 We’re getting into science and innovation for this year's Summer Reading Challenge, Gadgeteers, launching on Saturday 9th July at a Staffordshire Library near you!
The Gadgeteers’ story
This year’s Summer Reading Challenge is all about science and innovation! Our six fictional characters, the Gadgeteers, love creating new inventions and working together to solve problems. They spend their days using their curiosity, creativity and innovation to come up with lots of awesome inventions. The printed core pack poster will show the setting for the Challenge: a community centre where our Gadgeteers are planning an epic summer party! Children will join the Gadgeteers in understanding the science behind a whole range of interests, including fashion, technology, cooking and music. In doing so, they’ll learn about inventions such as holograms, kinetic tiles, and non-Newtonian fluid.
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 three books and get reading!
- Return your first three books and borrow another three books. Receive your next set of stickers
- When you have read these three 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.
Watch our Summer Reading Challenge video to find out more or visited our Summer Reading Challenge webpage
In addition we will also be offering the Mini-Challenge for pre-school aged children from our libraries.
The Mini Challenge is bite sized version of the Summer Reading Challenge for our youngest readers. Children collect stickers on a special collector card for the books they borrow and read.
- Sign up at your local library.
- Choose any books your child likes
- Share the stores together.
- Collect a sticker for each book.
- Collect six stickers to finish and earn a gold medal sticker.
Illustrations by Julian Beresford and © The Reading Agency 2022
4th - 10th July
Health Information Week highlights the importance of accessing health information that we can trust. This was important during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The other key message of HIW is to remind us that we need to look after our well-being, whether our mental health or our physical health.
In response to these needs, Health Information Week 2022 will focus on the following themes for this year:
- Translated patient information
- Long Covid
- Your Health Collection
- Kidney Health
- Media Literacy
- Heart Healthy
- Arthritis
Staffordshire Libraries will be working alongside our local health partners to support and promote HIW in our individual communities by:
Health Information Fair at Burton Library
Burton Library Health Information Fair is back on Saturday 2nd July 11am – 2pm so why not join us?
Chat to local health providers and support groups, find out about health apps and pick up some health-related freebies.
Activities and healthy snacks for the kids means this is a family friendly event too!
No need to book, just drop in.
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 The Holiday Activities and Food Scheme is back!
If your child is eligible for a free place on the Summer Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, they will receive a letter from their school. This letter will contain a unique registration 'HAF' code which you will need to enter exactly as shown to register your child and then view the activities.
Registration opens at 4pm on 4 July 2022.
Find out more here
Be a Creative ‘Sound’ Explorer this Summer with Artist Sam Topley!
Meet sound artist Sam Topley! Sam will be making some fun activities for you to take part in alongside this year’s Summer Reading Challenge theme ‘Gadgeteers’!
Sam will be sharing fun and exciting ways to explore different ways to make sound; from creating your own sound effects and music making gadgets to composing soundscapes and making instruments using simple materials and everyday technology, so you can become musical gadgeteers!
From 9th July activities will be released each week on our website:
www.staffslibrariesculture.wordpress.com/creative-explorers
You can receive activities by subscribing to our website, look out for links on our Staffordshire Libraries Facebook page or pick them up from your local library.
Activities are aimed at children age 4-12 but will need adult’s help too!
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 COBRA: Complete Business Reference Advisor NOW available to Staffordshire Library members!
COBRA contains all the information you need to turn your idea into a business or if you are thinking of working for yourself.
Log on and find more than 4,000 factsheets, sector guides, market reports, local area profiles, contacts and sources of funding and support plus hundreds of practical guides to starting up more than 350 types of business.
Ideal for anyone looking to start a business, write a business or marketing plan or conduct research into a new market.
COBRA is free to use on Library PCs. If you wish to access COBRA from home you will need to log in HERE with your Library Card Number.
Teen readers return to RAF Museum, Midlands to celebrate their top reads for Young Teen Fiction Award 2022
Young readers from across Staffordshire will gather in force at a top Midlands venue for the grand finale of their annual book award.
The Royal Air Force Museum, Midlands will once again play host to Staffordshire’s Young Teen Fiction Award Celebration Day after a two-year Covid hiatus.
The Young Teen Fiction Award, now in its seventeenth year, is designed to encourage the county’s young people to enjoy reading books and share their enthusiasm with others.
