Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Melton Library Reading Group has read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and they are really keen to recommend it to other reading groups. They think it’s superb!

They say:

It has a unique ‘Russian doll’ structure (which comes as a bit of a shock at first!) whereby there are several stories which ‘book-end’ one complete story in the middle. The stories are related in some way (though some more than others) and they span a variety of genres including espionage, a chilling ‘post-apocalyptic’ adventure, a tragic and brilliantly imaginative futuristic story and a highly comedic tale about someone trying to escape from a care home. Yes, it’s different, but well worth the read.

Anyone else read it? What do you think?

Back to school help with homework

All Leicestershire libraries have facilities and resources to help children and young people with their homework.

 

Libraries offer a safe and friendly environment with space to work, books to take home or use in the library and staff to help young people find the information they need.  All libraries have computers that can be used free of change to access the internet or produce homework assignments and five free printouts are available.

 

Our website has homework help pages guiding young people to websites on a range of homework topics including access to the our Online Reference Library.  This gives library members free access to encyclopaedias, dictionaries, over 300 reference books and newspaper articles not freely available on the internet.

Free day at Leicestershire libraries

It is often said that the best things in life are free and to celebrate National Libraries Day on Saturday, February 4th Leicestershire  libraries will be holding a special free day.

 

On the day, hiring DVDs, CDs or talking books will all be free. (One per person). There will also be an amnesty on overdue library items so they can be returned without the need to pay any charges.  There will be no charges for extra sessions on library computers and users will be able to get up to six computer printouts free of charge.

 

These will join the usual free services such as joining the library, using your library to find information, borrowing books and downloading eBooks.

Some libraries will also be holding special events to celebrate the day.

What’s on at Glenfield Library in the New Year

Glenfield Library has many events and activities in the New Year kicking off with a Family History on the Internet taster session at 2pm on 7th January, with another scheduled for 18th February, also 2pm.

If you would like to banish the January blues, why not come along to our Magic Circle talk. Magic Circle member, Brian Lord, will tell tales from the Magic Circle, as well as entertain you with some tricks. This talk is great fun and has sold out in other libraries, so don’t delay booking your ticket. The talk is on Tuesday 31st January at 2:15pm, tickets are £2 per person from Glenfield Library.

There’s fun for kids coming up too, there will be a Dr Who themed children’s event in half-term, at 2pm on 14th February, so keep your diary clear for that, it is sure to be popular.

Wriggly Readers is story and rhyme time for 0-4 year olds, it is held at Glenfield Library at 2:15pm on the first and third Monday of each month. Liz, who leads most sessions is great fun and loves getting to know all the children, so why not come along and meet other parents and grandparents, whilst your children enjoy songs and stories.

Finally, don’t forget the library runs a Home Library Service for anyone who is unable to get out for any reason, either temporarily or permanently. Contact the library for more details if you, or someone you know, would like books or audiobooks delivering to your home for free.

New eBook Service launched at Leicestershire’s libraries

Leicestershire County Council’s Library Services has launched a new, free eBook Service for library members.

There are no charges to borrow an eBook or reserve a title, and eBooks are never returned late. Library members can borrow up to 3 eBooks at one time, borrow or reserve them for free and can choose to keep them for any length of time from one to 21 days.

This service is only available to Leicestershire library members and is accessible only through Leicestershire Library Services website by visiting: www.leics.gov.uk/ebooks

The eBook Service provides a range of fiction titles for adults and children, and non fiction titles for adults. Popular titles include:Michael McIntyre’s Life and Laughing, Lee Child’s DieTrying and Jacqueline Wilson’s The Longest Whalesong

The eBook service is easy to use and is compatible with most eBook readers in the market except Amazon’s Kindle.

For more information please visit your local library.

Coming Events at Blaby Library

Blaby Library has many events and activities in the New Year kicking off with a Saturday Storytime on 7th January at 11am. This will be followed by Pirate Fun, a free, pirate themed children’s event on Saturday 21st January at 11am.  Children can come and enjoy pirate stories and crafts and may even want to dress up!

There will be a Dr Who themed children’s event in half-term too, at 2pm on 13th February, so keep your diary clear for that, it is sure to be popular.

We have plenty for adults too, starting with Andes to Amazon, an exciting, illustrated talk by Kate Moore about her travels through Bolivia, including crossing the world’s largest salt lake and swimming with river dolphins. The talk is on Monday 23rd January at 7pm, tickets are £2  from Blaby Library.

We also have more Family History on the Internet taster sessions, which are filling up fast, due to popular demand. New sessions are scheduled for Saturday 4th February 2-4pm and Saturday 18th February 10am-12pm. These sessions are free, call the library to book a place.

Keeping with the family history theme, Pat Grundy, a family history expert from Wigston Records Office, will be giving a talk on all aspects of family history, as well as expert advice, on Monday 27th February at 7pm. Tickets are £2 each from the library.

Also don’t forget the library runs a Home Library Service for anyone who is unable to get out for any reason, either temporarily or permanently. Ring the library for more details if you, or someone you know, would like books or audiobooks delivering to your home for free.

Bulk book buy saves libraries thousands!

Buying books in bulk with other councils has saved Leicestershire County Council’s Libraries Service £70,000.

The county council is working with other authorities as part of the Mid-Anglian book purchasing consortium.  This means that by working in partnership to make large book orders, councils are able to make significant savings.

The consortium is made up of councils from Leicestershire, Rutland, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Lincolnshire.

By pooling together library book funds, the consortium has used its joint spending power to drive higher discounts on books purchased for local library bookshelves.  This has enabled the County Council’s libraries service to deliver a saving of £70,000 whilst maintaining the same number of new titles added to stock.

The top five books currently popular with Leicestershire library members are:

Adults:

1. The Gathering  (Kelley Armstrong)
2. Dead Tomorrow  (Peter James)
3. The Affair (Lee Child)
4. Found Wanting (Robert Goddard)
5. First Family (David Baldacci)

Children:

1. The Gruffalo (Julia Donaldson)
2. Where’s Spot (Eric Hill)
3. Aliens Love Underpants (Claire Freedman)
4. Pants (Giles Andreae)
5. Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire (Francesca Simon)

Soar Valley Navigation display at Loughborough Library

Last chance to see the Soar Navigation display in Loughborough Library.

The display was put up to support a talk about the Soar Navigation given at Loughborough Library in early September and is due to come down on the 29th October.

Loughborough Library

Setting Standards: Victorian Books on Household Management

Loughborough Library Volunteers held a very well attended meeting to hear Teresa Keil give an illustrated presentation on Setting Standards: Victorian Books on Household Management.

Based on a gift of thirteen books, ranging in date from 1850 until 1903, Teresa identified four different approaches to setting standards for household management.

See an overview of the talk on the our webpage

Knit and Stitch at Market Bosworth Library

Market Bosworth Library has a knit and stitch group that meets every Wednesday 10am – 12noon.

The members of the group have been very busy – hope you’re all impressed!

Blanket knitted by the group