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*** View latest Coronavirus information for libraries here ***
News, Events and Updates from Staffordshire Library Service
Library Service Update
From the 19th July, as England moved into step 4, you saw some changes at our 16 Staffordshire County Managed Libraries:
Biddulph, Burntwood, Burton, Cannock, Codsall, Kidsgrove, Leek, Lichfield, Newcastle, Perton, Rugeley, Stafford, Stone, Tamworth, Uttoxeter, and Wombourne reverted to their full opening hours.
To keep staff, customers and volunteers safe we encourage you to wear a mask and sanitise your hands when visiting our library buildings and mobile libraries.
There are no restrictions on visitor numbers and you can freely browse the shelves but please respect each other’s personal space.
You are able to borrow, return and request books. From this weekend our loan periods revert to the usual 3 week, 2 week and 1 week loans. There are currently no overdue charges for the late return of items.
We continue to offer:
Some of our libraries have increased access to ventilated meeting space - for more information contact your local library.
The mobile library service is also offering managed browsing, as well as an ‘order & collect’ service at an increased number of stops.
For more information about services at our 27 Community Managed Libraries please contact your Community Managed Library directly.
You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter for a range of activities and events including Story Time, Baby Bounce & Rhyme and Craft Time. You can also join one of our Adult Book Chat, Creative Writing or Wellness groups.
Our eLibrary is open 24 hours a day for FREE eBooks, eAudio, eMagazines, eComics and eNewspapers and we have a range of FREE online resources including the ever popular Ancestry, still available at home!
For opening times visit or more information about our current service visit www.staffordshire.gov.uk/libraries
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 We are proudly supporting the #RediscoverSummer campaign, encouraging people to safely rediscover the range of activities and events the summer has to offer.
The past year has been difficult for all of us, which is why we’re encouraging families to safely make the most of their summer. We’re joining up with #RediscoverSummer to highlight some of the amazing things to do during the school holidays, helping you enjoy quality time with your family and friends.
The campaign will focus on a different theme each week - from reading to nature - and we’ll be sharing lots of inspiring things to see and experience safely.
So keep you eyes peeled and search #RediscoverSummer
We have a packed timetable of activity over on our Facebook page this August - why not check it out?
 There is still plenty of time to sign the kids up the this year's Summer Reading Challenge - Wild World Heroes.
It's easy and FREE to take part and gives a great boost to children's reading skills while helping to grow a love of reading for pleasure! So parents, carers, grandparents, uncles and aunts - get your kids down to the library and sign them up!
The Challenge runs until 13th September so that's still just a book per week
How to take part at your local library
- Visit your local Staffordshire library to sign up for the challenge.
- You will receive a starter pack containing all the items you need to
begin your reading adventure - including a pull-out poster and
stickers!Take out six books and get reading!
- When you have read your books bring them back to your local
Staffordshire Library, and collect your completers certificate,
medal and bookmark.
How to take part online
- Sign up to the Reading Agency's easy-to-use website and create
a profile at this link - Summer Reading Challenge
- Children set their own challenge to read any amount of books
during the Summer.
- Collect rewards with additional activities and incentives along
the way, including online badges, games and videos.
- Children can download a certificate once they have completed
the Challenge.
Online Activities
We have a great online offer for children during the summer too!
Visit our Facebook page or Twitter for fun creative activities taking place every Wednesday during the summer holidays. Check out the timetable for our first #StaffsWildWednesdays on 4th August below!
Be a Creative Explorer this Summer
Creative Explorers is a programme of creative activities developed by Artists Ben Sadler & Phil Duckworth – Juneau Projects. They are designed for children and families to take part and have fun creating together, using a variety of new exciting methods & materials found at home. This year’s programme will run alongside and support the Summer Reading Challenge in Libraries - Creative Explorers are going wild!
Check out our Creative Explorers programme
Feedback
We're always delighted when you tell us how much you're enjoying using the Library.
Here's a lovely comment we picked up from Twitter recently.
Cheering myself up with more lovely books from the local library.
@StaffsLibraries #Reading #ChildrensBooks
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And here's another about Ancestry Library Edition, which we have been able to offer at home for our library members:
Having access to Ancestry has been wonderful during lockdown. Thank you for making it available. It's helped keep us sane!
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Another online library user explains how much she and her family have been enjoying Borrowbox.
I’ve been reading BorrowBox books on my phone since I discovered it in the first lockdown, but I’ve recently noticed the children’s audiobooks. We’ve been enjoying them - including the Julia Donaldson one pictured - on long car journeys 
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New activities added to the Holiday Activity and Food Programme!
