Libraries Week is an annual showcase and celebration of the best that libraries have to offer.
This year the focus is on Green Libraries and all the ways we can support our staff and customers to live more sustainably and protect the natural environment in the face of climate change.
Look out for green displays and events in your local library – from talks to book swaps to crafting with natural and recycled materials. Check www.library.live for events near you.
As part of our commitment to Net Zero and caring for our planet, Cambridgeshire Libraries have signed the Green Libraries Manifesto
Greening your home - talk and live screenings
Saturday 7 October, 2pm, Cambridge Central Library
Top-level climate scientist Prof Jonathan Gregory will describe why and how he has converted his ordinary home into an ultra energy efficient “SuperHome”.
The talk will be filmed by the British Library and livecast to libraries around the UK, including Ely, Huntingdon, March, St Ives, St Neots and Wisbech libraries. Find full details here. Advance booking is essential for the in-person event at Cambridge Central Library Greening your home| Eventbrite Tickets
After the talk Cambridge Central and Ely Libraries will have advisors on hand to discuss local options and grants for greening your own home.
Black History Month 2023
Cambridgeshire Libraries will commemorate Black History Month 2023 by launching the Mark My Words book collection at our libraries.
The titles, selected by the Universal Music Group and The Reading Agency, include fiction and non-fiction titles for children, young adults and adults by leading black authors Look out for a display at your local library this October!
We’ll also be hosting events that help us celebrate and reflect on Black history in the UK.
Cambridge Central Library on Saturday 21 October 2-3:30pm Join us for a viewing of the Living Knowledge Network eventJust Sayin’: Malorie Blackman in conversation with Jackie Kay. This streamed discussion will focus on Blackman's autobiography Just Sayin’, a deeply personal and vividly compelling account of a natural storyteller who defied expectations and inspired a generation.Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or just come along on the day:Malorie Blackman in conversation with Jackie Kay (LKN streamed event) Tickets, Sat 21 Oct 2023 at 14:00 | Eventbrite
On Saturday 14 October (11am-12noon) we’ll also be welcoming author Eva Verde to Cambridge Central Library – head to the Author Events section of this newsletter for all the details!
Get Online Week
October 16-22 is Get Online Week, a national celebration of what we can do to help fix the digital divide.
Our libraries are marking the occasion with a series of events and information displays highlighting the resources we have available. We can support people to access the internet with devices and data via our LendIt collection, and also improve their digital skills and learn new ones with Learn My Way.
You can join us at:
Cambridge Central Library: Monday 16 October 10:30am-12noon (Information Session) and Thursday 19 October 10-11:30am (Digital Drop-in)
Huntingdon Library
Huntingdon Library Not confident using a tablet? Would you like to know more? Come for a cup of tea and a chat with a member of staff who can show you the ropes. Free drop-in session.
Cambourne Library: Monday 16 October Tea and Tablets drop in sessions 10am-12pm and 1pm-3pm for customers to explore and use our online offers e.g. Libby and Pressreader. Bring your own devices or use one of ours.
St Neots Library: Tuesday 17 October, 10am-12noon – Digital Coffee Morning
Free and no booking required – just come along on the day. All welcome!
Open+ in more libraries
On Monday 2 October March, Soham and Rock Road libraries are launching Open+
This allows residents to access library services outside of usual staffed hours, including: • access to free Wi-Fi • access to the full range of library loan stock, with self-service borrowing and returns • access to PCs, printers and photocopiers • comfortable study and leisure spaces • meeting room hire
Anyone with full library membership over the age of 16 can register to use Open+. Just speak to a member of staff at any Open+ library during staffed hours. They’ll take you through a simple registration process and short induction session to help you access the library outside of its normal hours.
To find out all about Open Plus please visit our website including a short video on how it works.
Local author Rachel Meller talks about her moving new book, The Box with the Sunflower Clasp, a story of family secrets and a young Jewish woman’s escape from 1930s Vienna to Shanghai.
Eva is a writer from East London. Identity, class and female rage are recurring themes throughout her work. She will introduce her latest novel, In Bloom, an affecting tale of strength, survival, forgiveness and determination, and the fierce love and unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters.
Cambridge Central Library, Saturday 14 October, 11am
Libraries of Sanctuary celebration at St. Ives Library
Cambridgeshire Libraries received Libraries of Sanctuary status this August, and to mark the occasion we’re holding a celebration at St Ives Library on Saturday 28 October.
Join us from 10am to 3pm for a fun day of events and activities for all ages – keep an eye on our social media for all the details. The formal portion of the event will take place between 12 noon and 1pm, and will be followed by refreshments, an opportunity to mingle, and music. We’re looking forward to celebrating Cambridgeshire’s diverse migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking communities and we hope to see you there!
