 Engineering Fairytales October Half Term
Join us for a fun creative workshop where children can explore stem activities through fairy tales. This session's Fairy Tale is The Three Little Pigs – This is a practical session exploring key engineering skills. The children will design, plan, build and test their own creations using a success criteria and guidance from the grown-ups. We plan to use recycling as a material. If you could bring your own clean recycling, that would be handy. Think cereal boxes, cardboard tubes, clean yogurt pots etc. However, don't worry we will have some at the library too.
Please book one ticket per child.
Ulverston Library @The Coro Wednesday 29 October 2025 10am
Barrow Library Wednesday 29 October 2025 2pm
Kendal Library Thursday 30 October 2025 10am
Penrith Library Thursday 30 October 2025 1:30pm
 The Summer Reading Challenge Cress Head Comp!
Wow, we were so excited to see all your gorgeous, creative, and fun cress head creatures. Children across Westmorland and Furness received the cress head pots as a prize for reading five books in the Summer Reading Challenge. They were so popular, we had to order more! Thank you to everyone who shared their pictures with us. We're delighted you had fun with your cress head creatures and of course, that you loved all the books you read this summer. One entry from each library area has been chosen as our cress head winners. Libraries will be in touch with the winners soon. Congratulations!
 Practice for Go Citizen Free at Your Library
GoCitizen.co.uk is an online study resource for candidates preparing for the Life in the UK test or British citizenship test. This is a comprehensive and proven study package. It includes an online version of the latest official study materials licensed from the Home Office, the people who write the handbook plus hundreds of practice test questions in the same format as the official test.
Borrowers all over the country have access to study for their citizenship test for free through their local libraries. Simply go to the website and click on Cumberland Council, and Westmorland and Furness Council to create a free account. If you don't have a library card you can join the library online.
 Explore Menopause Free Webinars This October
Menopause Awareness Month is an ideal time to start conversations, challenge misconceptions, and explore the support available. This year, libraries across the North West have joined forces to host expert-led webinars focused on perimenopause and menopause. Simply click the links below to watch the talks at the time of the event. If you’d like to submit a question in advance, please email library.suggestions@bury.gov.uk, kindly avoid including any personal details. While speakers may respond to pre-submitted questions during or after the sessions, please note that not all questions may be addressed. The webinars will be hosted on Microsoft Teams. If you don’t already have the app installed on your device, we recommend downloading it in advance to ensure a smooth experience.
Perimenopause and Menopause Journey with Dr Catherine Munro
Perimenopause and menopause can be a confusing time, and navigating this journey can be tricky. Dr Cath Munro is a British Menopause Society-accredited menopause specialist, and she will talk you through this journey, what to expect, how to prepare and how best to navigate your own journey.
Tuesday 7th October 10.30am – 11.30am
Free online event, webinar link – Perimenopause and Menopause Journey.
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Mindfulness and the Menopause with Jayshri (Jay) Mistry
Join us for Mindfulness for Menopause, offering practical strategies to enhance wellbeing, ease stress, calm the mind and build resilience. Helping you feel more balanced and healthier during life changes. Jay supports businesses and community groups with gentle, practical tools for everyday wellbeing.
Thursday 16th October 12noon – 1pm
Free online event, webinar link – Mindfulness and the Menopause
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Introduction to Bone Health for Perimenopause with Dr Angela White
As we go through perimenopause, our bodies change in many ways—some visible, others silent. One of the most important yet overlooked changes happens in our bones. Join retired orthopaedic surgeon and bone health expert Dr Angela White for an empowering talk on why your skeleton is your most valuable long-term investment.
Tuesday 21st October 1pm – 2pm
Free online event, webinar link – Introduction to Bone Health for Perimenopause
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Making Menopause Matter with Diane Danzebrink
Join us for an empowering session with Diane Danzebrink, author, campaigner and advocate of women’s health and founder of Menopause Support and the Make Menopause Matter campaign. Diane brings together personal experience and professional insight to champion better education, care, and support for everyone navigating menopause.
Thursday 23rd October 1pm – 2pm
Free online event, webinar link – Making Menopause Matter
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Staying Healthy in Midlife with Renee McGregor & Dr Catherine Munro
Weight management can be really tricky in midlife. Finding sound and evidence-based advice about how to stay healthy through this time can be difficult with so much confusing information in the media. Renee and Cath will talk about the way our bodies work and how what we eat influences our health, as well as cover evidence-based approaches to eating and exercising for a healthy body.
Tuesday 28th October 10.30am – 11.30am
Free online event, webinar link – Staying Healthy in Midlife.
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 We Need You!
It's only 4 weeks until Halloween and we need your help! Our popular costume swap is back and we're looking for donations. Got fancy dress that the kids have grown out of, or any cool costumes that just aren't your style? Bring them along to any of our libraries by October half term (24th) and we'll do our best to find them a new home! You can drop them in at our Barrow, Kendal or Penrith libraries.
 Black History Month
The theme for Black History Month UK 2025 is, Standing Firm in Power and Pride, a powerful tribute to the resilience, strength, and unwavering commitment to progress that defines the Black community across the globe. Celebrate BHM 2025 with one of our chosen reads.
Brilliant Black British History by Atinuke
An eye-opening story of Britain, focusing on a part of our past that has mostly been left out of the history books: the brilliant Black history of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland. From science and sport to literature and law, celebrate the brilliant Black people who have helped build Britain. Learn about key and complex historical topics such as the world wars, slavery, the industrial revolution, Windrush and the Black Lives Matter movement. This fascinating book will change everything you thought you knew about our green-grey British isles.
