Staffordshire Library and Arts September Update

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News, Events and Updates from Staffordshire Library Service


Rediscover Your Library

Reading Garden Uttoxeter

Rediscover Your Library

As we recover from COVID-19 why not reconnect with Your Library and get access to all these resources and services?

Not already a member? Give us a try, it’s FREE and easy to join.

You can:

  • Relax with a good book, borrowing as many as you would like
  • Always on the go?  Download to your tablet, e-reader, mobile phone from a range of eBooks, eAudio, the latest eMagazines, eComics and read online newspapers
  • Don’t know what to read next and too little time to choose?  Let us choose for you with our Order and Collect service based on favourite genres and authors
  • Feel connected just by sitting and reading and having a chat
  • Use the PCs and Wi-Fi and brush up on your digital skills – help is at hand if you need it
  • Find a quiet spot and sit and study
  • Print and photocopy those important documents
  • Discover your story and use Ancestry and Find My Past
  • Take part in activities and events and make new friends
  • Find out about local groups, clubs, societies and volunteering opportunities

And much more…

Just pop in and see us, visit our website or find us on Facebook or Twitter and we’ll open your eyes to a world of possibilities.


Staffordshire History Festival

Discover the Staffordshire History Festival online this Autumn

September sees the start of the annual Staffordshire History Festival – Staffordshire Library and Arts’ and Archive and Heritage’s two-month celebration of our local history and cultural heritage in Staffordshire and beyond. This year  the festival will be taking place mostly online.

Search using the hashtag #StaffsHistFest

A virtual programme of informative posts, quizzes, interesting videos, live online events, crafts and activities for children and families will be posted across the two months of the festival, many produced by our staff, volunteers and local organisations. There will be regular posts to highlight famous people from Staffordshire and little known facts about Staffordshire’s history as well as short animated films for Black History Month in October.

There will also be history eBook, eAudio and eMagazine recommendations for titles that can be borrowed from the eLibrary – look out for recommended reading on all kinds of history stock from local history, The Second World War and Black History Month to historical novels, history for children and much more! Visit your local library or our eLibrary to find out what we have to offer. 

We’ll be showcasing local history authors throughout the festival. Find out about their books and the Staffordshire stories and history that inspired them. We will also be highlighting local projects, including the Women’s Land Army in the Moorlands project, the Archaeology in Mind excavations of RAF Perton and Tamworth Castle’s Saxon Camp.

The Ancestry Library Edition website will be available for Library members to access at home and the fantastic online newspaper resource NewsBank, with some newspapers dating back to the 1980s, also remains accessible to members from home.

Library members and Archives visitors also have free access on library computers to Ancestry Library Edition, Find My Past and NewsBank. For more information about how to access a PC in our libraries please follow this link

Archives & Heritage will be launching their new ‘A Case for the Ordinary – Staffordshire Asylums’ pop-up exhibition at Burntwood Library on 20 September.  It will then tour library venues as a taster for the full exhibition, to be launched in 2022. We will also be running a ‘Digital Drop-in’ session in Stafford’s Victoria Park – we’ll be there to scan people’s documents and photographs to add to our collections and Staffordshire Past Track website. The ‘Meaningful Mementoes’ on-line exhibition will be live – tell us about the things in your homes and the personal stories behind them.

Staffordshire Record Office will be hosting a series of study days on garden history, climate change and the Victoria County History.

The entire programme can be enjoyed on Staffordshire Libraries Facebook and Twitter pages and the Archives and Heritage Facebook, Twitter and Staffordshire Past Track on Facebook. Just type in the hashtag #StaffsHistFest to see what’s going on or make sure you are following us and look out for our posts.

To find out more about Library Services please visit: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Libraries/

Go to www.staffordshire.gov.uk/archives  for information about the Archives Service’s in-depth collections and services.


Summer Reading Challenge Medal

Have your kids completed the Summer Reading Challenge yet?

The Summer Reading Challenge is in full swing at Staffordshire Libraries.

Your kids have until 13th September to complete the challenge and for them to collect their certificate and medal from their local Staffordshire Library!

They can listen to audio books, read graphic novels or even read to a younger brother or sister! You can also choose eBooks or eAudios for children from our fantastic eLibrary; just download the Borrowbox App and sign in with your Library card and PIN.

Not started yet? Not a problem, there is plenty of time to read 6 books!