The Library Presents Murder and Music this October!
Come to Ramsey Library on 20 October and solve an interactive murder mystery with live actors as the characters, or if music is more your thing come for the foot-tapping Sunday afternoon of uplifting music by Mazaika at Alconbury Weald on 22 October. Families can come and make a movie in a matchbox and hear wonderful storytelling at March, Soham or Ramsey in October half term or join a fun and lively interactive music session with balloon animals by the Musical Balloon Band in Littleport on 21 October. Find more on Library.Live
There are lots more events during October – December. Tickets are available in libraries (cash payments), online or by phone 01353 616991.
New Books
Click on the button below to take a look at our full selection of new books for September.
Our Cambridgeshire Listens and Cambridgeshire Reads collections bring you a wide range of books to borrow in eBook or eAudiobook format. Available for multiple use, they're great for reading groups and workplace reads. You can even listen and read at the same time!
Each month the selection of adult, young adult and children's titles are refreshed - they're available to borrow over a 60 day period. Try the links to look at this month's offerings.
We have 8 titles available as both Reads and Listens this month:
Left You Dead by Peter James, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer, The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Nine Lives by Peter Swanson, The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci, The House of Ashes by Stuart Neville, The Stray of Paris by Jane Smiley, and The Golden Mole by Katherine Rundell.
We also have 8 adult fiction and non fiction titles available as just Listens:
The Gifts by Liz Hyder, The Beresford by Will Carver, Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty, Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson, Bigger than Us by Fearne Cotton, People Person by Candice Carty-Williams, The Woods by Harlan Coben, and The Killing Song by Lesley McEvoy.
Also available are these 4 junior and teen titles:
The Reluctant Vampire by Jo Simmons, The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill, Stories of Wizards and Witches by Enid Blyton, and Rolling Dice by Beth Reekles.
Huntingdon Library is very excited to announce the launch of Adulting101, a program aimed at empowering young people (15-21) entering the adult world.
In a survey the library conducted last year, young people expressed the need for more services covering key life and job skills. Adulting101 was our answer.
The library has partnered with ActionCOACH Cambridge, Mind CPSL, Preparing for Adulthood, and Centre33 to create a program of FREE workshops covering finance skills, how to move into the job market, entrepreneurial skills, mental health and general tips and tricks on the things we all would have liked to know when we entered the world of adults for the first time. For more info, go to Adulting101 Workshops
The first workshop, Adulting101: How to find a job, will cover how to build a CV, how to write a job application, and where to find resources. There will be mock interview sessions as well!
It will be held at Huntingdon Library Wednesday 25 October 4-6pm.
Every year we celebrate World Mental Health Day on 10th October. The theme for this year is “Mental Health is a Universal Human Right”.
It’s good to talk about mental health - how we need to look after it, and how important it is to get help if you are struggling. The Mental Health Foundation website has many tips about how to talk about your mental health and how to talk to someone else about their mental health. It also contains helpful information, including resources for refugees and asylum seekers.
Making your side hustle your main hustle is often a pivotal moment for many entrepreneurs because it feels like a leap of faith. But what if you had a guiding hand, to help you JUMP? That’s where BIPC Jumpstart comes in. With nearly 200 businesses already benefitting to date, this year up to 24 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough based start-up and pre-start businesses are invited to share a £75k prize fund.
Who can apply? Businesses registered on or after 1 December 2022, or new businesses registering within two months of March 2024.View the full T & C's on these pages
What can I win? A grant of up to £10k that could help your business really thrive.
How do I apply? Before completing the online application form (we ask you to answer 5 critical questions, submit information about your business and describe how you would spend the grant), you must join at least 3 live sessions from the support programme between September and 17th November. View the upcoming events
As designated Libraries of Sanctuary, Cambridgeshire Libraries have a special concern for people seeking refuge. In our larger libraries you can find copies of the other side of hope: journeys in refugee and immigrant literature, a UK-based literary magazine edited by refugees and immigrants. Or look for it online. It contains moving poetry by refugee writers, based on lived experience.
Art exhibition: 'An exploration of different mediums'
Free drop-in exhibition at Cambridge Central Library. Monday 23 October 09:30-18:00
Come along and see a joyful collection of artwork created by children and young people from diverse backgrounds across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. These young artists took part in a series of workshops during the summer holidays with a focus on experimenting and engaging with different forms of art - and most importantly, having fun! Come and see a wide range of experimental artworks in unusual mediums including paint pouring, textured acrylics and collage.
All welcome and there is no need to book - just come along on the day!
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