Libraries Week

It's Libraries Week across the UK from Monday 3rd to Sunday 9th October, and we'd love to see as many people as possible popping into their local library or using our online eLending platforms as possible!

With your help, we'd also love to see a whole host of new members joining! Remember, it's free for people to sign up to Derbyshire Libraries, and can be done either in person with one form of ID, or online here using the online joining form, where a card will be posted out. Please tell everyone you know that it's simple to join and there's plenty for all to enjoy! 

Black History Month

It's Black History Month throughout October, and you'll be able to pop into our libraries to see what titles of interest we have on offer, including large displays and collections at Chesterfield, Ashbourne, and Glossop Libraries. It's a fantastic chance to learn something new or discover a new author! You can learn more about Black History Month here.

Adult Writing Competition

Following the success of our short story writing competition for children at the beginning of the year, Derbyshire Libraries are now inviting adults to write a story in up to 55 words.

The story can be in any genre but we want to celebrate our wonderful county so Derbyshire must feature in some way. This can be interpreted broadly so your story could include your favourite beauty spot, village, building, bridge, monument or somewhere else!

Whatever your style - from thriller to horror, crime to romance - we’d love to read it.

The winning story will receive a £20 book token.

All eligible entries will be published in an ebook on Derbyshire Libraries' BorrowBox platform and will be available for all customers to read and enjoy.

For more details on how to enter and competition rules visit out website here. Closing day is 4th November 2023. 

National Poetry Day

Join us to celebrate National Poetry Day at 2pm on Thursday, October 6^th at Long Eaton Library.  Feel free to bring along your own choice of poem to share, maybe one you’ve written yourself!  Or just come along to relax with a cuppa and listen to the ones we've chosen. This year’s theme is ‘the environment’ but any poem of your choice will be welcome and, if you don’t want to read it yourself, we can read it for you. 

It is a free event but please book your place in advance at Long Eaton Library or phone: 01629 531470.

Coderdojo Champions Wanted!

We are running 2 information sessions at Buxton Library (Tuesday 18^th October, 1pm to 3pm) and Bolsover Library (Wednesday 19^th October, 1pm to 3pm) to recruit for volunteers to run Dojo clubs for young people in our libraries. Dojos are championed by individuals all around the world who are passionate about giving young people the opportunity to learn to code. CoderDojo champions are enthusiastic, driven (and often not techie!) volunteers who take charge of setting up and maintaining a Dojo. Meet staff to find out more.

Board Game Clubs

We are starting up board game clubs in Chesterfield and Belper Libraries, giving you the chance to come along and test some of the best modern board games in a warm and friendly environment! These are free to join and are all drop-in sessions, so no need to book.

• Chesterfield Library - Fortnightly from Thursday 20th October - 7-9pm
• Belper Library - Second Tuesday of the month from Tuesday 11th October - 4-7pm

Please contact ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk for more information.

CSI

Who Done it?!

Have you ever wanted to be a CSI… even just for a day? Now you can! This is your opportunity to learn from the professionals, become an investigator and utilise the core skills needed to crack a case! Angela and Dionne, former crime scene investigators, will equip you with the skills needed with this hands-on sessions help to develop practical techniques used at real life crime scenes. You will wear your own forensic suit and work with others, looking through evidence, testing hair and fibres, inking and lifting fingerprints and footprints, to collectively solve the case. This event is for young people aged 15 to 24 only, light refreshments will be provided. Book on Eventbrite:

• Staveley Library, 25^th October 1pm to 4pm
• Clay Cross Library, 26^th October 1pm to 4pm

Contact the Information Library Service on 01629 533444 or ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk for more information.

Meet the Author: Christopher Edge

Welcome to The Escape Room – the ultimate Escape Room with puzzles and challenges to beat before time runs out. But wait, this is no ordinary game…

Do you dare to play? Join author Christopher Edge on a heart-racing journey as he brings The Escape to life and explore the imaginative, empowering world of his mind-bendingly brilliant novel, Escape Room. Tickets are free and available on Eventbrite. Suitable for children aged 9+

• Monday 24^th October, Chesterfield Library 10.30am 
• Monday 24^th October, Heanor Library, 1.30pm

Contact the Information Library Service on 01629 533444 or ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk for more information.

