From Saturday 5 December, your local library will be open again for browsing and pre-bookable computer sessions during its temporary winter opening hours.

You can still reserve books and other items for free, or ask our experienced staff to choose titles on your behalf, making your visit as short as possible.

Libraries will continue to operate in a COVID-19 secure way and we ask all customers to follow the guidance in our Customer Charter, which includes information on mandatory face coverings (unless exempt), hand sanitiser and Test and Trace.

We look forward to seeing you back in your local library!

We are delighted to announce that we will be in conversation with Sunday Times bestselling author, Cathy Rentzenbrink, on Wednesday 16 December at 7.00pm. Cathy will be discussing her wonderful new book Dear Reader, which celebrates the comfort and joy of books and is packed full of great reading recommendations.

The event is free to attend via Zoom, but please register your space in advance to avoid disappointment.

If you have any questions for Cathy, you can pop them in the Zoom chat during the event, or email them to us in advance.

The Remote Digital Support service will not be running for the two weeks over the Christmas period. We close from Monday 21 December and will resume on Monday 4 January 2021.

The phoneline - 0330 222 3455 - and email inbox will not be staffed during this time but you can still send emails or leave a voicemail. We will reply as soon as possible after we return on Monday 4 January.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for using this service, and look forward to helping you in 2021!

This time last year we celebrated the opening of our new library in Burgess Hill and we’ve been delighted to welcome a huge number of new library members in the town over the last twelve months. This week the library was given a lovely first birthday present, as it was selected as a winner in the "Public and Community" category of the Sussex Heritage Trust Awards!

The judges particularly liked the quality of our book stock, the exciting children’s space, the inclusivity of our Changing Places toilet and the areas to sit and study. They described it as “modern and welcoming” and recognised how this library contributes to the regeneration of the local retail area.

We are delighted to be welcoming you back into our libraries for browsing this week and look forward to seeing you all again. We still have a lot of resources and activities online too - why not have a look at our Current Offer page for all the details?

New virtual activities for Christmas include a festive Melody For The Mind special singalong, featuring ‘Jingle Bells’, ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ and other classics. Or you can join us for a trip down memory lane, with a special Christmas Reminiscence session, featuring our brand new Christmas reminiscence pack. For younger members of the family we have some special Christmas Rhyme Times and Storytimes to enjoy too.

We wish you a very Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year!