More places for teens and pre-teens to hang out and play arcade games, American pool and air hockey in Cannock⠀
Plus new activities in Stafford, Tamworth, Lichfield, South Staffordshire and more places in East Staffordshire, Staffordshire Moorlands and Newcastle-under-Lyme⠀
Make sure you have the latest copy of the timetable by registering HERE
We have a whole host of new library books, audios and we will also have a Summer Reading Challenge bookshelf on Borrowbox of brand new eBooks and eAudios to help your kids get to the best new reading this Summer.
There are lots of new titles linked to the Summer Reading Challenge Wild World Heroes theme of nature and environment, but plenty of other titles to choose from too!
Just have a look on your next visit to your local library with the kids, use our 'Order& Collect' Service or visit the Borrowbox App or eLibrary for the bookshelf!
Online Author events this August
We have another amazing month of author chats over on the Staffordshire Libraries Bookchat Facebook Group this August.
On the 25th August at 7:30pm we are chatting with Emma Haughton about ‘The Dark’ her chilling new thriller for adults, due to be published in August.
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Plus, authors Nicola Cornick and Jane Wenham-Jones will be joining us on 18th August, to discuss their latest books, ‘The Last Daughter’ and ‘Old Enough to Know Better’, great reads for the summer!
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Our fantastic autumn programme of free Book Chat online author events starts with a bang on 1st September at 7.30pm when we will be welcoming a mixed genre panel featuring three authors; Bella Osborne, Vicki Beeby and Julie Anderson.
Bella Osborne delights with stories about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at you and will be chatting about her latest novel, aptly named The Library! Vicki Beeby writes historical fiction about the friendships and loves of service women brought together by the Second World War and is the author of the hugely successful ‘Ops Room Girls series’ – perfect as we begin our two month history festival in September! Julie Anderson’s latest mystery crime thriller is 'Oracle' set near the ancient Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece. It follows her previous, acclaimed, novel 'Plague' set in Whitehall and Westminster in contemporary London and features the same protagonist, reluctant sleuth Cassie Fortune. This is a panel not to be missed!
To take part in any of these FREE chats just join our Facebook page group at https://facebook.com/groups/StaffsLibrariesBookChat
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 Get help over the phone with your IT problems
Are you or someone you know struggling with IT; unable to get an e-mail address set up, want to try online shopping, Zooming with relatives, eBooks or is social media a scary prospect?
Maybe our new telephone support service can help.
Complete an online form here www.staffordshire.gov.uk/TelephoneITSupport or contact our call centre on 0300 111 8000 or your local library to register for a call back.
A friendly member of our Library team or a Community Learning tutor will give you a call, talk through your problem and help you work through it. If we can’t find an immediate solution we’ll make sure we direct you to someone who can, to a suitable course or other kinds of help.
It’s a totally free service so give us a try, we’re happy to help.
Donate I.T. to help local people get connected
Staffordshire County Council is working with the Community Foundation for Staffordshire to provide recycled I.T. equipment to local people.
There are still people in our communities who don’t have the I.T. equipment they need to learn, apply for jobs, access health services, and reduce loneliness.
To help we’ve set up 16 drop off points within libraries, where people can donate I.T. equipment they’re no longer using.
What do we need?
- laptop (with charger)
- tablet
- keyboard
- mouse
Find out more - ask about the scheme at your local library or visit the web page www.staffordshire.gov.uk/DonateIT.
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What are you reading to this Summer?
Have you visited our ‘Summer Reads’ bookshelf on Borrowbox yet? We’ve got lots of great Summer reading for you to borrow or reserve, perfect for relaxing in the garden, lounging by the pool or curling up inside during a thunderstorm.
There are lots of your favourite authors and some others you might like to give a try!
Just check out the Borrowbox App on your device or visit our eLibrary webpage and explore the eBook collection.
Borrowbox - borrow without the queue!
Don't forget we still have these fantastic titles available to borrow from Borrowbox for a short time without queuing!
There’s a great selection of eBooks and eAudio, check them out below! There are some great eAudio titles including 'Red Station' by Adrian Magson, 'You'll Never See Me Again' by Lesley Pearse and 'The Familiars' by Stacey Halls. You can also enjoy the classic Daphne Du Maurier novel 'Rebecca' in unabridged eAudio. 'Red Station' and 'The Familiars' are also available in eBook format.
 Please visit Borrowbox, either via the App on your smart phone or tablet, or at our eLibrary and start your next great read!
Better Health - Let's do this!
The new NHS Better Health campaign supporting people to develop healthier habits
launched this week. #BetterHealth has a range of free tips and tools to help you make changes to improve your health, including the NHS Weight Loss app.