Just join at your local library or online at https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/  and get your child started on a reading voyage of discovery… and they’ll be ready for the new term too!

The Summer Reading Challenge, presented by The Reading Agency, is delivered in partnership with public libraries and funded by Arts Council England. The Challenge encourages children aged 4 to 11 to enjoy the benefits of reading for pleasure over the summer holidays, providing lots of fun as well as helping to prevent the summer reading ‘dip’.

Each year the Challenge motivates over 700,000 children to keep reading to build their skills and confidence.


Burton Library Consultation

Burton Library Consultation - Have Your Say

Help to shape the future of your library and have your say on proposals to relocate it into the Market Hall

There’s still time for you to have your say on proposals to relocate the library service in Burton from its current site to the town’s Market Hall.

As one of seven interdependent projects put forward through the Towns Fund Board, the proposal to update the library service and relocate it into the Market Hall could: 

  • support the improvement and preservation of the historic Market Hall for future generations 
  • increase footfall into the town centre to grow and attract more businesses 
  • allow regeneration of the existing library site to support more visitor, retail and hospitality growth on the waterfront (to be taken forward by East Staffordshire Borough Council) 
  • develop an enterprise hub to support local business 

The project would be mainly funded by central government with a contribution from the county council and no additional cost to the local taxpayer.  

This is a not a done deal.  Everyone has the opportunity to participate through this consultation. It will help the county council to understand people’s views about the proposed relocation to the Market Hall, their library service and how it could be improved. 

To fill in a survey go to: www.Staffordshire.gov.uk/burtonlibraryconsultation 

For further information go to: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/burtonlibrary


Summer of Reading

Did you have a spectacular Summer of Reading?

We've been supporting the Reading Agency #SummerOfReading Campaign all Summer, highlighting key facts about libraries, sharing links and resources. It has been great to read all the wonderful comments about what you're reading and how much you value your libraries! There are some great recommendations below:

Wow! Favourite book this year… We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just finished listening to All The Rage by Cara Hunter (excellent!) and reading Lady In The Lake by Laura Lippman (both on BorrowBox). While having an actual book on the go - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (from the library). Finally got my reading mojo back during lockdown

❤️ Thank goodness for libraries ❤️

Recently read The Guest List (on Borrowbox), and now The Hunting Party (from my local library)

I'm currently reading The Secrets of Strangers from Cannock Library. Very good 🤓

Currently reading This Lovely City by Louise Hare from Baswich Library


We have a packed timetable of activity over on our Facebook page this September - why not check it out?

September Timetable

Crafting Communities

Crafting Communities

A new Libraries & Arts project to help bring communities together

Staffordshire County Council’s Libraries and Arts Service are delighted to have received National Lottery funding through Arts Council England to deliver ‘Crafting Communities’ over the Autumn to help bring communities together, tackle loneliness and craft new connections between libraries and communities.

We are thrilled to be able to support local artist-makers to take up residence in libraries across the county to form new creative hubs, where participants can take part in a safe space and explore ways to work together to make a difference within their local communities.

Local residents will be encouraged to take part in a range of activities to get involved in crafting for fun, to learn and share new skills and re-establish a sense of social connection with others by making together.

Cllr Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member responsible for libraries at Staffordshire County Council said: “Libraries have always used arts and crafts for social activities and we are incredibly grateful to the National Lottery to be able to build on this, reach out and explore new ways to get more people involved.”

“The last eighteen months and the Covid-19 pandemic have had a real impact on individuals and local communities.  By bringing people together for creativity we can start to strengthen community wellbeing, recovery and encourage independence.

“Getting the funding is a real boost for the service and we’re all looking forward to working with our local talented artists to get the activities up and running.”

Residencies will take place at Perton, Rugeley, Barton Under Needwood and Blythe Bridge Libraries and are due to begin in September 2021.

People can find out more about the project at the Crafting Communities Wordpress page

This project is made possible thanks to public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.


Staffordshire History Festival Bookshelf

Discover the past this Autumn

We have a whole host of new library books, audios and we also have Staffordshire History Festival eBook and eAudio bookshelves on Borrowbox packed with all the best historical books from top historians & historical fiction authors, eAudios and plenty for the kids. Why not have a look and discover something new!

Explore the history displays on your next visit to your local library, use our 'Order& Collect'  Service or visit the Borrowbox App or eLibrary for the bookshelves from 1st September!


