Baby Babble

Our popular Baby Babble courses for 4-9 month old babies begin again next month! Please contact the following libraries if you'd like to sign up:

• Every Tuesday for 5 weeks from 1st March at Long Eaton Library 01629 531470
• Every Tuesday for 5 weeks from 1st March at Chesterfield Library 01629 533400
• Every Wednesday for 5 weeks from 2nd March at Ripley Library 01629 532982
• Every Monday for 5 weeks from 7th March at Eckington Library 01629 533748

More sessions will follow so please keep an eye out on our Facebook page! for details! Email ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk or ring 01629 533444 for more info.

World Book Day

Thursday 3rd March is World Book Day, and the perfect time to use your local library services with your families! Whether it's popping into a library to find your child's next great read, or using one of our eLending platforms to download them an amazing book on a device, make sure World Book Day is all about the power of reading!

To find out more about World Book Day and its 25 year celebration visit the official site here.

A-Z of Derbyshire

Throughout 2022 we will be posting an A-Z of Derbyshire on Facebook. These will be photographs of our towns, villages, and beauty spots showcasing our wonderful County throughout the last 250+ years. All the photographs come from the Picture the Past website which is free to access and where you can find many more.

Posts are fortnightly on the 1^st and 3^rd Thursday of the month. Is your village/town included? What will we do for those awkward letters – J or X for example? Make sure you follow us on @DerbyshireLibraries and find out.

eMagazines & eNewspapers on PressReader

Have you downloaded PressReader yet? With over 7,000 national and international titles it's the perfect eLending format to keep you informed and entertained. From The Guardian to The New York Times, and BBC Good Food to PC Gamer, there's plenty for everyone! Visit the website or download the app for your smartphone or tablet to get started.

For more info on our eLending platforms click here, ring 01629 533444, or contact ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk.

Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals

The Longlists for the YOTO Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals were announced on 16th February, and what a fantastic pair of lists they are! The Carnegie Medal recognises the best writing from recent children's fiction & non-fiction, and the Kate Greenaway Medal honours the greatest illustration in children's fiction & non-fiction, and both lists will give you many excellent choices for you and your families to enjoy. You can request copies of the books here.

The Shortlists for both medals are announced on 16th March, and we will once again be taking part in the Shadowing scheme to decide which book from the Kate Greenaway Shortlist we would like to nominate as our official winner. This will take place virtually and further details will be released on social media and in next month's eNewsletter. 

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

Derbyshire Libraries will be celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with events in libraries across Derbyshire. Details will be published soon so please keep an eye out on our website, social media and look for information displayed in your local library and next month’s newsletter.

In the meantime we are asking for people’s help with 2 projects. The first is a competition aimed at children asking for them to design a Royal Flag. There are 3 age categories (6 and under, 7-11 and 12-16) and the closing date is 30^th April. Entries should be submitted on a sheet of A4 white paper (landscape) to your local library.

The second involves collecting people’s Royal Memories which will be added to the Collection at the Derbyshire Record Office. We are looking for peoples’ memories of when they met the Queen, events they attended or information about other royal celebrations they took part in. Collection boxes will be displayed in libraries and there will also be opportunities to submit contributions via the website.

Derbyshire Libraries Music & Drama Service 

Music and Drama groups in Derbyshire can take out a subscription to borrow sets of music and plays from the Library Service. 

We are delighted that from March, the Music and Drama service will be able to borrow sets from other library authorities once again, as the inter library loan scheme for loaning sets recommences.

For further information please email chesterfield.library@derbyshire.gov.uk or ring 01629 533426

“Same, same….. but different!”

On Saturday 19^th February we hosted the Sonia Sabri Company in our Library Theatre. Performing “Same, same…. but different” the audience were treated to a spectacle of dance.

Three amazing performers showed us that although we are all different, good at somethings, not in others, look different, feel things differently, we can still find common ground and come together as friends to enjoy life. Our audience ranged from a baby to those of us of more senior years, but everyone enjoyed it.

Our thanks go to Selene, Aakanshka and David who kept us entertained throughout.

Hopefully we will be able to bring other performances back to our Theatre in the future so keep a look out on our social media sites or this newsletter.

Girl Tech @ Eckington Library

Three of our librarians recently had the delight to collaborate with Eckington Brownies on a project called 'Girl Tech', inspiring young girls to try out STEM activities and hopefully help to cement a life-long love of all things science and techy. The group split into three and tried coding with the Sphero Mini Robot Ball, circuits with the Snap Circuits kit, and more circuity through Play Dough with the Electro Dough kits.

Our librarians loved the fact that the girls had fun with STEM outside of school, and clearly loved being in the library after hours. After following the basic instructions of each task, each group was keen to try and experiment to see what they could do with each activity beyond what the instructions told them, which showed just how well their imaginations had been fired! It was great also to see that 

Derbyshire Record Office

New online exhibitions!

We’ve recently launched two new online exhibitions. The first one tells the story of Buxton Crescent, which began in 1779 when the then Duke of Devonshire decided to turn Buxton into a fashionable Georgian spa town by building hotels, an assembly room and most importantly, thermal baths, where patrons could ‘take’ Buxton’s famous healing waters. You can see how the story unfolds here.

Our second new exhibition tells a much more modern story: Walking Together is a journey of remembrance for the men who died in the Markham Colliery disasters of 1938 and 1973. Find out more about these mining disasters and about the project that’s building a walking trail to remember the men here.

