New Year's Eve and New Year's Day Opening Hours

We will close at 5pm New Year's Eve and re-open with normal opening hours on Thursday 2nd January 2025.

Happy New Year!

New Library Management System

Derbyshire library service users are being encouraged to check their membership details are up-to-date before the introduction of a new system in the new year.

The new Library Management System (LMS) will be introduced in February 2025 and will replace the current system at all of our libraries.

While any disruption to customers will be kept to a minimum during the switchover, library members are being asked to check their membership details are up-to-date now so that they can continue to log in to the services they use after the system changes over.

The new system will modernise how Derbyshire libraries work day-to-day and be more cost-effective and efficient.

It will be used by staff for issuing, returning and renewing items and for checking the catalogue for customers to make reservations, as well as ordering and rotating books and other stock. There will be a new and improved look to the online public access and library users will still be able to access services from home.

During the switchover, which will take around one week, some services will be unavailable, but more information will be given to users nearer the time.

Our library service is part of a consortium of 6 East Midlands council library services which have joined forces to secure the contract for the new system which makes it more cost-effective for those authorities involved.

Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Leadership, Culture, Tourism and Climate Change Councillor Barry Lewis said: 

“The new library management system will play a key part in ensuring we are delivering a modern, user-friendly library service of the highest quality, that is as efficient and effective as it can be for customers and staff.

“To make the switchover as seamless as possible for our library service users we’re asking them to check their membership details are up-to-date now so they don’t lose access when the new system comes online. It’s simple and takes a few minutes to do.”

Further details about the switchover to the new library management system will be publicised in the new year, with information available on our website.

Anyone with any queries about their membership can ask a member of staff at their local library or email ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk

To check details are up-to-date, library members need to log into their account and then simply check the correct information is there.

Anyone who regularly uses a library should be up-to-date, but those who haven’t visited a library for a while or only use eServices may find their details need updating.

People can either update their library details online or call into their library.

Adult Events in January

Come along to a variety of events and health information for adults in libraries:

• From now until 24th January - Hayfield Library - Brian Nolan Art Exhibition - a collection of paintings from the late Brian Nolan, local resident of Hayfield, will be on display - during opening hours - 01629 533438
• Tuesday 14th January - Heanor Library - Live Life Better Blood Pressure Checks - blood pressure and health checks - 10am-12pm - 01629 533795
• Tuesday 28th January - Belper Library - Board Game Club - 4pm-7pm - come and try our selection of classic and modern games with support from our volunteer to get you started! - 01629 533192
• Thursday 6th February - Chesterfield Library - local history talk by Godfrey Holmes to celebrate 40 years of the new Chesterfield Library moving to Low Pavement - intriguing exploration and critique centring around Chesterfield Town Centres newest and most daring buildings - 10am and 5:30pm - 01629 533400

All events are free drop-ins unless otherwise stated. Please ring the phone number provided for more information.

January Activities for Families

Regular activities for children can be found on our website. You can also look out for the following:

• Thursday 2nd January - Bolsover Library - Imagination Gaming - join us for learning and playing some of the coolest, smartest, fast witted and amusing board games from across the world - 10am-2pm - 01629 537800 - BOOKING ESSENTIAL (book online here)
• Friday 3rd January - Ilkeston Library - Imagination Gaming - join us for learning and playing some of the coolest, smartest, fast witted and amusing board games from across the world - 10am-2pm - 01629 533275 - BOOKING ESSENTIAL (book online here)
• Saturday 18th January - Heanor Library - New Year Craft Creations - children’s crafting event suitable for all ages - 10.30am-12.30pm - 01629 533795

All events are free drop-ins unless otherwise stated. Please ring the phone number provided for more information.

Meet and Make Children's Craft Session

Friday, 3rd January - 2pm-3:30pm at Belper Library

Join in with this fun and friendly holiday craft session led by a professional artist.

This workshop is delivered by Fleet Arts and is suitable for children 5 years and over.

Spaces are limited, so contact Belper Library to book your place now! Tel 01629 533192

Children's Saturday activities at Alfreton Library

Starting in January and continuing throughout the year, there will be an activity for children every Saturday at Alfreton Library, suitable for all the family. 

• Game club - 4^th January 10am-12.30pm – a mixture of games and puzzles for all the family to enjoy
• Mix & Match Morning – 11^th January – 10.30am-1pm – pick and mix between the activities on offer – blending all of our clubs with some lego, crafts and games to enjoy!
• Lego Club – 18^th January 10am-12.30pm – free build with our lego - place your creation in our cabinet – duplo is available for the younger ones
• Crafty Saturday – 25th January 10.30am-1pm – Chinese New Year themed crafts

Tel 01629 531481 for more details, or just drop in!

