Changes to Library Opening Hours

From Monday 31 March 2025 all 43 of our council-run libraries will introduce the new opening hours timetable, and although slightly reduced, the revised hours have been tailored to ensure branches are open when most people regularly use them.

The changes are part of the implementation of the new Derbyshire Public Library Strategy, which is aimed at securing the future of county libraries, ensuring they remain open, offering modern and sustainable services to their communities.

The new strategy was agreed in January following a 12-week public consultation which saw 3,800 residents give their views.

All council-run libraries (not including 2 community-run libraries in Woodville and Tideswell) will reduce their opening hours by an average of 10%.

However, all libraries will be open for a time on Saturdays, with all but the smallest libraries also opening until 6pm once a week. No libraries will be open for less than 16 hours per week.

To mitigate the reduced opening hours, reservation charges for book and talking book requests, where the item is either in print or in stock in Derbyshire libraries, will be removed, as will charges for borrowing talking books.

Library users who are planning on visiting their local branch are asked to check revised opening times from Monday 31 March 2025.

They can also ask about the new times at their local library from today. Any queries should be emailed to ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk.

Adult Events in April

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

• 27th March until End of April - New Mills Library - Kinder Trespass 92nd Anniversary Display - learn about the history as we mark its 92nd anniversary - during opening hours - 01629 533195
• Tuesday 8th April - Heanor Library - Live Life Better Derbyshire Blood Pressure Checks - Drop-in event to have your blood pressure checked - 10am-12pm - 01629 533795
• Wednesday 9th/23rd April - Heanor Library - Adult Craft Group - Bring your own crafting or join in with a themed-craft - 1-2pm - 01629 533795
• Wednesday 16th April - Ilkeston Library - Recycling Centre Registration - Drop-in for help with registering on the new recycling centre website - 9.45am-1pm - 01629 533275
• Tuesday 22nd April - Belper Library - Board Game Club - Come and join us for a range of classic and modern board games to try - 4-6pm - 01629 533192
• Thursdays in April - Ilkeston Library - YES Hub - youth employment support from Derbyshire Adult Education Service - 9.30am-4.30pm - BOOKING ESSENTIAL via youth.hub@derbyshire.gov.uk or 01629 539720

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

April Activities for Families

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

• Saturday 5th April - Belper Library - Family Craft Drop-In Session - Drop-in and try a selection of fun, simple crafts suitable for children aged four and over - 10am-1pm - 01629 533192
• Saturday 5th April - Swadlincote Library - Family Lego Challenge - take part in this fun Lego building session - 10am-12pm - 01629 533013
• Saturday 5th April - Ilkeston Library - Lego Club - Drop-in Lego building session - 10.30am-12pm - 01629 533275
• Tuesday 8th April - Belper Library - Meet and Make Children's Easter Craft Session - Join in this friendly session led by artist Amy Vallance, delivered by Fleet Arts, for children aged 5 years and over - 2-3.30pm - BOOKING ESSENTIAL - 01629 533192
• Wednesday 9th April - Swadlincote Library - Craft and Rhyme with poet Attie Lime - Listen to Attie share poems, with plenty of giggles, nonsense and joining in, for children aged 5+ - 10-11am - 01629 533013
• Wednesday 9th April/Tuesday 15th April - Ilkeston Library - Imagination Gaming Club - Fun holiday gaming activities for children who receive free school meals - 10am-2pm - BOOKING ESSENTIAL via this link - 01629 533275
• Thursday 10th April - Ashbourne Library - Craft Session - Drop-In Easter craft event - 10-11.30am - 01629 533950
• Thursday 10th April - Buxton Library - Easter Craft Session - Making Easter dream catchers & painting Easter eggs, with fossils and guess-the-teeth game from Buxton Museum - 10am-1pm - 01629 533460
• Thursday 10th April - Ilkeston Library - Drop-In Easter Crafts - Simple Easter crafting for children aged 4 to 10 years - 10.30am-3pm - 01629 533275
• Friday 11th/Tuesday 15th April - Heanor Library - Easter and Spring Creations - Fun themed children's crafts for parents and children - 10am-12pm - 01629 533795
• Saturday 12th April - Swadlincote Library - Easter Crafts - Make a fun hanging decoration for Easter; will you choose bunny or chick? - 10am-12pm - 01629 533013
• Thursday 17th April - Ashbourne Library - Craft Session - Drop-In Easter craft event - 10-11.30am - 01629 533950
• Thursday 17th April - Buxton Library - Easter Craft Session - Making Easter dream catchers & painting Easter eggs, with fossils and guess-the-teeth game from Buxton Museum - 10am-1pm - 01629 533460

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

eLending News

There will be changes taking place in April in relation to our eLending services.

From 1^st April ULibrary, provided by Ulverscroft, will no longer be available through Derbyshire Libraries. Borrowers can continue to use the Libby or Borrowbox apps to borrow eAudiobooks and eBooks. For details of how to do this please click here or contact ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk for assistance.