Visit the website for more information and links or look for the #BetterHealth hashtag on social media.
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 Family Hub Summer Challenge 2021
This Summer the Staffordshire Family Hubs are ‘challenging’ all under 5’s and their families to Get Involved in a Summer Challenge. Each week they will have a new area to Get Involved in which are: Get Mindfulness, Get Talking, Get Tasting, Get Creative, Get Rhyming and Get Active. All are fun, engaging activities that they hope will inspire new learning as well as support families to keep their children entertained through the 6 weeks summer holidays.
We have Get Involved booklets explaining in more detail about the challenge and to give families ideas as well as information on how each area will support their child’s all-round development, plus some top tips too. You can pick up booklet from many Staffordshire Libraries, but for more details visit your local Family Hub Facebook page. (Just search Family Hub Staffordshire)
Each themed week, there will be various challenges children can be involved in, which they can share on the Family Hub Facebook pages to be in with a chance of winning a weekly star prize!
When the 6 weeks are complete, Family Hubs are offering certificates to all children who have completed their Challenge Record which you will find in the booklet. They will also be entered into a grand prize draw!!!!
So, come on and let’s all Get Involved this summer!
For more details go to Family Hub Summer Challenge
There have been some wonderful new poetry titles selected for this year's #NationalPoetryDay on 7th October.
Look out for these titles in the Library catalogue soon.
Find out more about National Poetry Day
Get reliable health information straight to your phone
During these COVID times, digital health has never been more important to support our residents with their mental wellbeing, healthy living and even condition management.
We have a partnership with the world’s leading, independent digital health evaluation and distribution organisation, ORCHA, and using their technology you can easily recommend the best health and care apps to residents and service users in Staffordshire via our digital health app library.
The health app finder tool can help you to find top rated apps across different areas, such as stopping smoking, improving your mental wellbeing, keeping active and managing health conditions.
Working in partnership with us, ORCHA help indicate whether an app appears to be safe and of value across a number of rated areas. Any score below 65% indicates that an app has some issues that users should investigate further prior to using this app. To help you decide if the app is for you, there's a list of the functions, and screenshots to show you how each of the feature works.
If you're wanting to improve your health, or the health of someone around you, make your first search on the health app finder to start improving your daily life.
Visit the App Finder Website
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Calling all Local History writers!
The Staffordshire History Festival is coming this September and October and we're looking for local history authors to work with us.
We are looking to showcase local history writers around the county as part of the festival. This will be in the form of short, written cameos which will appear on Staffordshire Libraries’ Facebook pages during the period of the Festival. If you would like the opportunity to promote your book and your particular interest in your locality, please get in touch with Hilary Riley at hilary.riley@staffordshire.gov.uk.
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Have you switched to NewsBank yet?
Get the newspapers you love direct to your phone, laptop or device!
NewsBank is our electronic newspaper resource that you can read on your laptop, tablet or other device at home, available with your library card.
The is a wide range of searchable local, regional and national newspapers, including 4 ‘image editions’ of The Telegraph, Guardian/Observer, Times and Daily Mail.
If you haven’t tried NewsBank yet, it is time you did! Click here and start reading.
Please note: When logging into NewsBank from the first login screen please select ‘No Username and Password. Click here for additional login options’ and enter name of Library authority (Staffordshire) and your Library Card number.
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Watching the Skies this August
Our Perton Library Astronomy Group volunteer, Doug, has produced another of his excellent guides to the night sky, for August. Although we still have light evenings there is a lot going on in the sky if you are prepared to wait until it goes dark.
Just click here
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Why not discover your Family Tree this Summer?
Staffordshire Library members can still access Ancestry Library Edition at home, thanks to Proquest and Ancestry UK, until the end of September 2021 so you can really get stuck into your family history now!
To access the site you need to log in to your Library account here
You then need to make sure you are in the ‘Account’ section and scroll to the bottom of the page and follow the link where it says ‘Access Ancestry Online’.
Here's a handy Ancestry Guide to help get you started.
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Have you visited the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography yet? It's FREE to access from home with your Library card number.
ODNB contains over 60,000 biographies, 72 million words, 11,000 portraits of significant, influential or notorious figures who shaped British history.
As the Olympics are currently underway, we've decided to focus this month on Britain's first black Olympian, John Edward 'Jack' London who won a Silver and Bronze at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.
Find more biographies via our Online Resources page.
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 About Staffordshire Library Service
From books to local history resources, Your Library has a host of fabulous services and exciting events for you.
Why not try out our eBooks service, join a reading group or If you're looking for something in particular, you can also search the online catalogue or view a list of frequently asked questions.
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