Swadlincote Festival of Words

7 March - 10 March

It is the Swadlincote Festival of Words starting on World Book Day Thursday 7th March. There will be four days of literary fun and adventure for people of all ages, exploring fiction, non-fiction, poetry and performance, spanning multiple venues! There are loads of activities and free ‘meet the author’ sessions on offer. Well known authors include Berlie Doherty, Paul Linnet, Caryl Hart, Jonathan Taylor and poet Attie Lime, with many more!

You can book though the Swadlincote Festival of Words website. A number of events are being held in Swadlincote Library too. Find out more here.

Love crime books? Then why not come along to the library!

Meet the Crime Writers - (Crime Writers Panel) Christine Poulson, Sarah Ward and Jane Adams

at Swadlincote Library  - Thursday 7th March - at 7 pm - price £5 

Successful crime writers Christine Poulson, Sarah Ward and Jane Adams discuss their inspirations, their experiences and, of course, their books.

Booking is essential. To book and to check for many other exciting events in the library and at other venues in Swadlincote click here.

Derby Book Festival Spring Collection,

29 February - 4 March

The first Spring Collection of Derby Book Festival will be held from Thursday 29 February to Monday 4 March with 15 events aimed at all ages and interests.  Events will be held in QUAD, the Museum of Making and Artcore in the city centre. The programme is now available and tickets are on sale. Events with a local interest include Sophie Elmhirst on the amazing story of Derby couple Maurice and Maralyn, Ashley Franklin on a beautiful photographic celebration of The Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and Derbyshire based author Joanne Burn on The Bone Hunters.

Visit here where you can find full details of all the events and how to book.

Belper Library Open Mic Poetry Night

With guest poet Kane Corvus on 

Tuesday, March 19th - 6 pm - 7 pm

This is a free event suitable for ages 13 and over.

Please contact Belper Library to book your open mic slot or audience-only ticket

Call 01629 533192 or email belper.library@derbyshire.gov.uk

Between Light and Shadow - A Celebration of the Old Man of Calke

An Exhibition of New Artwork by Duncan Pass

at Belper Library

Monday 4 March - Saturday 30 March 2024

During library opening hours

Exploring Wingerworth's History

A talk by Philip Riden from the University of Nottingham and Victoria County History

at Chesterfield Library

Thursday 21st March at 10 am

For more information call 01629 533400

The event is free and no booking is required

Yoto Carnegies

The 2024 longlist is out for the Yoto Carnegies, the UK’s longest running and best loved book awards for children and young people. Celebrating the best in both writing and illustration, you can find all of these great books in our libraries.

The shortlist will be released on March 13, and you can find out more here.

Derbyshire Record Office

Derbyshire’s women lead miners

March is International Women’s Month so at the Record Office we’ve have been looking through our collection for items which celebrate the women of Derbyshire. It shouldn’t surprise you that we were spoilt for choice, but what we’ve found in a lead mining account book from 1737 just might.  

An account book, known as a Reckoning Book, for Miners Engine lead mine at Eyam Edge lists amongst its workers 17 women. These women were recorded along with several “lads” as working hauling lead ore.

A regular researcher at the record office who specialises in Derbyshire’ lead mining heritage was especially impressed by this reference to female workers, as their previous experience of reckoning books such as this is that “women are almost invisible”. Some of the names include:

Hellin Buros, Mary Buros, Sarah Hills, Elizabeth Smith, Dawrathy Bright, John Middleton maide, Hunter wife, and Mr Barker wench. And no, we don’t have the real names of these maids, wives and wenches. Which of course tells its own story.

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(Some of the names of the women lead miners)

Work Continues at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery During Temporary Closure

Buxton Museum and Art gallery remains temporarily closed for building structure investigations by Derbyshire County Council’s Property Services. 

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery keep everyone informed as and when they have any updates, via their websites and social media. The staff will also continue to generate online content, including blogs, exhibitions and research.

Click here to see Buxton Museum and Art Gallery's Top Ten Temporary Exhibitions of All Time.

Further information can be found here, or follow the blog, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Local History Drop In Sessions

Chesterfield Library - 10 am - 11:30 am

Wednesday 20 March 2024

Wednesday 17 April 2024

Just drop in for help with Family History Research, finding maps, old newspaper articles, electoral registers, old Chesterfield photographs, research questions

This event is free and no booking is required.

For more information call 01629 533400 or call into Local Studies at Chesterfield Library

Derbyshire Adult Community Education

Neurodiversity Celebration Week

Monday 18 until Sunday 24 March

Join Derbyshire Adult Community Education Service (DACES) to celebrate different minds as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week.

Do you want to find out more about neurodiversity, ADHD or Autism?

DACES have got some free online sessions to help you learn what these terms mean and how they impact daily life.

