|
To All West Berkshire Libraries Customers
We are pleased to bring you the latest news from West Berkshire Libraries, including details about the services we are currently able to provide in line with government rules on managing the risk of COVID-19.
 Our Order & Collect service is proving to be very popular with customers of all ages who have been enjoying the new way of discovering books and reading during lockdown.
As part of this service, if you are not sure which books you would like to read, or are looking for a bit of inspiration, you can request that library staff select up to five books for you to suit your preferences. Our knowledgeable library staff may even be able to introduce you to a new author or genre that they think might be of interest!
Telephone 01635 519813 or your local library to let us know what sort of books you enjoy, or visit the library catalogue online to place your order. When the books are ready for collection, you can pick them up from any West Berkshire library. When you have finished with them, you can return them through our bookdrops/letterboxes, even when the library is closed. But if you are unable to do this over the coming weeks, please don't worry - there will be no fines until the end of March 2021.
If you know someone who isn’t a computer user but would enjoy the Order & Collect service, please do let them know how to get in touch!
 Don’t forget that it’s not just fiction - you can use our Order & Collect service to request children’s non-fiction books too on a variety of topics - which may be useful for school projects and home learning, as well as helping them to explore their interests and read for fun.
We have online resources to help as well, including Britannica Online, the world’s most famous and highly respected encyclopaedia. In addition to the full version, we have a student edition for ages 12 to 18 and a junior edition for 5 to 11 years – all available FREE to members of West Berkshire Libraries.
We’ve put together a short video on how to use Britannica Junior Edition which you can find on our YouTube channel.
If you are not already a member of West Berkshire Libraries, you can join online now. Parents/carers will need to do this for any child under 16 years.
Find details of all of our e-resources on our website, including our e-books, e-magazines and e-newspapers to borrow for FREE, and use your library card number and PIN to login.
As always, if you have any difficulties using any of our e-resources, please don’t hesitate to email us and we will be happy to help you get started: library@westberks.gov.uk.
 Did you know that we have special collections of books to help support your mental health and wellbeing? Our Reading Well booklists include titles chosen by health experts to cover a range of mental health topics, such as coping with anxiety, grief and stress, understanding autism, OCD and practising mindfulness, and there are separate lists for adults, young people and children. We also have a collection of Mood Boosting Books recommended by readers around the country to give you an uplift. Take a look at these and reserve your chosen titles on our catalogue.
 In addition to our Friday Storytimes and book-related craft activities every weekend, we have a number of other online activities coming soon.
In the run up to Valentine’s Day on 14 February, we’ll be celebrating with a Romance Week on Instagram, where we’ll be highlighting some of the romantic titles you can borrow from us.
During half term, youngsters will be able to collect craft packs from Burghfield Common, Hungerford and Theale Libraries to make a ‘magic box’ with which to perform an astounding trick for family and friends! Full instructions included in your free packs.
Theale Library also has a colouring competition with prizes for children starting at the end of the month: collect a picture to colour from the library and return it by 24 March to enter. Further details available from the library.
On Wednesday 24 February we hope that you will be able to join us with babies and very young children for a special Rhymetime, provided for us by Danielle from Berkshire Mini Maestros. This session will be available on our YouTube channel.
 You can book now for our next Code Club course for 9-11 year olds by emailing library@westberks.gov.uk.
Finally, we’re also taking bookings for our next online talk: Archaeology in West Berkshire on Wednesday 10 March, 7-8pm. This free talk will be live on Zoom. Please visit the West Berkshire Heritage website for full details and to book.
Find more information about all of our activities and other news by following @WBerksLibraries on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
|
