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To All West Berkshire Libraries Customers
Welcome to our July news!
 Our annual Summer Reading Challenge for children aged 4-11 years is here!
Participants are challenged to read up to six library books between now and 15 September and collect FREE incentives for their achievements as they read – with medals, certificates and swim vouchers provided by Everyone Active for all children who complete the Challenge.
Developed by The Reading Agency in partnership with Youth Sport Trust, the theme of this year’s Challenge is ‘Ready, Set, Read!’, which aims to keep children’s minds and bodies active over the summer break. Children will be able to join a superstar team and their marvellous mascots as they navigate a fictional summer obstacle course.
There’s no need to wait until the school holidays begin – drop in to your local library to find out more and get started now. We have a mini challenge for younger members too.
 We have a challenge for everyone 12 years and over as well: pick up a Book Challenge card when you next visit a library to find suggestions of different types of books to read. Choose three of these and read your books before 15 September. If the suggestions you select are in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row on your card, you can enter a prize draw in your local library.
Please ask in the library for more details and start your challenge now.
 Whether you are travelling far or having fun at home, we have plenty of fantastic books for you to enjoy this summer, including all the latest bestsellers. These include thousands of e-books and e-audiobooks from our suppliers BorrowBox and Libby which you can borrow for FREE with your West Berkshire Libraries card. (If you are not already a library member, you can join for free too.)
 Most of our regular activities for children take a break during the school holidays but some continue. For instance, this summer you will find weekly Rhymetimes in Burghfield Common, Hungerford and Newbury libraries (apart from Tuesday 25 July).
The All Sorts Club at Lambourn Library, the Pot-luck Club at Hungerford Library and the children’s craft clubs at Burghfield Common, Hungerford and Theale libraries are all continuing, along with Theale Library’s Duplo Play sessions, with extra sessions taking place every Wednesday, 10.45am-2.15pm.
Check with your local library to find out what’s happening to the weekly and monthly events near you.
Look out for lots of additional activities for children taking place everywhere too!
For instance, we have a number of our popular LEGO sessions taking place at Burghfield Common, Newbury, Pangbourne, Thatcham and Theale libraries. Other highlights include:
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Sports-themed crafts at Theale Library on 2, 9 and 30 August, 1.30-3.30pm: join a skittles tournament, make a hoopla set or design a table-top football pitch.
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Explore Learning workshops at libraries in Burghfield Common on 10 August, Newbury on 18 August and Pangbourne on 22 August, all 11am-12.30pm.
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Summer crafts every Friday in August at Thatcham Library, 10.30-11.30am, and on Saturday mornings throughout the school holidays at Lambourn Library, 10.30am-12pm.
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Board Games Club at Pangbourne Library on 11, 18 and 25 August, plus 1 September, 2-4pm.
- A variety of activities at Newbury Library on 16, 22 and 30 August, 2-4pm, in connection with the town’s Festival of the Moon.
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All of these events are FREE but in some cases numbers are limited and you will need to book a place with the library concerned. For full details – including recommended age ranges – for these and other summer events and activities, please check with your local library.
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 World Crafts workshops for anyone over 55 years continue at Newbury Library for a little longer, with sessions on Fridays 7 and 14 July, 10.30am-12pm. For details about these and to book a FREE session, please contact the Corn Exchange, Newbury: 01635 522733 or visit cornexchangenew.com/worldcrafts
 The last Educafe at Newbury Library before the summer break will be on Wednesday 26 July, 11am to 2pm. Please note that the Parents’ Village will run at the West Berkshire Museum on this date. Educafe will return for the autumn on Wednesday 6 September.
Watch this short video to hear some of our visitors talk about what Educafe and Newbury Library mean to them.
Don’t forget that you can keep up with the latest news about everything that’s happening in our libraries this summer by following @WBerksLibraries on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Facebook users can also see what’s coming up by going to our Events listing. Additionally, to find out what’s happening near you, check with your local library or visit https://booking.westberks.gov.uk/library_events.html.
 West Berkshire Council would like your views on how to improve the lives of autistic people living in this area. If you have any ideas about this or if you would like to share your experiences of the challenges faced by autistic people with local services, including education, health, employment, social care and local community resources, please complete the Council's online Autism Survey 2023.
The survey should take about 10-15 minutes to complete and needs to be submitted by midnight on Wednesday 19 July.
West Berkshire Council has been allocated funding to assist with costs such as energy bills, food, clothing and housing in exceptional circumstances. Details about this can be found on the Council website: https://www.westberks.gov.uk/householdsupportfund
Funding applications need to be made online, including digital copies of required documents. If you would like any assistance making an online application, please ask in your local library.
 Have you used your library card recently? We check cards every couple of years to make sure we still have up-to-date details for you.
If we need to contact you for any reason, you may receive a ‘secure’ email from us in order to help keep all the information safe. This will come from ‘Domain postmaster address postmaster@westberks.gov.uk’, with a subject heading ‘Secure Messaging Notification’. If this is the first time you have received a Secure Messaging Notification from West Berkshire Council, you will also receive details about how to set up a Secure Messaging account in order to access it.
Please remember to bring your library card with you whenever you visit if you intend to borrow books or to use our PCs.
We look forward to seeing you again soon!
Our next newsletter will be out in early August.
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