New Library Services Launching This Week Friday 18 November, 2016 City Central Library   We're very excited to announce that Stoke-on-Trent Libraries will be launching two wonderful new services from Friday 18 November, 2016 and we wanted to tell you all about them!      On Friday we will officially be launching our fantastic new Sensory Room and Reminiscence Pod (as well as a couple of other exciting projects we've got up our sleeves!) and we'd like to invite you to join us, to get involved and find out more. You're welcome to drop in at any time during the day - here's what's going on...       What's Going On: 11am: Singing Bears (includes a brief demonstration of Story Massage). Join us for a gentle mix of rhymes and songs - perfect for our youngest library members.   12noon: The Deputy Lord Mayor will officially launch The Sensory Room and RemPod.    1-1.30pm: An introduction to Story Massage. Find out more about our new course for families. Learn how to bring stories to life with some simple techniques.    2-2.45pm: Reminisce, Recall, Relive - Reminiscence expert Kath Reynolds will be leading a fascinating, interactive session which encourages you to think back to enjoyable seaside holidays in years gone by.      You'll have the chance throughout the day to be among the first people to explore the Sensory Room and RemPod and to explore our new GestureTek Cube - an interactive mat which is lots of fun!     We will also have crafts, colouring and more information available about other library services - you'll be able to find out more about our e-book service and take a look at a selection of our reminiscence boxes which are available for anyone to borrow. It really will be a fun-filled day!

The Sensory Room

The Sensory Room is a fantastic space that is available for anyone to use. Located in City Central Library, Hanley, it's completely free of charge to use and can be booked for an hour at a time.

The room isn't just for children and families though, it's for adults as well! 

Children will find the lights, music and textures in the room engaging and stimulating. The sensory equipment can be used for calm and focus or more active interaction. It can help to develop motor skills, co-ordination and to use our different senses to explore the world around us.

For adults the space is a calm sanctuary away from the bustle of modern city life. Calming music can help with meditation or to reduce stress and anxiety.  

The RemPod

The RemPod, or Reminiscence Pod, is a pop-up space designed to encourage reminiscence in a calm and soothing environment. 

If you're an avid watcher of Dragon's Den then you might have seen the successful pitch from Richard Ernest, inventor of RemPods, which persuaded both Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones to invest! 

The huge beach scene, deck-chairs, buckets and spades, and the sounds and smells of the sea will encourage participants to tap into memories of special seaside holidays. Whilst the Reminiscence Pod is primarily designed to improve the lives of people with dementia, the seaside theme will appeal to anyone, young and old, who’s ever enjoyed a trip to the sea.

Our RemPod will initially be at City Central Library but in the future we're planning on taking it to our community libraries so everyone in the city will be able to benefit from this wonderful resource!

All Stoke-on-Trent Libraries already support 'Reading Well for Dementia' which is a collection of books designed to be used by anyone diagnosed with dementia, their families, friends and carers to inform, help and promote reminiscence. The addition of the RemPod provides something extra to explore along with this collection of books.

The Cube

The Sensory Room and the RemPod aren't the only things that we're launching on Friday - we're also very excited to show you The Cube. 

The Cube is an interactive mat that reacts to movement and touch. It's a great piece of technology that gets young children moving and interacting with the space around them. Babies and toddlers can walk, shuffle or crawl across the mat swishing virtual leaves out of their way, popping virtual bubbles and much, much more!

It's perfect to help families work, play and communicate together and really helps children to develop their movement and motor skills.

We can't wait to welcome you into City Central Library to show you the wonderful services available. We look forward to seeing you in the library soon! 

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