I’d like to experience seeing Earth from that distance.
- Have you ever got "Stuck", eaten a book or been "Lost & Found?"
Yes yes and yes.
 Click on the button below to take a look at our selection of new books for July.
Top Pick: The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed
Mahmood Mattan is a fixture in Cardiff's Tiger Bay, 1952, which bustles with Somali and West Indian sailors, Maltese businessmen and Jewish families. He is a father, chancer, some-time petty thief. He is many things, in fact, but he is not a murderer.
So when a shopkeeper is brutally killed and all eyes fall on him, Mahmood isn't too worried. It is true that he has been getting into trouble more often since his Welsh wife Laura left him. But Mahmood is secure in his innocence in a country where, he thinks, justice is served.
It is only in the run-up to the trial, as the prospect of freedom dwindles, that it will dawn on Mahmood that he is in a terrifying fight for his life - against conspiracy, prejudice and the inhumanity of the state. And, under the shadow of the hangman's noose, he begins to realise that the truth may not be enough to save him.
|
 Our Cambridgeshire Listens and Cambridgeshire Reads collections bring you a wide range of books to borrow in eBook or eAudiobook format. Multiple use, they're great for reading groups and workplace reads.
Each month the selection of adult, young adult and children's titles refresh - they're available to borrow over a 60 day period. Try the links to look at this month's offerings. We have 11 titles available as both Reads and Listens this month including The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, When the Dead Come Calling by Helen Sedgwick, Songbirds by Christy Lefteri and The Lonely City by Olivia Laing.
 We also have 4 adult fiction and 24 junior titles available as just Listens including Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella, The Hard Way by Lee Child and Holes by Louis Sachar.
Junior Titles
We have been updating our website recently, thank you for your patience and please bear with us if you find any links which are temporarily out of action.
|
|
Did you know that one of the free resources available through our Online Reference Library is the John Johnson Collection?
The John Johnson Collection is an archive of printed ephemera, offering unique insights into the changing nature of everyday life in Britain in the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Categories include Nineteenth-Century Entertainment, the Booktrade, Popular Prints, Crimes, Murders and Executions, and Advertising.
|
|
 |
It provides access 67,754 scanned items (a total of 174,196 images), including more than 20,700 pieces of theatrical and non-theatrical ephemera. Over 11,200 Popular Prints are available in facsimile form, along with more than 22,400 items from Advertising and over 1,500 from Crimes, Murders and Executions.
To access this collection, please visit the Cambridgeshire Libraries website, click on ‘Art and Culture’, and follow the link to John Johnson Collection. Then click on “Access this collection” at the bottom of the page (there is no need to enter your library card number).
|
Celebrating Health Information Week with Royal Papworth Hospital Health Librarians
Free drop-in event for all ages at Arbury Court Library, Friday 8th July, 12 to 4pm
Join us to celebrate Health Information Week 2022 and find reliable information to help you stay on top of your health.
|
|
 |
The Health Librarians from the Royal Papworth Hospital Library and Knowledge Services will answer your health information enquiries and introduce you to online resources and helpful apps. We will also be joined by a Health Trainer from Healthy You - the free healthy lifestyle services commissioned by Cambridgeshire Public Health. If you like, you can get a Health MOT by having your blood pressure and BMI checked.
To find out how your library can benefit your health and wellbeing, visit www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/LibraryAndWellbeing.
Healthy You provide the important NHS Health Check* Service to spot early signs of kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or dementia to the at- risk age group 40-74years. |
|
 |
Clinics are held at least monthly in the following libraries:
Wisbech Library
Chatteris Library
Whittlesey Library
March Library
Ely Library
Soham Library
St Neots Library
St Ives Library
Huntingdon Library
To check your eligibility and to book a FREE NHS HEALTH CHECK appointment call 0333 005 0093
Or follow the link https://healthyyou.org.uk/services/health-checks/ to find out more about why this free health check is important.
Listen to a variety of stories, poems and literature for adults. Free to join, hosted on Zoom, virtual ticket required. Join us from the comfort of your own home.
Birds
Tuesday 5th July 2-3pm
From Flamingoes to Falcons, Owls to Ostriches we will be exploring the world of Birds through literature.
Diaries and Autobiographies
Tuesday 19th July 2-3pm
We will be diving into the literary world of Diaries, journals, autobiographies and memories.
 |
|
|
All events are free to join, hosted on Zoom, virtual ticket required.
If you are interested in virtually attending any of these events, or have any questions then please contact us. You can email the Read a Little Aloud team at:
RALA.Online@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
|
|
To celebrate Lewis Carroll’s most famous work, the 4th of July is designated Alice in Wonderland Day.
This commemorates the day the Rev. Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll’s real name) took Alice Liddell and her two sisters on a boat trip along the Thames and, to entertain them, made up a story about a little girl who fell down a rabbit hole.
In 1907, the artist Arthur Rackham produced new illustrations for the story of Alice. This illustration shows Alice attending the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.
Arthur’s sister-in-law, Clara, was a City and County Councillor for many years where she was a pioneer in many social causes in Cambridge.
In 1944 Clara presented a collection of Arthur Rackham volumes to Cambridge Library. This wonderful set is one of our favourite treasures at the Cambridgeshire Collection and can be viewed upon request.
Cambridgeshire.Collection@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
You can also learn about Clara and her work in the Local Studies. To enjoy the story, you can find many versions (on the shelf and online) of Alice in Wonderland in book, DVD, and audio in Cambridgeshire Libraries.
|
|