Staffordshire History Festival Bookshelf

Online Author events this September

Book Chat Author Panel

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!

Castaways

On 15th September at 7.30pm, courtesy of publishers Harper Collins UK, we will be chatting to Lucy Clarke, bestselling author of six psychological thrillers – The Sea Sisters, A Single Breath, The Blue, No Escape, You Let Me In and The Castaways, which has been hailed as the most twisty and gripping crime thriller of 2021!

To take part in any of these FREE chats just join our Facebook page group at https://facebook.com/groups/StaffsLibrariesBookChat


Pre Loved Uniform Market

Helping hand with school uniforms for Cannock families thanks to Staffordshire Libraries

Families in Cannock continue to get help and access to free Pre-used school Uniforms thanks to a project now in its fourth year.

The Pre-Loved Uniform Market is run by Staffordshire County Council’s libraries service in partnership with The Salvation Army and is funded through county council community funding.

The project allows local families to collect items of clothing at key dates during the year to help support them with their children’s school uniform needs. The markets stocks school trousers, skirts, shirts, ties and branded school sweatshirts for all ages.

Last year, the project supported 408 children with free uniform, saving families in the area an estimated £20,400. Furthermore, uniform items for 56 local schools were available.

The team are currently collecting, preparing and washing items ready for the next markets being held at the Salvation Army Church in Cannock from Monday 16 to Wednesday 25 August excluding Sunday 22 August. Markets will run from 10am to 1pm. Anyone with unwanted or unused items is being invited to donate them at either Cannock Children’s Centre, Cannock Library or the Salvation Army Church.

Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture at Staffordshire County Council said: “This is a wonderfully simple project that’s helping hundreds of families with their school uniform needs each year."

“The project mainly supports vulnerable or disadvantaged families and works closely with local community groups and social services teams to identify families in need. Women living in refuge shelters with school age children can also access the project and if pre-used items are not available in some cases the project can fund the cost of new items. This enables children in these circumstances to get back into school as quickly as possible."

“Not only are we able to support local families by reusing items but we’re also helping the environment at the same time by reducing the amount of items that go to the tip or landfill. I would definitely urge people to donate their unwanted items and we’ll make sure they go to a good home and are used.”

Lydia Bartlett – Captain of The Salvation Army Church in Cannock said:

 “Removing barriers to education can be as simple as providing the correct jumper or pair of trousers.  This year we have seen such disruption to children’s education, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Let us all play our part in ensuring as many children as possible have a good and settled classroom experience.”

Further details of the project and times of markets are available at:

Staffordshire Libraries Facebook page or contacting kerry.hutchings@staffordshire.gov.uk


Borrowbox - borrow without the queue!

We have added more Borrowbox campaign titles to our eLibrary, available to borrow for a short time without queuing!

There’s a fantastic selection of eBooks and eAudio for you to choose from including titles by Elly Griffiths, Lee Child in eAudio and from Patricia Wilson and the Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen in eAudio and eBook format!

One of our followers on Twitter recently commented: What a wonderful way to make the magic of reading accessible - go check out @borrowbox and @StaffsLibraries

We couldn't agree more so please visit Borrowbox, either via the App on your smart phone or tablet, or at our eLibrary

Borrowbox Campaign titles

Lichfield Festival

Lichfield Literature Festival

With both re-scheduled talks and new authors, there's a wide variety of authors, genres and events taking place at this year's Lichfield Literature Festival (running from September 9th – 12th). Author Ben Aitken takes us on The Gran Tour as he explores what it's like to significantly bring down the average age on six coach trips around the UK (and Italy...). Tracey Follows explores how digital technology is causing us to think differently about who we are and who we could become in The Future of You, whilst nearly half a century since the last Apollo mission, astronomer David Whitehouse takes a timely look at what the next 50 years of space exploration have in store in Space 2069: After Apollo; Back to the Moon, to Mars and Beyond. And we've just added a few more tickets to the previously sold-out events The House of Beaufort (Nathen Amin), Florence Nightingale: The Woman and her Legend (Mark Bostridge) and Why Samuel Johnson Still Matters (Henry Hitchings).

