 Time for the kids to complete the Summer Reading Challenge!
The Summer Reading Challenge is in full swing at Staffordshire Libraries with over 9200 children taking part so far!
Your kids have until 11th September to complete the challenge and for 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.
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’.
Ready, Set, Read! logo artwork by Lizzie Everard and © The Reading Agency 2023
 Discover the Staffordshire History Festival 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.
Highlights include a Heritage Open Day at the Museum stores on 9th September, a Local Author Day at Burton Library on 23rd September, with local history authors promoting their work and the Perton Library History Fair on Saturday 7th October with a host of historical stalls, exhibitions, re-enactors and enthusiasts and a special escape room activity for young people. Libraries and Archives will also be hosting talks from local historians and authors, including Andrew Lound, Joy Stephenson-Blank, Shaun Farrelly, Emma Venables, Carolyn Kirby, and Steve Booth. There will be a mini walking tour of Historic Eastgate Street, an exhibition created by David Robbie about the history of Great Haywood at Rugeley Library, a talk about the Stafford Gatehouse, a book signing with Nick Thomas at Stafford Library, Sylvia Baddeley at Newcastle and another with Philp Leese at Kidsgrove, taster sessions on the Ancestry website, quizzes, treasure hunts for the kids and much more.
Archives and Heritage will be launching ‘Knowing Where you Stand: An Introduction to Local History’ Adult Learning Course in partnership with Keele University on 3rd October.
Perton Library and Burton Library will also be hosting ‘Their Finest Hour’ Digital Collection Days on 19th and 21st October. People are encouraged to bring along Second World War artefacts and family stories for recording and uploading as part of a national project organised by Oxford University. Tamworth Library will be celebrating its 50th Birthday with a ‘Tamworth Then and Now’ photographic exhibition, created in partnership with Tamworth Castle. Newcastle Library will be celebrating the town’s 850th birthday with a series of events for children during the October half term,
The Pop-up Film Festival is also back this September, with The Mace Guide to the Midlands, a celebration of the customs and traditions of the Midlands region. Films will be shown every lunchtime in Stafford Library between 12th and 16th September.
There will also be an online festival that will be discoverable using the hashtag #StaffsHistFest. A programme of informative posts, quizzes, interesting videos, crafts and activities for children and families will be shared on social media across the two months of the festival, produced by our staff, volunteers, and local partner organisations. There will be regular posts to highlight famous people from Staffordshire and little-known facts about Staffordshire’s history. Look out for exciting videos and reels from Archives on pests, spooky and unusual objects and there will also be the premier of a special documentary video made with pupils from Kingsmead School
Libraries will be sharing history eBook and eAudio 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: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/eLibrary
Look out for information about our fantastic websites, available for Library members, including Ancestry, Find My Past (Staffordshire Collection), the British Newspaper Archive and Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
 Heritage Open Day - Behind the Scenes at the Museum Stores
Go behind the scenes and discover the treasures in our museum stores for Heritage Open Days!
Families (and the young at heart) can pick up a mini trail sheet to help you explore, get hands-on with object handling and make a badge to take home.
Visit our main museum store, take time to look around behind the scenes and view our fascinating collections. Staffordshire social history, costume, art and the recently moved carriage collection will all be available to view and we will taking a look inside some of our museum boxes to unbox creativity!
This is a self-guided visit, but staff and volunteers will be on hand to highlight our treasures, direct you around our site and answer your questions. There will also be a chance to share your ideas of how we should create new displays for the Staffordshire History Centre.
Our large object store will be open on the hour for those who would like to explore even more Staffordshire history.
Saturday 9 September: 10.30 to 4.00 - arrival times must be pre-booked.
Find out more and pre-book your tickets
Please note: Booking closes on 7th September, so book early to avoid disappointment.
 MACE's Guide to the Midlands
Join in this year's Pocket Film Festival and explore Staffordshire's history in film.
Midlands Archive for Central England’s guide to the Midlands showing the customs & traditions of the region, from Ashbourne's famous Shrovetide football to the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance.
12:00pm - 2:00pm, showing daily from Tuesday 12th - Saturday 16th September
Stafford Library
Find out more about the Pocket Film Festival
 National Reading Group Day
Have you ever thought about joining a reading group or book club? On 14 September we’ll be celebrating National Reading Group Day, run by national charity The Reading Agency. 84% of people feel more connected to other people because of being part of a reading group, so if you want to discover and talk about new books and meet new people, get in touch to find out about the reading groups that we have available for you to join.
Run by national charity The Reading Agency, Reading Groups for Everyone is the largest network of reading groups in the UK, bringing people together through a shared love of reading.
Readers can register on readinggroups.org to find a local group to join, access exclusive offers from publishers, hear about the latest book news and find useful resources.
NHS Retirement Fellowship Heritage Exhibition
The NHSRF provides friendship, fellowship and fun to retired NHS and social care staff, volunteers and their friends and families, along with access to a great range of benefits and discounts.
Bob Middleton, the Fellowship's External Funding Project Manager, has led the bidding process to the Heritage Fund since 2017 to secure external funding to present the heritage of the NHS from 1940's to the current day.
