Celebrate Local History Week with Oadby Library

Historian Martin Sharp will be leading an informative and nostaligic walk around old Oadby as part of Local History Week.

The event will take place on Tuesday, June 9th between 7pm and 9pm.

Participants who bring along their own digital cameras will be shown how to put their pictures onto the Leicestershire Villages website at a special session held at Oadby Library on Thursday, June 11th from 6.30pm-7.30pm.

Both events are being held as part of Local history Week which runs from June 8th -12th. Places are limited so please book early as they are popular.

To book your place contact Oadby Library.

In addition the library is hosting a ‘Leicester Jewish Voices’ display for the week.

This fascinating display tells the story of being Jewish in Leicester during the 1940’s and 1950’s and everyone is welcome to visit it.

Oadby Library Crime Readers’ Group

Do you love reading crime novels?  Would you like to share what you have read with other people?  Then why not join our Crime Readers’ Group?

The books are chosen by the group in advance and we normally discuss one author or title each month.  We often have visiting speakers and enjoy trying quizzes and writing reviews.

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 2 June when the group will be discussing author Hazel Holt’s book, Death in Practice.

Visit Oadby Library on Tuesday July 7th 6-7pm for a talk by local writer Ben Beazley about his new book ‘Crooked Mile’.

Library May Time Fun

May Time fun takes place in two Leicestershire libraries this half-term.

Burbage library will be hosting a FREE, ticketed event on Thursday 28th May, 10.30 – 11.30am, and this will be repeated at Hinckley library on the same day at 2.30 – 3.30pm.

Children aged 5-9 years and their parents/carers are invited to come along for stories and crafts.

Tickets must be booked in advance for Burbage Library’s event and can be reserved by calling the library on: 0116 305 3558.  Come along and join in the fun!

For more information contact Hinckley Library

New library reward scheme!

Free DVD hire is one of the great rewards available in libraries’ new money-saving loyalty scheme. Library members can join the free scheme and collect points each time they visit a County library or mobile and borrow six or more items.

Rewards Card

Library members will be issued with their own rewards card and can collect up to 12 stamps which can be cashed in for any of these fantastic library rewards:

• Set of headphones (12 stamps)
• Jute bag (12 stamps)
• Free week loan of DVD/CD or talking book (6 stamps)
• Children’s poster/activity book (6 stamps)
• Free book request (3 stamps)
• Free UK fax up to the value of £1.50 (3 stamps)
• 3 free print outs/photocopies (2 stamps).

The new scheme starts on 1^st June, is free to join and available to all ages.  More details about are available in libraries and online at www.leics.gov.uk/libraryrewards

National Family Week

National Family Week

Between 25th and 31st May 2009, Leicestershire is hosting a series of events to welcome the first ever National Family Week, a new nationwide initiative, to celebrate and promote good family life and to help the UK adopt a more family-friendly culture.

There are many events happening in Libraries

Find out about volunteering at Loughborough Library

Loughborough Library is inviting people to come and find out about volunteering opportunities at the library.

On Tuesday 2nd June between 11am and noon, the library is holding a volunteer coffee morning where staff and current volunteers will be available to talk to members of the public about how they can get involved. Opportunities range from helping out with the Home Library Service by delivering books to housebound readers, to cataloguing items in the extensive Local History collection.

To find out more, contact Loughborough Library

New library for Lutterworth

Plans are being submitted for a new library in Lutterworth. Leicestershire County Council is proposing to replace the existing library in Coventry Road with a new one in George Street.

If planning permission is approved, the county council will lease George Street’s Wycliffe Peugeot showroom from its owners, the Richardson family, later this year. A sum of £90,000 has been earmarked to convert the building. During August, the business and all its employees would then relocate to the firm’s new 1.9 acre showroom site in Leicester Road, Rugby, which is just a 10 minute drive away. The library plans include:

• More books for borrowing
• More DVD’s for hire
• An increase in the number of computers available for public use
• More space for activities in the library
• Free parking when visiting the library

It will be the first library in the county to have a self service issue system

The county council wants to replace the current library because it does not meet the growing needs of Lutterworth and the surrounding villages.

Margaret Bellamy, Head of Library Services  said: “ We have been looking for more than 10 years to find a way of improving the library facilities in Lutterworth to be able to provide the range of services that are enjoyed by library users in other parts of the County, through our investment of more than £8 million since 2003.

“We are very  pleased that we’ve been offered this site and are looking forward to welcoming current and new users into the library later in the year.”

Malcolm Richardson, of the Richardson Brothers, said: “We are pleased to be able to help bring a new library to Lutterworth, while protecting jobs and looking after local customers from our new, much larger facilities in Rugby.”

The planning application will be considered  by the County Council over the next few weeks  and that process will include an opportunity for the public and other local authorities to comment on the proposed plans.

For more details visit www.leics.gov.uk/libraries

Libraries continue to improve!

It’s been a record year for Leicestershire’s libraries, new figures revealed today.

The County Council’s library service says that:

• The number of visitors in 2008/9 has risen by 13 per cent, to 3,853,867
• Issues of books rose by over three per cent in the  year to March, the fifth year of continual increases
• 10,000 positive comments were made about the staff
• More than 50% of the population used the service last year
• More people than ever joined the library

Margaret Bellamy, Head of Library Services, said: “I’m delighted that people are recognising all that the service can offer and making our libraries a success.

“They’re great places to visit, especially if you want to save money, being welcoming and having a wide range of services, whether you want to borrow a book, hire a CD or DVD, surf the internet, research your family tree, take part in a local group or get advice on benefits.

“I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t been to a library for a while to check out their local branch.”

At a time when library services in some other parts of the country are cutting back, Leicestershire is revamping or rebuilding its libraries.
The latest examples of new libraries are at Oadby and Newbold Verdon and the latest re-vamp is at Barrow on Soar.  A new mobile library serving the villages in the south of the county will set out in June.

Leicestershire’s library service has:

• 54 libraries
• 6 mobile libraries
• 412 computers
• 23,000 DVDs to rent
• 712,000 books to borrow

www.leics.gov.uk/libraries

Ladybird spotters

If you are out for a walk or simply in your garden why not join in a survey of one of our most popular insects, the ladybird.

Ladybird spotting

The Historic and Natural Environment Team are calling on all ladybird spotters to take part in their annual survey. A free information pack with an identification guide is available to help you in your ladybird spotting. The commonest ladybirds in Leicestershire and Rutland include the 2 spot, 7-spot and the 14 spot. They can be found anywhere where there are plants with aphids.

A ladybird can eat up to 100 greenfly a day. Local conservationists also want to know how widespread the harlequin ladybird is in the two counties. The Harlequin ladybird is a voracious predator that out competes native ladybirds for food and has led to our native ladybird species being under threat.  Through previous surveys volunteers have charted the spread of the harlequin in Leicestershire and Rutland and it is important that this work continues.

For a free ladybird pack visit www.leics.gov.uk/species_surveys

For books about nature, visit your local library

A Library Service at home

If you love to read but find it difficult to get to your library because you are elderly or disabled, or because you are caring for someone at home, the Home Library Service is for you.

Home Library Service

The service is absolutely free and provides access to a huge range of books, including books in large print and talking books.  Music CDs are also available and a DVD subscription service for a small charge.

Signing up for the service couldn’t be easier.  We will visit you to discuss your choice of books or music, and a volunteer will then visit regularly to deliver the items to your home.

Alternatively, arrangements can be made so that a friend or relative can collect books and other items on your behalf.

If you would like to received the Home Library Service or want to find out more, please contact your local library.

Visit our website at www.leics.gov.uk/homelibraryservice