For something a little different, why not try Imaginary Landscapes: Poetry and Harp with poet Chris Tutton and official Harpist to HRH the Prince of Wales from 2015-2019, Anne Denholm. Or you could take part in a Mindful Writing Workshop with writer and facilitator Tom George. There will also be a fabulous Festival Afternoon Tea taking place at Swinfen Hall on Sunday 19th September with author Lucy Diamond.

There will be much for history-lovers to look out for and enjoy at this September's Lichfield Literature Festival (running from September 9th – 12th).  Author Mark Bostridge visits the Festival for the first time to discuss his writing about Florence Nightingale, there will be much to learn about Henry Tudor and his clan in Nathen Amin's  The House of Beaufort, and the Festival culminates with an appearance by Marc Morris, who will take his audience back to (almost) the very start of our recent history through his work The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England. The Festival will also feature a talk about how history (personal or national) is curated, with a visit from Rachel Morris (The Museum Makers), director of the museum-making company Metaphor, who has been behind Rachel Morris has been part of the creation of some of the most exciting displays, renovations and museums of the last few decades, from the New Cast Courts at the V&A and the Ashmolean, Oxford to the Terracotta Warriors at the British Museum and Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. There is also a focus on Lichfield's own history (and, arguably, the City's most famous former resident) as the Festival welcomes Henry Hitchings to talk about his book The World in 38 Chapters (or Dr Johnson's Guide to Life), and local writer, Dr Jane O'Connor, includes a number of familiar locations in her historical drama of witchcraft and mystery, The Trial of Gwen Foley, which is set in the City in 1723 and features many familiar locations as the backdrop to a tale of witchcraft and murder.  Another local writer/critic, Richard Bratby (who writes regularly for The Spectator, Gramophone magazine and The Birmingham  Post) will celebrate the region's rich musical history and the centenary of the renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, as he discusses his book Forward: 100 Years of the CBSO.  

All events will talk place in either The Hub at St Mary's, Wade Street Church or Swinfen Hall and full booking details can be found via www.lichfieldliteraturefestival.org


Roald Dahl Day

Roald Dahl Story Day!


Join Dementia Research

Join Dementia Research and help make a difference for people with Dementia

For people with dementia, taking part in research often helps them to gain a better understanding of their condition.  Many find it a very positive experience and feel they are making a worthwhile contribution for future dementia care and treatment. 

To sign up, you just need to provide some information about yourself which will enable the service to match you to suitable studies.   You can choose how to be contacted if you match a study for example by phone, letter or email.

If you are interested in finding out more or wish to sign up please visit the Join Dementia Research Website or contact the Alzheimer’s Society help desk on 0333 150 3456, Alzheimer’s Research UK 0333 111 5111 or Alzheimer Scotland 0808 808 3000


Dementia Care

Dementia support in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire

If you have concerns about your memory or if you have noticed changes in your ability to manage everyday tasks then please speak to your GP, there is help and support available. Early diagnosis is key to putting into place the right support so that people with dementia can still live well.

For further information about services available in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, please visit: www.stoke.gov.uk/dementia or visit the Alzheimer's Society website


‘W&T Avery Home Guard HQ Soho Foundry 1940’ Credit Lound-Avery Archive

Staffordshire Goes to War

A FREE Zoom presentation for Staffordshire History Festival from Andrew Lound

Andrew Lound's special Zoom presentation will focus on Staffordshire during the Second World War with emphasis on the famous Soho Foundry.

1938-39 was a remarkable period in the life of Britain, Birmingham born Neville Chamberlain was Prime Minister and his attempts to prevent a European war seemed at first to have been successful, but as we know war came and Staffordshire like the rest of the country turned out its lights and went to war.

This newly researched presentation looks at Staffordshire people during the war focusing attention on Soho Foundry as well as the darkened streets of the region. Stunningly illustrated with many unpublished images, sound effects, music, video and animation this is a presentation that will bring back memories or introduce the subject to a new generation.

Thursday 14th October at 7:00pm

FREE

Please register at this Eventbrite link as places are limited.


Donate IT

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.


Replacement Care Engagement

Replacement Care Engagement

Are you a parent or carer of an adult with learning disabilities?

Staffordshire County Council want to hear your views on their replacement/respite care services.

Fill in the online survey, or book your place on one of our September engagement events: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/replacementcare


Pumpkins Jigsaw

Just for fun!

We have two months of great history themed quizzes coming up for you - why not get started by testing your knowledge about libraries?

We've also got another fun jigsaw to try this month - pumpkins!