Hundreds of 11-14 year olds, who either live or go to school in Staffordshire, or use Staffordshire Libraries, have been voting for their favourite reads since last September. Young people say participating in the award makes them feel part of a wider reading community that goes beyond the school book club. Above all, the award puts young people first by valuing their reading choices.
The short list of six teen titles was announced in March, and since then voting has moved online.
This year, as part of the Celebration Day activities, pupils will be participating in a YTF Masters quiz. Schools will field teams to answer questions on the 6 shortlisted titles. Schools have also provided content for an updated online YTF Escape Room
The Young Teen Fiction Award Celebration Day is at The RAF Museum, Midlands on Tuesday 5th July. The closing date for online voting was 24th June, but young people will cast the final vote at Celebration Day.
The six shortlisted titles for the Young Teen Fiction Award 2022 are:
- Rules For Vampires by Alex Foulkes
- When the Sky Falls by Phil Earle
- Arctic Star by Tom Palmer
- All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue
- Between the Sea and the Sky by Nicola Penfold
- The Broken Raven by Joseph Elliott
We are thrilled to have three of the shortlisted authors joining us for the Celebration Day; Alex Foulkes, Nicola Penfold and Joseph Elliott.
Shortlisted author Joseph Elliott says: “It is such an honour to be a part of the Staffordshire Young Teen Fiction Award, and I'm thrilled that children all over the county have been enjoying my books. I can't wait to meet the pupils on the upcoming 'Celebration Day' - as an author there's nothing better than connecting with new readers and inspiring the next generation of writers.”
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Shortlisted author Alex Foulkes says: "I'm honoured to have taken part in the Young Teen Fiction Award for years as a school librarian in Staffordshire - and now to be returning as a Staffordshire author! YTF, a fabulous celebration of reading for enjoyment, was an important milestone in my writing journey. It inspired me to stand up, be brave and fight to get Rules for Vampires out there.”
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Shortlisted author Nicola Penfold says: “Any program that encourages reading is great, but I think a young teen award is particularly important. It's a time in their lives when young people can stop reading, and we need to show them the vast and diverse array of stories that exist for their age group. A love of reading, if nurtured, can grow with the reader and be a life-long gift. It is mine!”
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For more information on the Staffordshire Young Teen Fiction Award, please visit the YTF webpages at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/ytf or contact liz.gardner@staffordshire.gov.uk
Quiz Time
This month's quiz is 'Which City?'
Show off your geography skills (or lack of them) and pit your wits against the quiz master.
Try the Quiz here.
Look out for weekly quizzes every Saturday evening on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
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The British Newspaper Archive available from Staffordshire Libraries!
We have recently acquired a subscription to the British Newspaper Archive. The Archive is a partnership between the British Library and Findmypast to digitise the British Library's vast collection of newspapers.
Whether you’re a history buff, genealogist or sports fan, there are resources to cover all interests in the Archive.
The collection includes Staffordshire newspapers such as the Staffordshire Advertiser, Staffordshire Chronicle, Staffordshire Newsletter and Staffordshire Sentinel and so is of interest to local and family historians, schools and many others.
Access to the BNA can be found now in the ‘Resources only accessible at Your Library’ section of the Free Online Resources page on our website.
This resource is only available within our 43 Libraries on our public access PCs, where users will need to register and create their own accounts. Once your account has been created you will have FREE access to the entire archive. By registering, you will also gain access to the 'My Research area' which will enable you to keep track of your searches and bookmark your viewed items into folders.
There is a useful 'Getting Started' section and also a YouTube Channel with some helpful videos.
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Jigsaw Time
It's time for cake with this month's jigsaw
Check out our Facebook page for a new jigsaw each Sunday at 7pm
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 These fantastic titles are still available to borrow until 27th July, with no queuing, from the Borrowbox App or visit Borrowbox via our eLibrary
Get them while you can!
Can you help with Dementia Research?
Researchers at the University of Manchester are undertaking research on the experiences over the last year of people who are taking care of a family member living with dementia at home. Does this apply to you? Would you like to help with the research? There is an online survey for you to fill in, or they can post you a paper survey at home. If you would like a paper survey, please contact Jayne Astbury on jayne.astbury@manchester.ac.uk or by telephone on 07385 463 137. If you would like to fill in the online survey, you can find it here
This project is funded by the National Institute of Health Research.
To find out more about the project please contact Jayne Astbury.
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Night Sky Guide for July
You can download the July edition of the Night Sky Guide, created by Doug, our Perton Library Astronomy Group member, here.
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