(Image: Buxton Crescent in 1804)

Buxton Museum & Art Gallery

On Buxton Museum & Art Gallery's blog, volunteer Ian Gregory considers how transport and times have changed by reflecting on a postcard from the collections:

One of the many postcards that I’ve been working with has caught my eye. At first it was a horse-drawn carriage that held my attention. Two black horses stand in front of it ready to go. Ladies and gentlemen wearing Edwardian costume sit high above the road. They must have had a fine view of their surroundings. Their driver is named on the back of the card as T. Needham. In fact, the carriage wheels are chest high to grown men. Then I noticed three people standing by a back wheel.

Read the rest of the blog piece here!

Improve your numeracy or literacy skills and gain a qualification with Derbyshire Adult Community Education Service

Reading, writing and numeracy are skills that we call upon many times a day. We are constantly using these skills whether catching up with friends on social media, applying for a job or helping children with their homework. If your lack of qualifications or confidence in English or maths are causing you stress, and holding you back in your working or personal life, why not consider taking an Adult Education class? We can help you achieve your potential in English and maths!

We offer a range of English and Maths courses across the county, from beginners to improvers. These courses are free if don’t already have a level 2 qualification (GCSE grade 4 or equivalent) in English or maths and want to improve your skills to gain a qualification. You will work toward a nationally recognised Functional Skills qualification, up to Level 2. Functional Skills qualifications demonstrate that you have the skills at the appropriate level and the ability to apply them effectively to solve problems successfully in the workplace and in other real-life situations.

The courses are delivered in a range of ways and include but are not limited to:

• One 2-hour session per week for up to 30 weeks in centres or online.
• Fast track courses of one 2-hour session per week for 10 weeks plus an additional 2 to 4           hours of guided independent study per week.
• Intensive courses of two 5-hour sessions per week for 6 weeks.
• Individualised blended or distance learning using BKSB and tutor support.

If you would like to know more about studying English or maths content then contact us at making.choices@daces.derbyshire.gov.uk and one of our friendly team will be in contact with you.

For further details ask in your local centre, or click here

Find out what else Derbyshire Adult Community Education Service have available here

New Adult Books Coming in March

There are plenty of new adult titles to choose from in March. You can reserve them on our online catalogue. Here are three picks to keep you engrossed:

Read Nottinghamshire Author, T.M. Logan’s latest thriller: The curfew. It begins with a small white lie. The kind of lie you might tell to keep your child out of trouble. You give him an alibi. But sometimes a small white lie can be the most dangerous thing in the world. Because five teenagers went into the woods last night. And only four came out.

Try Gerald Seymour’s spy novel: The foot soldiers. A tale of defection, spy masters, double agents and a hunt for a mole within MI6. So it is that the cavaliers of Six find themselves being interrogated by nondescript Jonas Merrick of Five - the man called back from retirement and his beloved caravan, the man the young guns call the Eternal Flame because 'he never goes out.'

Settle down with Anne Tyler’s: French braid and follow the Garrett Family’s story. When the kids are grown and Mercy Garrett gradually moves herself out of the family home, everyone determines not to notice. Over at her studio, she wants space and silence. She won't allow any family clutter. Not even their cat, Desmond. Yet it is a clutter of untidy moments that forms the Garretts' family life over the decades. it all begins in 1959, with a family holiday to a cabin by a lake. It's the only one the Garretts will ever take, but its effects will ripple through the generations.

We’ve featured Anne Tyler’s: Redhead by the side of the road in one of our blog posts. Why not take a look and join in with the discussion?

Multi-Use Titles

Every month we get a new selection of titles on our BorrowBox app of both eBooks and eAudiobooks that can be taken out by multiple users at one time. These stay multi-use for 60 days, so if you have a book club and you're looking for your next title then one of these could be your next choice! 

You can find these titles on the main BorrowBox page, identified as a collection with 'No Waiting!' or 'Available Now!'

Titles available from March are:

In eBook and eAudiobook format 

• The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
• The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex
• Mum and Dad by Joanna Trollope
• The Woman in the Photograph by Stephanie Butland
• Cookie! by Konnie Huq

In eAudiobook format only

• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This Month We Recommend You Read...

Our first choice this month is The Thief who Sang Storms by Sophie Anderson. The Island of Morovia is divided, with humans on one side and alkonosts (bird-people) on the other. It’s up to young Linnet to discover the singing magic within her to help heal the island and rescue her father, through alligator pools and sinking sands, with new friends and a lot of bravery. The latest book from one of our best adventure writers, this is a must-read for 2022!

Our second choice is the next in Pamela Butchart’s hilarious ‘Wigglesbottom Primary’ series The Talking Lamb. These three stories include a talking lamb on a school trip to a farm, who is going to get all the pupils into a lot of trouble! Always a great choice to read and giggle about together, this is another must-read for March.

Our non-fiction choice is the beautiful Locomotion by Alastair Steele, illustrated by Ryo Takemasa. A joyous celebration of trains past, present and future, this is a brilliant look back at one of our most important forms of transportation. 

You can reserve all these on our online catalogue.

Keep in touch with Derbyshire Libraries via social media

Follow us on our Derbyshire Libraries Facebook & Twitter pages, and talk to us about books on our new Blog page!