Black History Month

Staffordshire Libraries to host online Black History Month animated film season

We are delighted to be working again with talented director/producer Jason Young to bring you a Black History Month themed programme of animated films and audio dramas, every Friday at 7pm, in October.

The programme begins on 1st October with a radio drama, ‘The History of Mary Prince’, the story of the first black woman, an abolitionist, to publish an account of her life in Britain. This is followed a week later by animated short ‘Tunstall’, the story of Samuel Barber, the first black British preacher in primitive methodism, in Staffordshire. The season also explores ‘The Horrors of Slavery’ in an experimental animation. The final two films explore the life of ‘The Chartist’ William Cuffay and ‘William Sharpe’, leader of the 1831 Christmas Rebellion in Jamaica.

Just visit our Facebook (Search Staffordshire Libraries) or Twitter @StaffsLibraries accounts at 7pm every Friday in October to find the link to the films. All films will remain available until 31st October, with the exception of ‘The History of Mary Prince’ which will only be available on 1st October.

We will also be sharing a new documentary from Jason Young as part of National Libraries Week on Monday 4th October – ‘Caribbean Covid-19’, which will explore how Covid-19 is disproportionately affecting ethnic minorities in the UK, particularly the Caribbean community who are in the top tier of victims.

The link to this important and fascinating documentary will be exclusively available on Staffordshire Libraries Facebook and Twitter pages to stream on Monday 4th October at 7:00pm and until 31st October.


Tolkien at Great War Hut

Explore the story of J.R.R. Tolkien in Staffordshire at the Cannock Chase Great War Hut

J.R.R. Tolkien trained for the Great War in Staffordshire, spending time at Whittington Heath near Lichfield, at a musketry camp in Newcastle-under-Lyme and then at the WWI training camps on Cannock Chase.

In 1916 he was posted to the Western Front where he fought in the Battle of the Somme. During his time in the trenches, where he served as a signals officer, Tolkien witnessed the use of machine-guns, flamethrowers and tanks for the first time in warfare and saw the effects of shellshock on men pushed to their limits.

One of three great friends who fought in France, only Tolkien survived, though he contracted trench fever after three months on the Somme and was shipped back to Great Haywood to recover.

While convalescing in Staffordshire, the epic fantasy author began his writing career and drew from his experiences in northern France to write his war-torn fantasy stories, though he also reflected his time in Staffordshire in his works’ more peaceful segments. Some of his first writings, which evolved into his well-known tales of Middle-earth were inspired by the Staffordshire landscapes he knew. One of his early tales references a ‘House of a Hundred Chimneys’ which is based on Shugborough Hall, and a village inhabited by gnomes, a kind of Elf, with an old stone bridge a short distance from a heath. This village, he called Tavrobel, is Great Haywood, the bridge, Essex Bridge, and the heath, Cannock Chase.

As part of Staffordshire’s work to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great War a touring exhibition was created by The Haywood Society and Staffordshire Library and Arts Service, which toured over 20 venues, including libraries and museums, and was seen by 250,000 people. Part of that new exhibition has found a new home at the Great War Hut at the Marquis Drive Visitor Centre, which re-opened this weekend, and where people will be able to visit every weekend and Bank Holiday’s, from 11-4 pm. Find out more about the site 

The hut is looked after by a small group of enthusiastic volunteer hut guides, supported by the Rural County Development Team, principal archaeologist, Shane Kelleher, Cannock Chase AONB and Cannock Chase Rangers.

Download a copy of the Tolkien in Staffordshire Trail Guide.

 


IT Telephone Support

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.


The Night Sky

Watching the Skies this September

Our Perton Library Astronomy Group volunteer, Doug, has produced another of his excellent guides to the night sky, for September. 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

 


Ancestry Library Edition

Why not discover your Family Tree this Autumn?

Staffordshire Library members can still access Ancestry Library Edition at home, thanks to Proquest and Ancestry UK, until the end of December 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.


Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

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.

This edition's featured biography is the incredible woman Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, whose statue now stands in front of Tamworth Castle.

Find more biographies via our Online Resources page.


Some of our Library Team were at the County Showground last week encouraging people to 'Rediscover Your Library', complete the Summer Reading Challenge, access our eLibrary and lots more.

It was great to meet so many people and hear about their enthusiasm for libraries!

County Showground

Lung Cancer

Library Events

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.