Derbyshire Record Office

Derbyshire travel diary from 1824

Thanks to a grant from the Friends of the Nations’ Libraries, Derbyshire Record Office has been able to purchase a charming travel diary from 1829. It records a walking tour taken by two young men, Francis Raines, aged 24 and George Shaw, 18, from Hayfield through Castleton and Chatsworth to Matlock Bath, and then back via Haddon Hall, Bakewell and Buxton. The diary is entertainingly written by Francis and beautifully illustrated by George. Take a look at our blog to read more about the two young men and their ‘jaunt’ into Derbyshire.

Follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook.

(Image: A page from the diary)

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery 

The Big Move

Following Derbyshire County Council’s decision in May that Buxton Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) will move permanently from its present location in Peak Buildings due to the potential costs and length of time which could be needed for the council to bring the building back into use as a modern day museum, the staff have been preparing to move. As you can imagine, with around 100,000 museum objects in the collection that all require individually checking, documenting and repacking, they are quite busy!

The collections will move into secure storage until a new home is found. In the meantime, the museum team will be based at Buxton Library where they will run an interim service. More details will be released soon. 

You can read more about the museum and its history here.

Multi Use titles 

Every month we get a new selection of titles on our FREE 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 January are:

In Ebook & Eaudio:

• Picture You Dead - Peter James
• The Kamogawa Food Detectives - Hisashi Kashiwai
• The Book of Fire - Christy Lefteri

In eBook only:

• The Comfort Book - Matt Haig

In eAudiobook only: 

• The Hunting Moon - Susan Dennard (The Luminaries - Book 2)
• Nightbloom - Peace Adzo Medie

New Adult Books

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

The Pearl Button Girl - Annie Murray

Working at the local pearl button factory, Ada Fletcher is doing her best to make ends meet in trying times. When tragedy strikes and her siblings are taken to a workhouse orphanage, Ada is saved from a similar fate by her neighbour, Sarah Connell. But the roof over Ada's head doesn't come without a price: the Connells have too many children, not enough money, and Sarah's reliance on drink means that it isn't long before Ada needs to escape. 

Determined to be more than just a factory girl, Ada embarks on a journey to reunite with her siblings. But in a teeming industrial city, will she be able to find long-lost family as well as a home and life to call her own?

Ice Town - Will Dean

'Deaf teenager goes missing in Esseberg. Mountain rescue are launching a search party but conditions hinder their efforts. The tunnel is being kept open all night as an exception.'

When journalist Tuva Moodyson reads this news alert she knows she must join the search. If this teenager is found, she will be able to communicate with him in a way no one else can.

Esseberg lies on the other side of a mountain tunnel: there is only one way in and one way out. When the tunnel closes at night, the residents are left to fend for themselves. And as more people go missing, it becomes clear that there is a killer among them ...

The Players - Minette Walters

England, 1685. Decades after the end of the civil war, the country is once again divided when Charles II's illegitimate son, the Protestant Duke of Monmouth, arrives in Dorset to incite rebellion against his Catholic uncle.

Armed only with pitchforks, Monmouth's army is quickly defeated by King James II's superior forces and charged with high treason. Those found guilty will be hanged, drawn and quartered.

As Dorset braces for carnage, the redoubtable Lady Jayne Harrier and a small group of trusted allies - including her courageous son and the independent-minded daughter of a local lawyer - contrive ways to save men from the gallows.

Compelling and powerful, The Players is a story of guile, deceit and compassion during the dark days of The Bloody Assizes. Secrets are kept and surprising friendships formed in a dangerous gamble to thwart a brutal king's thirst for vengeance...

Children's Book Recommendations

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

The Greedy Wolf - Timothy Knapman (Author) & Jean Jullien (Illustrator)

A wicked and ravenous wolf is on the prowl for dinner when he spots, dun dun dun, seven young goats...left at home alone. But, fear not, whilst these kid goats may be little, they are clever, innovative and have enough downright silly tricks in hand to avoid getting eaten and maybe even...get a little (or rather big) snack themselves.

Earth's Incredible Places: The Sahara - Christina Webb (Author) & Muti (Illustrator)

This is a land of singing sand dunes, barren plains, mirages and glistening oasis pools. Against all odds, life manages to thrive here. Discover river crocodiles, scorpions and foxes, ancient pharaohs, nomadic tribes and camel caravans. With its scorching hot days and night-times that dip below freezing, the Sahara is a land of extremes, where only the tough survive.

Devil Bird Island - Gill Lewis

A camping trip to count puffins on Devil Bird Island turns into a real adventure for friends Tia and Nat. First, they have to rescue a mysterious marine animal caught in a fishing net and swept very far from home. Then, when it gets dark, they hear strange wailing and something white and ghostly flies at their tent.

Safely back home, they unravel the mysteries of the previous night and learn some important lessons about how everyone on the planet needs to look out for the wildlife around them.

You can reserve them via our online catalogue.