Find BorrowBox eBook here.
Request from the library here.
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Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
Meet the little leaders. They're brave. They're bold. They changed the world. Featuring 40 trailblazing black women in the world's history, this book educates and inspires as it relates true stories of women who broke boundaries and exceeded all expectations. Debut author/illustrator Vashti Harrison pairs captivating text with stunning illustrations as she tells the stories of both iconic and lesser-known female figures of black history - from nurse Mary Seacole, to politician Diane Abbott, mathematician Katherine Johnson and singer Shirley Bassey. Among these biographies, readers will find heroes, role models and everyday women who did extraordinary things.
Find BorrowBox eAudio here.
Request from the library here.
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Musical Truth by Jeffrey Boakye
Lord Kitchener, Neneh Cherry, Smiley Culture, Stormzy . . . Groundbreaking musicians whose songs have changed the world. But how? This exhilarating playlist tracks some of the key shifts in modern British history, and explores the emotional impact of 28 songs and the artists who performed them. This book redefines British history, the Empire and postcolonialism, and will invite you to think again about the narratives and key moments in history that you have been taught up to now. Thrilling, urgent, entertaining and thought-provoking, this companion to modern black music is a revelation and a delight.
Find BorrowBox eAudio here.
Request from the library here.
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 World Menopause Day
World Menopause Day is held every year on 18th October. We are delighted to share in this global awareness day. Did you know that our digital library Borrow Box has a range of fun and informative eBooks and eAudio? Why not check some of our favourites below?
Still Hot by Kaye Adams
The Menopause. What even is it? One big theme unites Still Hot!'s 42 stories – that, somehow, the world doesn't ready us for this. The menopause – let alone the perimenopause – simply isn’t talked about; instead, it's reduced to a comic hot flush. More and more of us are proudly stepping free of the menopausal closet, but the Big M is still a conversation whispered below the radar. No one tells you it will be like this. No one prepares you for it. That silence is lifting, slowly. So let's be bold, let’s overshare. Let's find solidarity among Still Hot!'s myriad voices – wise, rebellious, measured, fierce, upfront – telling how the menopause is not just one story, but many. Telling, in fact, that this is not the menopause, it is YOUR menopause.
Find BorrowBox eBook here.
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Menopause by Deborah Garlick
Why is talking about the menopause so taboo? When it's something that all women experience, and all in their own unique way. Written by a range of expert contributors from clinical professionals to natural practitioners, this comprehensive and thoroughly researched guide equips you with everything you need to help prepare for the changes ahead. Reflecting the latest NICE guidelines and information about HRT, this book provides a balanced view and encourages you to explore the options and think about what's right for you.
Find BorrowBox eBook here.
Request to borrow here.
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Cracking the Menopause by Mariella Frostrup
A groundbreaking, no-holds-barred guide to the menopause - that combines a passion to enlighten and inform as well as entertain - from inimitable broadcaster, writer and campaigner Mariella Frostrup and award-winning health journalist Alice Smellie.
Find BorrowBox eAudio here.
Request to borrow here.
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 Exhibition and Comic Book Launch
Barrow Library
Saturday 8th November 1pm - 4pm
Join us for Our Freedom Then and Now exhibition and comic book launch at Barrow Library on Saturday 8th November. This free and interactive event will showcase the comic-art book created by Lyndon White and include a live draw-along jam and poetry performance. There will also be a display of young people’s artworks and blackout poems that have been created during creative engagement workshops.
Till The Dawn Exhibition
Barrow Library
Monday 10th November - Friday 28th November
A powerful new community-led exhibition reflecting on the profound meaning of freedom, 80 years after the end of the Second World War. The exhibition will include a heritage display developed in partnership with Cumbria Archives and Barrow Archive Centre and their volunteers and a 24-page comic inspired by amazing stories and heartfelt memories from the Barrow community. See Barrow Library transformed into a space of shared memory and imagination, where stories of freedom – past and present – come to life.
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Young Makers Market
Barrow Library
Tuesday 28th October 11am
Join us at Barrow Library for our Young Makers Market this October half term! This will be an exciting event as it is 13 year old Tilly's first one, where she wanted a space where being "different" isn't just accepted- its celebrated. Come an support these wonderful young makers and entrepreneurs.
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Regular Events and Activities
Explore a world of fun and learning! Are you ready for an exciting spring filled with captivating events and activities? Look no further than Westmorland and Furness Libraries! Did you know that alongside our exciting events, we offer a variety of regular groups and activities that cater to different interests and promote lifelong learning. Many of these regular groups are completely free, including Baby Bounce and Rhyme, Lego Club, Craft Club, Storytime, Knit and Natter, Chess Club, and many more.
Explore the wonderful opportunities available to you! Find us on Trybooking
Check out our regular groups and activities. 👇
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Barrow Group Libraries - Walney, Roose, Askam, Ulverston, Dalton & Ormsgill
Penrith Group Libraries - Alston, Appleby, Kirkby Stephen & Shap
Kendal Group Libraries - Ambleside, Grange, Kirkby Longsdale, Milnthorpe, Sedbergh & Windermere
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Follow Us on Social Media
Stay connected with us on social media! Did you know that Westmorland and Furness libraries can be found on across social media. Pop on over to your chosen platform to keep up to date and informed about all the latest happenings at Westmorland and Furness Libraries!
Join our growing online community and be the first to know about the engaging activities and resources we have in store for you.
Don't miss out - follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram today!
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