More Children's Activities

There's more happening for children this month!

Come to Alfreton Library on Saturday 17th October from 10.30-11.15am for some Crafty Fun. Free for all and no need to book.

Wirksworth Library will be hosting a STEM morning on Friday 28th October. Times TBC so check our social media channels for confirmation in the near future.

Contact the Information Library Service on 01629 533444 or ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk for more information on both of these events.

eAudiobooks on uLIBRARY

Book Prizes

There are several pieces of exciting news about book prizes out this month!

Booker Prize

The 6-strong shortlist for the Booker Prize has been announced, with the winner due to be revealed on 17th October.

Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction

The 12-strong longlist of the best recent non-fiction titles has been announced, with the shortlist coming on 10th October, and the winner being revealed on 17th November.

Royal Society Science Book Prize

The 6-strong shortlist has been revealed, with the winning title due to be announced in November this year.

Don't forget to browse our online catalogue to order your copy of the nominated titles!

Relaxing Reads & Time to Unwind

We have a few events coming up designed to help you relax in a calm environment!

Relaxing Reads

Join us for a cuppa, and unwind listening to our selection of relaxing reads:

• Clay Cross Library - Thursday 6th October - 10.30-11.30am - 01629 537084

Time to Unwind

Join us for a cuppa, and a relaxing morning trying out some fun crafts:

• Ilkeston Library - Thursday 13th October - 10.30am-12pm - 01629 533275
• Ripley Library - Friday 11th November - 10.30am-12pm - 01629 532982

All these events are free. Please contact individual libraries, or the Information Library Service on 01629 533444 or ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk for more information

Get Online Week

Try one thing

Get Online Week, 17 to 23 October 2022

Get Online Week is an annual national celebration, from Good Things Foundation, highlighting the benefits of learning digital skills and getting online.

The theme this year is to get online and try one thing.

Derbyshire Libraries can provide you with support when you go online, whether you’re using a smartphone, tablet, laptop or library computer.

We run bookable 1-1 digital skills support sessions which are tailored to fit your needs and which take place all through the year.

To find out more contact Derbyshire’s Library Information Service:

01629 533444 or ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk

SEN Activities for Children & Families

Belper Library are running a couple of evening sessions featuring activities for children with special educational needs, and their families. Our first session involved coding mice, and coming up we've got fun with Snap Circuit, LED cards and electro-dough!

Our further events will take place on Tuesdays 25th October and 29th November, from 5.30-6.30pm. Please book a place by contacting Belper Library on 01629 533192 or belper.library@derbyshire.gov.uk

Derbyshire Record Office

Have you had a look at our online catalogue recently? It had a big revamp a little while ago, making it even easier to search through the over 420,000 descriptions related to Derbyshire’s historic archives and local studies material. If you’re not sure how to start, this video will help you find the most relevant entries. Or, if you prefer written guidance, try our research guides.

Buxton Museum & Art Gallery

Buxton Museum & Art Gallery is free to visit and open at the following times: 

• Tuesday to Saturday: 10am to 5pm, last admission 4pm.
• Sundays (Easter to end of September): 12pm to 4pm, last admission 3.30pm.
• Bank holidays: 12pm to 4pm, last admission 3.30pm.

You can also follow their blog here to see their latest amazing stories. Recent pieces include:

• Canada Diaries (Part 1)
• A View of Goyt's Bridge
• Cartimandua - Ice Age Queen of the North

Ring 01629 533540 or email buxton.museum@derbyshire.gov.uk for more information.

Autumn with Adult Community Education

Book an adult education course to update your maths, English or digital skills.

There are lots of other courses that can enable you to develop new or existing skills for employment. Check our Qualification and Skills pages to see what we have on offer.