Neurodiversity: no two brains are the same

Tuesday 19 March, 9.30am until 11.30am  Book your place here

Tuesday 19 March, 1.30pm until 3.30pm  Book your place here

Neurodiversity recognises that no human brain is the same as another, and some people are more neurodivergent than others. Approx 15-20% of the population are neurodivergent.

In this session you will develop your knowledge and understanding of neurodiversity and understand why this is important. You will learn to recognise different aspects/traits of neurodivergence and understand how these traits may impact on daily life. 

ADHD awareness raising

Friday 22 March

10am until 11am  Book your place here

ADHD (Attention Deficit, Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects around 4% of the population. It can affect a person's ability to focus and can cause inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. People with ADHD can be incredibly creative, out of the box thinkers and calm under pressure. Come along to this session to recognise different aspects/traits of ADHD and understand how these strengths/traits may impact on daily life.

Autism awareness raising

Friday 22 March, 1pm until 2pm Book your place here

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects around 2% of the population. It can affect how a person perceives the world and interacts and socialises with others. Come along to this session to recognise different aspects/traits of Autism and understand how these strengths/traits may impact on daily life.

New Adult Books Coming Soon

We’ve chosen to highlight three books published recently for you to enjoy. You can reserve them via our online catalogue.

Time and Tide by Fiona Stafford

Red squirrels and red kites, drained lakes and flooded valleys, sulphurous springs and sea-filled caves. The land, sea and skyscapes of the UK are constantly shifting. Species, landmarks and ways of life slip in and out of existence, and firm ground is often just out of reach. Weaving together stories drawn from literature, local history and her own family heritage, Oxford professor Fiona Stafford leads us along coastlines and through forests and fens, revealing the forces, both natural and human, which leave places unrecognisably changed. The book offers glimpses into the past and a sense of nature's resilience that gives us hope for the future.

Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde

Imagine a world where your position in society depended on what bit of the colour spectrum you could see. This is the world inhabited by Eddie Russett (red, middle-level) and Jane Grey (monochromatic, lowest in society). Eddie and Jane must negotiate the delicate Chromatic politics of society to find out what the 'Something that Happened' actually was, how society got to be this way, and crucially, is there Somewhere Else beyond their borders - and if there is, could there be Someone Else, too, someone whose unseen hand has been guiding the fortunes and misfortunes of the nation for the past 500 years? It's a tale of a young couple's thirst for justice and answers in an implacably rigid society, where the prisoners are also the guards, and cages of convention bind the citizens to only one way of thinking - or suffer the consequences.

Parasol against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi

Oyeyemi treats you to a kaleidoscopic weekend in Prague, as dazzling as it is effortlessly unique. Get lost in the story like you would an unfamiliar city and let it reward you with moments of philosophical clarity, wheelbarrow rides, raw emotion and raw onions. This novel is a holiday, an adventure, a marvel and a guide. It is a story about the lies behind the lies we tell and a city as a living thing, sustained by the lives of its inhabitants. Suffused with warmth and joy, 'Parasol Against the Axe' is a love letter to Prague, and to the art of storytelling.

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 & Eaudio:

• David Baldacci – Dream town 
• Miriam Toews - Fight Night 
• Sebastian Barry - Old God's Time 

In eBook only:

• Kelly Barnhill - When Women Were Dragons

In  eAudiobook only: 

• David Walliams – Grannysaurus - Children’s
• Colleen Hoover – Heart bones – YA 

This Month We Recommend You Read...

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

Feather by M.G.Leonard

On a school trip to the Royal Swan Natural History Museum, Ava finds herself at the centre of a heist: hundreds of invaluable bird of paradise skins from the Alfred Wallace Collection have been stolen! When she discovers a large jet-black feather, she's sure it's a clue, but the police won't listen to her. Slipping away, she takes the case to the Twitchers in an investigation that leads them to the bizarre and sinister world of fly-fishing, and to a mysterious girl with a pet Raven called Caliban and a dangerous ring of thieves and smugglers.

Hercules: The Diary of a (Sort of) Hero by Tom Vaughan (Author) & David O'Connell (Illustrator)

If Hercules Braver is going to survive his new secondary school, he has to live up to his name, fast. He needs to become strong and tanned and popular, like a Greek hero. Not weak and pale and unpopular, like a Greek yoghurt. But his bid for popularity ends up saddling him with a set of impossible tasks - like cleaning out the monster-riddled school pond, facing up to the school bully and finding the headmaster's missing cat. Then Herc's charming, impressive birth dad turns up after years living in Greece, and Hercules thinks his problems are solved. With God-like strength and awe-inspiring powers, could his dad even be - the real Zeus?! And will Hercules learn what it truly means to be a hero?

Superhero Animals by Chris Packham (Author) & Anders Fang (Illustrator)

Get up close to nature with naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham CBE and encounter the amazing animal superheroes that will help us save the world.

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