Buxton Museum & Art Gallery

Derbyshire County Council have confirmed their determination to re-open Buxton Museum and Art Gallery in a new, central location as a cornerstone of the town’s regeneration – and are also committed to relocating Buxton Library into the town centre as part of a bold vision to support a vibrant, culture-led future for Buxton.

Following the museum’s closure in 2023 due to structural concerns at Peak Buildings, Derbyshire County Council have been working with partners to secure a new permanent home in the heart of the town. This long-term investment will bring certainty and momentum to High Peak Borough Council’s wider Revitalising Buxton initiative, which recently appointed Capital and Centric as its development partner.

BMAG now has a temporary home at Buxton Library on Kents Bank Road where the staff are currently considering a multitude of ideas for an interim service. One of the first things they’ll likely do is an exhibition of artefacts in the library. You may have already seen the empty display cases. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see in the exhibition or have any suggestions for their interim service, email the staff at buxton.museum@derbyshire.gov.uk

Read more here.

Derbyshire Adult Community Education Services

Embracing lifelong learning can enrich your life in many ways. Whether you are looking to build your confidence, brush up on your IT skills, or gain new qualifications, there are lots of options available to you.

DACES offers a wide variety of courses tailored to help you achieve your goals. With friendly centres across the county and many online courses available, now is the perfect time to take the step back into learning.

We have lots of new course starting in April. Why don’t you take a look and what is available and register now. Ring 01629 531241 or email adult.education@derbyshire.gov.uk for more information.

The Carnegies 

The amazing Shortlists for the Carnegies 2025 have been announced! The Carnegies celebrate outstanding reading experiences in books for children and young people. Huge congratulations to the authors and illustrators recognised by the judges for their incredible work. Find out more here.

Derbyshire Record Office

Our latest blog post looks at the perceived issue of “superfluous” unmarried women in British society at the turn of the twentieth century and how they were encouraged to emigrate to Southern Africa to help build the Empire: “Settlers of the gentler sex” – female emigration to Southern Africa at the turn of the 20th century | Derbyshire Record Office.

(Image: Booklet “Advice to Women and Girls Settling in South Africa”, 1903)

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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 April are:

In eBook & eAudio:

• The Kellerby Code - Jonny Sweet
• Clay Country (Cornish Clay Sagas Book 2) - Rowena Summers
• Reasons to Stay Alive - Matt Haig

In eAudiobook only:

• Six O'clock Tales - Enid Blyton
• Hangman (Timothy Blake Book 1) - Jack Heath

In eBook Only:

• Garden to Save the World - Joe Clark

New Adult Books

We’ve chosen to highlight three books published recently for you to enjoy. 

Murder for Busy People - Tony Parson

Emma Moon is out. She’s served 16 years for a notorious armed robbery that left two men dead – and enriched many more. But Emma Moon never talked. And now she is free – and everything has gone. So Emma Moon is in a hurry. Because it is payback time. As the bodies of the innocent and the guilty pile up, only one detective stands between a career criminal and her quest for revenge.

A Sea of Unspoken Things - Adrienne Young

The only thing James and Johnny Golden have ever had is each other. For as long as she can remember, James's deep connection with her twin brother, Johnny, has gone beyond intuition. So, when Johnny is killed in a tragic accident, James knows before her phone even rings that her brother is gone and that she's alone.

But James soon discovers that the strange connection she had with Johnny isn't quite gone, and the more she immerses herself into his world, the more questions she has about the brother she thought she knew. Johnny was keeping secrets, and he's not the only one.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls - Grady Hendrix

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. And they’re sent to the Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Every moment of their waking day is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then a librarian gives them an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid . . . and it’s usually paid in blood.

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:

Peppa's Grand Easter Egg Hung: A Lift the Flap Picture Book - Toria Hegedus (Author & Illustrator)

Miss Rabbit is setting up a Grand Egg Hunt . . . but she doesn’t have time to hide the eggs! Luckily, Peppa and her family have volunteered to help. Will these Easter Bunnies-in-training make this the best Easter egg hunt ever? Lift the flaps to find where they’ve hidden the eggs!

Harriet Hound - Kate Foster (Author) & Sophie Beer (Illustrator)

Meet Harriet Hound. She's eight years old and loves dogs! But Harriet has something else that makes her super ... the power to summon the dogs from her family's rescue shelter every time there’s trouble afoot. Whether it's a carnival catastrophe, a sudden storm, or vanishing vegetables, Harriet and her best dog friends use their super special talents and problem-solving skills to save the day!

Cooking Step-by-Step: More than 50 Delicious Recipes for Young Cooks - Denise Smart

With more than 50 mouth-watering recipes that are fun and easy to make, children aged 5-9 can learn tips, tricks, and kitchen fundamentals to set them up for a lifetime of cooking.