To All West Berkshire Libraries Customers
Welcome to our September news!
As the summer holidays finish and West Berkshire schools return, our regular activities are resuming in libraries. These include weekly Rhymetimes for babies and young children with their parents or carers, which take place in every library across the district.
You can find a wide range of free activities for all ages in our libraries, such as craft sessions, art clubs, book groups – including a new one starting in Burghfield Common Library on Friday 16 September, 4.15-5.30pm – and opportunities to knit and natter, to share gardening tips, practise your language skills, try some gentle exercise, seek advice with researching your family history or getting to grips with IT, and lots more.
To find out what’s happening, check with your local library to see what’s on offer near you or search the West Berkshire Directory. Facebook users can also see what’s coming up by following @WBerksLibraries and going to our Events listing.
Don’t forget that adults and children who are home schooling are invited to our new group which will meet at Hungerford Library on Saturdays 17 September, 15 October and 19 November, 10.30am-12pm. Join us at these informal sessions to meet with other families and share your ideas.
In addition to all that is happening in our libraries, we also offer lots of online activities which you can access from home for free.
Our Code Club for 9 to 11 year olds starts again next week. Children can learn to code with Scratch in this free 12 week course. Each week we email you a fun project, with full instructions and a step-by-step video guide. For more information and to sign up your child, please email library@westberks.gov.uk.
If you don’t have a computer at home you can still take part by using a computer in any of our libraries, or book sessions with members of our Code Club Team at Newbury Library on Thursdays, 4-5pm, or Hungerford Library on Fridays, 4-5pm.
Every weekend we post new, book-related online crafts suitable for all the family. Find these on Facebook and Instagram on Saturdays and on Twitter on Sundays.
Look out for our online storytimes too, and find a range of other activities, including author talks, Rhymetimes and video guides to some of our e-resources, on the West Berkshire Libraries YouTube channel.
This month we’re delighted to welcome back Educafe to Newbury Library on Wednesdays, 11am-2pm. From Wednesday 14 September, Educafe will take place every week until it takes a break in December. Everyone is welcome to drop in to this friendly community café to meet and make new friends, eat cake and learn new things. There’s so much to do! Come along and see for yourself. Free refreshments provided.
We will shortly be upgrading the lighting in Theale Library. Work on this will start on Monday 12 September and will probably take two weeks to complete. All the lighting in the public areas will be replaced with brighter, more energy efficient LED lights. The library will not have to close but there may be areas that are cordoned off for short periods of time.
Burghfield Common Library is going to be redecorated. This does mean that it will be closed from 10-14 October, but no items will be due for return to the library during this time.
We apologise for any inconvenience that these building works may cause but hope you will agree that the improvements make it worthwhile.
Bookings are open now for an exciting half-term activity for children 7-11 years: achieve your ‘Discover’ Arts Award in a morning in three fun-filled sessions at central Newbury venues on Tuesday 25 October. Participants will start with some drama at the Corn Exchange, then move to Newbury Library for a story-based session and on to the West Berkshire Museum for a craft activity. For more details and to book, please contact the Corn Exchange, Newbury.
In November, Newbury Library will be hosting a showcase for local authors to promote their books. If you have had a book published recently and are interested in taking part, please email Karen.Smith@westberks.gov.uk.
Look out for more details about these and other autumn activities in future newsletters.
… all of our summer reading challenges finish on 15 September. Children who have completed their Gadgeteers Summer Reading Challenge – either online or in a library – can collect a medal and certificate from any West Berkshire library; and if you have read three books for our Grown-Ups2! challenge, please make sure to let us know so that we can enter you in our prize draw to win a wi-fi tablet. We hope to contact the lucky winner by the end of September.
Remember that children who would like further incentives for their reading can choose from one of our character bookmarks when they borrow from us and then collect a 'star' for their bookmark with every book they return. We have Library Star certificates for everyone who collects 10 stars!
We know that reading is so important to many people, but also that buying books and magazines can be expensive. Remember that we’ve got a wide range, for all ages, which you can borrow from us free of charge. This includes all the latest bestsellers, and a variety of magazines, books and newspapers available from our e-library. Check our catalogue or download the West Berkshire Libraries app from your usual app store to see what’s available.
Our next newsletter will be out in early October. Meanwhile follow @WBerksLibraries on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with latest news about everything that’s happening in our libraries.
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