Is there a young person in your life who has left school and isn't sure what options are open to them next? Our study programmes are a great choice to help them improve grades, build confidence, gain real work skills, or help you with further study. See more information Learning for 14 to 19-year-olds - Derbyshire County Council

New Adult Fiction Books Coming in October

We’ve highlighted three adult fiction titles published in October for you to get stuck into. You can reserve them via our online catalogue:

The Romantic by William Boyd

“Set in the 19th century, this novel follows the roller-coaster fortunes of a man as he tries to negotiate the random stages, adventures and vicissitudes of his life. He is variously a soldier, a lover, a husband, a father, a friend of famous poets, a writer, a bankrupt, a jailbird, a farmer, an African explorer - and many other manifestations - before, finally, he becomes a minor diplomat, a consul based in Trieste (then in Austria-Hungary) where he thinks he will see out the end of his days in well-deserved tranquillity. This will not come to pass.”

Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North by Rachel Joyce

“Ten years ago, Harold Fry set off on his epic journey on foot to save a friend. But the story doesn't end there. Now his wife, Maureen, has her own pilgrimage to make. Maureen Fry has settled into the quiet life she now shares with her husband Harold after his iconic walk across England. Now, ten years later, an unexpected message from the North disturbs her equilibrium again, and this time it is Maureen's turn to make her own journey. But Maureen is not like Harold. She struggles to bond with strangers, and the landscape she crosses has changed radically. She has little sense of what she'll find at the end of the road. All she knows is that she must get there.”

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

“This is the tale of Demon Copperhead: our hero. A boy with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-coloured hair, bucket-loads of charm and a talent or two the world is yet to discover. Born to a teenaged single mother in a single wide trailer, life is not set fair for Demon as he escorts us on this, his journey through the modern perils of foster care, athletic success and addiction, the dizzying highs of true love, and the crushing losses that can accompany it. But Demon is a fighter, a survivor.”

Here are some other October highlights:

• No Plan B by Lee and Andrew Child
• The Girl Who Dared to Dream by Diney Costeloe
• The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham
• Flappy Investigates by Santa Montefiore
• A Heart full of Headstones by Ian Rankin
• Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout

You can request any of these titles at your local library or place a hold yourself via our online catalogue

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 September are:

In eBook and eAudiobook format:

• The Pull of the Stars - Emma Donoghue
• The Book of Form and Emptiness - Ruth Ozeki
• A River Called Time - Courttia Newland
• Black Sunday - Tola Rotimi Abraham
• The Last Library - Freya Sampson

eAudiobook only:

• The Twisted Tree - Rachel Burge
• Sing, Unburied, Sing - Jesmyn Ward

This Month We Recommend You Read...

One of our favourite things to do is recommend amazing books to you! This month we recommend you check out these titles:

The Three Billy Goats Gruff - Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen

Once there was a bridge and a terrible and VERY hungry troll lived underneath it. When the three Billy Goats Gruff decide to clip clop across the bridge to get to the grassy ridge, the troll is already imagining all the way to prepare a delicious goat dinner. But the troll underestimates those seemingly sweet but oh-so-savvy goats! Don't forget to put in your requests for the latest book by one of the greatest picture teams of all-time.

The Tale of Truthwater Lake - Emma Carroll

It's the near-future and Britain is having yet another heatwave. Of course, the government have put in the normal curfews for this kind of weather, and shops are forced to shut again. For Polly, it's the sort of heat that makes her do wild, out-of-character things just to cool down. Like face her fear of deepwater. Essential when she and her brother have been sent to their aunt's eco lake-side house for the summer. But Truthwater Lake is beginning to dry up. As the water level diminishes, a lost village emerges. Swimming over the rooftops at midnight, Polly dives down and is suddenly able to breathe, to hear church bells and bird song. Polly has discovered an underwater gateway - to the past.

The Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions - Isabel Thomas & Aaron Cushley

Why are bubbles always round? Could I ever touch a rainbow? Why can't I remember being a baby? Have you ever not been able to concentrate because there are SO many questions buzzing round your brain? 'The Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions' will offer answers to the most bamboozling questions and curious queries that you can think of. How many stars are in the night sky? Why don't animals wear clothes? Do plants have feelings? This book will define, debunk and demystify the trickiest of questions and even open your eyes to questions you have never even thought of!

Order your copies of these fantastic books on our online catalogue.

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