History comes to life at Syston Library

Most people know the Royal Navy was involved in the First World War and some people have heard of the Battle of Jutland, but not many people know what else the Royal Navy did in the Great War.

 

Local speaker Nick Marshall will be talking about the Royal Navy in World War One at Syston Library on Tuesday 21^st February at 7pm. Nick will be adding an extra dimension to his talk by wearing period naval uniform and bringing with him some of the kit the sailors would have been issued.

 

The Navy was present almost everywhere the army was during the Great War. Find out about the Royal Naval Division, sailors who fought in the trenches at Gallipoli and Passchendaele, and the fight against the German navy in East Africa. Learn about the exploits of the Royal Naval Air Service and the small naval missions on the Tigris to Baghdad, the Danube and the Black Sea.

 

Tickets cost £3 (including refreshments) and can be booked by contacting  Syston Library.

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.