I live in a large village, about 4 miles from the nearest town. I am a town girl at heart, but this village is so well equipped, and with a good bus route or straight drive into town that I can cope! After 6 years I feel part of the place, and to be honest don't know whether or not I would move back to town now, given the choice.
Amongst all our other facilities we have a library. GD and I spent many hours there before she started school, going to the Under 5s Storytime, which was conveniently held on the day I looked after her. I have taken GS1 a few times too. Audio books are my mums lifeline. She watches some TV especially snooker, but it is audio books which are her main diversion as her eyesight isn't good enough to read. I reserve these online, collect them from the library and take them to mum.
The staff are lovely, it is a pleasant place to be. Various groups and classes took place there during the week, and the 4 computers were in use more often than not.
Volunteers had spent a lot of time tending the wasted garden space at the back, and planting bulbs at the front. It was looking lovely.
Then suddenly last July it was condemned by the council and closed a week later. It was a 60's building, apparently now unsafe and too expensive to repair.
I feared we would lose our lovely library, as town isn't that far, and 2 villages 2 or 3 miles away have branches. However ours was the most well used and popular branch and thankfully the council are committed to it re opening.
It will be a long haul however. Since July it has been housed in a small room in a community centre. The long term plan is a lovely new library extension to the existing Victorian Memorial Hall in the centre of the village (not the one it is in at the moment). The plans look promising and the council has pledged a good deal of money for the library. The Memorial Hall needs to raise a lot more of it's own money before all these improvements, including the library, can go ahead, so fingers crossed.
These plans will take 2 years to come to fruition. Until then we are to have a mobile library serving the village for 4 days a week.
I joined the Friends of ***** Library as I want to help in any way I can. I have been to 2 meetings so far and the next is this Friday. I hope to find out when the mobile will be in operation. At the last meeting we were told it was bright orange and needed painting something a bit more sedate!
Amongst all our other facilities we have a library. GD and I spent many hours there before she started school, going to the Under 5s Storytime, which was conveniently held on the day I looked after her. I have taken GS1 a few times too. Audio books are my mums lifeline. She watches some TV especially snooker, but it is audio books which are her main diversion as her eyesight isn't good enough to read. I reserve these online, collect them from the library and take them to mum.
The staff are lovely, it is a pleasant place to be. Various groups and classes took place there during the week, and the 4 computers were in use more often than not.
Volunteers had spent a lot of time tending the wasted garden space at the back, and planting bulbs at the front. It was looking lovely.
Then suddenly last July it was condemned by the council and closed a week later. It was a 60's building, apparently now unsafe and too expensive to repair.
I feared we would lose our lovely library, as town isn't that far, and 2 villages 2 or 3 miles away have branches. However ours was the most well used and popular branch and thankfully the council are committed to it re opening.
It will be a long haul however. Since July it has been housed in a small room in a community centre. The long term plan is a lovely new library extension to the existing Victorian Memorial Hall in the centre of the village (not the one it is in at the moment). The plans look promising and the council has pledged a good deal of money for the library. The Memorial Hall needs to raise a lot more of it's own money before all these improvements, including the library, can go ahead, so fingers crossed.
These plans will take 2 years to come to fruition. Until then we are to have a mobile library serving the village for 4 days a week.
I joined the Friends of ***** Library as I want to help in any way I can. I have been to 2 meetings so far and the next is this Friday. I hope to find out when the mobile will be in operation. At the last meeting we were told it was bright orange and needed painting something a bit more sedate!
Comment