The result is a touring exhibition that will be visiting libraries across Staffordshire during the Staffordshire History Festival and beyond. The exhibition will be spending a week at each Library:
- 4th September Tamworth Library
- 11th September Burton Library (2 weeks)
- 2nd October Stafford Library
- 9th October Cannock Library
- 16th October Newcastle Library
- 23rd October Biddulph Library
- 13th November Perton Library
To find out more visit NHS Retirement Fellowship (nhsrf.org.uk)
 Explore History this Autumn
We have a whole host of new library books and audio books in our libraries and we also have lots of new eBooks and eAudios on Borrowbox! We have all the best historical books from top historians & historical fiction authors 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 or visit the Borrowbox App or eLibrary!
Quiz Time - How well do you know Staffordshire?
This month our quiz is all about Staffordshire
Look out for weekly quizzes every Saturday evening on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
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Find out about self-employment at your local library
Residents across Staffordshire can call into their local library this June to access advice and guidance to start their own business.
The Staffordshire Start-up Hubs, supported by BES, are an initiative that provides advice, support and guidance to those interested in becoming self-employed and starting their own business.
Each library has its own Hub where visitors can access self-employment resources including books, templates and information. Additional drop-in sessions will be held at specific libraries on selected dates in June. No appointment is necessary and self-employment coaches will be on hand to provide one-to-one advice and guidance to anyone that would like to talk about their ideas and ambitions to become self-employed.
All sessions will take place between 10:30am and 12:30pm unless otherwise stated.
Stafford Library - Monday 4th September
Stone Library - Tuesday 5th September
Cannock Library - Tuesday 5th September
Burntwood Library - Tuesday 5th September 2:00pm-4:00pm
Rugeley Library - Wednesday 6th September
Perton Library - Wednesday 6th September
Biddulph Library - Monday 11th September
Burton Library - Tuesday 12th September
Leek Library - Wednesday 13th September
Codsall Library - Thursday 14th September
Kidsgrove - Monday 18th September
Newcastle Library - Tuesday 19th September
Tamworth Library - Tuesday 19th September
Lichfield Library - Wednesday 20th September
Please contact your library for more information.
Find out about Library Startup Hubs
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 Still time to borrow these great Borrowbox titles, with no queuing!
Borrow, download & enjoy instant ebooks & eAudios with Borrowbox – your library in one app. Available until 29th September.
The Man in the Bunker by Rory Clements
A Taste of Greek Summer by Mandy Baggot
Mumlife by Louise Pentland
Enid Blyton’s Summer Stories
Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child
Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Use the Borrowbox App or visit our eLibrary
Discover your family at the Library!
Grow your family tree at Staffordshire Libraries with free access to Ancestry and the FindMyPast Staffordshire Collection.
Ancestry is the leading genealogy resource on the internet and is packed full of records, as well as hints and tips to help you trace your family history, whether you are from Staffordshire or beyond.
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Findmypast is one of the leading family history resources on the internet. The Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service has partnered with Findmypast to make some of the most popular Staffordshire sources available online. Currently available are the Staffordshire Parish Registers (Church of England), 1538-1900, containing around 4 million records. Further resources are 'in the pipeline' and will be made available soon, so watch this space.
Both are available to use for FREE for Library members on a public access PC at your local Staffordshire Library.
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Staffordshire Archives and Heritage
Touring Exhibitions this Autumn
Why not visit one of the many pop-up exhibitions taking place at libraries and other venues this Autumn?
‘Keeping the Lights On – A history of Rugeley Power Station’
Cannock Library 1 Sep - 13 Oct
Rugeley Library 13 Oct – 24 Nov
‘Our County, Our Climate - Exploring The Historical Impact Of Climate Change On Staffordshire People’
Codsall Library 5 Sept – 3 Oct
Rugeley Library 3 Oct – 7 Nov
‘A Case for the Ordinary – the patient experience at Staffordshire’s Asylums’
Ancient High House, Stafford 9 Sept – 12 Dec
Available to view during normal open hours. Please contact the venues for more information.
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Bloomsbury Mentorship Programme 2023
The Bloomsbury Mentorship Programme is a scheme to support unpublished, underrepresented fiction writers as they work to establish careers in the publishing industry.
If that’s you, and you’re working on short stories or a full-length novel, Bloomsbury encourage you to submit your writing to them. This is a development prize, so you only need to have written a synopsis and the first 2,000 words – and they can support you as you write the rest.
That’s why the prize on offer isn’t a book deal. Bloomsbury don’t want to help you with one book. They want to give you the tools you need to write all the books that your imagination holds.
If you win the year-long mentorship, Bloomsbury will support and mentor you as you develop your writing, as well as provide you with the knowledge and contacts you need to navigate the at-times obtuse corridors of the publishing industry. Both you and the six shortlisted writers will receive a free writing course with Curtis Brown Creative, and will be invited to a networking event. Bloomsbury will also support the longlisted writers through a workshop, where they will discuss every aspect of the publishing process.
Find out more.
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