Recognition for Mountsorrel Library and Learning Centre

Since re-opening in October 2007, library membership and library use has doubled, library opening hours have been extended to include Monday afternoons, and adult learning classes, ranging from Tai Chi to ICT, now run regularly in the centre’s learning suite and community rooms.

The highlight of the event will be the unveiling of an architectural award by Roger Wilson, the Chairman of Leicestershire County Council. The award was presented by the Loughborough and District Civic Trust for conservation works and new build in a conservation area. The new Centre was constructed on the site of Church House built in 1905 as a community hall attached to Christchurch.

Roger Wilson, Chairman of the County Council, said, “Mountsorrel Library and Leaning Centre is a valued resource, well used by the people of Mountsorrel and I am very pleased to mark its ongoing success and unveil the Philip Jordan award. The renovation  of Church House and construction of a new library and learning centre has contributed towards the conservation of Mountsorrel’s heritage, and ensured the building’s ongoing use as a community resource.”

The event also provides an opportunity to celebrate Older People’s month with guests from Mountsorrel Memorial Day Centre attending for a traditional tea followed by a performance story telling to roll back the years on the theme of ‘May Clements remembers’

Mountsorrel Library is open as follows:

Mondays and Thursdays 2 – 5pm; Tuesdays 10am – 12 noon, 2 – 5pm;  Fridays 10am – 12 noon ,2 – 7pm; and Saturdays 9.30am – 1pm, 2-5pm.

Services include free Internet access and regular rhyme and storytime sessons for the Under Fives. The community facilities are also available for hire.

To find out more, please contact the library  on 0116 305 5892 email: mountsorrellibrary@leics.gov.uk or visit: www.leics.gov.uk

Festival celebrations to launch new reading garden!

Come and join the fun and activities at Newbold Verdon Library next week.  The library is holding a three-day Community Festival (11th-13th August) to celebrate the opening of the its newly created reading garden.  To mark the occasion, Roger Wilson, the Chairman of Leicestershire County Council will unveil and name a fabulous sculpture and declare the reading garden officially open on Wednesday 12th August at 11am.

The sculpture has been created by local residents who worked alongside Gwyn Williams, a sculptor from Hinckley, to design 96 individual plaques.  The reading garden at the side of the library will contain six mosaics, also designed by local people and created by local artist, Jo Allsopp.

The festival starts on Tuesday 11th August at 10.30am with a special wriggly reader’s session celebrating ‘The Gruffalo’ – famous childrens character.  An exciting Questseeker’s event for children under 11 will be taking place in the afternoon.

On Wednesday 12th August as well as the official opening of the reading garden, families can enjoy an afternoon full of fun – from 2pm there will be a circus skills workshop, ballon modelling, face painting and storytelling activities to name but a few.

On Thursday 13th August there will be a Manga and Graphic drawing workshop in the morning, followed by tea and tales – a talk about the life and works of Agatha Christie with local expert, John Martin.

Roger Wilson, Chairman of Leicestershire County Council, said:

“The reading garden is a lovely peaceful area and is a great community space for everyone to enjoy.  Libraries now offer so much more than the traditional lending of books such as the many activities taking place at the community festival.  I would encourage everyone to come along, have some fun and see for themselves.”

All of the events during the festival are free and everyone is welcome, but due to demand Tuesday’s and Thursday’s events need pre-booking.

For more details or to book a place, please visit the library or contact

Gill Harris on 0116 305 3660.

Quest Seekers library reading challenge

Children in Leicestershire are challenged to go on a mysterious quest for golden books at their library this summer.

This year’s Summer Reading Challenge is called Quest Seekers. Children aged 4 – 12 years can pick up a free membership card and fold-out poster from their local library or mobile library from 4^th July.

They will be challenged to find a golden book and by reading throughout the summer, they will collect stickers and other goodies. When they complete the challenge, they will be rewarded with a certificate.

Margaret Bellamy, Head of Leicestershire Library Services, said: “Quest Seekers is a great way to keep children entertained over the holidays – and it helps them read widely and get ready to learn when they return to school. Teachers say they can see the difference it makes.”

Children under four can join in their own version of Quest Seekers by visiting their local library and collecting stickers for a special Bookcrawl Quest Seekers certificate.

Libraries across the county will be running free Quest Seekers activities throughout the summer and there will be a special Quest Seekers website linking children with top authors and illustrators, and giving them space to talk about their favourite books and to share reading ideas.

For more information about Quest Seekers call in at your local library or visit the website at www.leics.gov.uk/questseekers.

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

Library opens a new chapter for village

A £781,000 library and community centre is opening in Leicestershire on Friday 3 April, thanks to support from the Big Lottery Fund.

Leicestershire County Council has built a library and community centre at Newbold Verdon, which will also be a base for the youth service, voluntary groups and the community.

It is the first new library to open with support from the Big Lottery Fund, which has awarded £781,402 for the building and its reading garden.

Ernie White, Leicestershire’s Cabinet member for Community Services, said: “I’m delighted that, thanks to the Big Lottery Fund, we can open this state-of-the-art library and community venue for Newbold Verdon and its surrounding villages.”

Mick McGrath, head of the Big Lottery Fund in the East Midlands, said: “The opening of the first BIG-funded library couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Libraries sit at the heart of our communities so are ideally placed to host a range of important local services. The Newbold Verdon building is a shining example for other libraries to follow.”

The building will open at 10.00am on April 3 for the official launch and at 11.00am to the public. Reporters and photographers are welcome to attend – for further details, please contact the press office on 0116 305 7046.

Background:
The new library has:

• A community room, which can be used by local groups for meetings
• A computer suite of 10 computers and an interactive white board
• An advice suite, where people can seek advice about issues affecting them
• Lots of new stock and DVDs
• A reading garden, mosaics and community artwork, due to be unveiling in the summer

www.leics.gov.uk/newboldverdon_library

Bumper year for county libraries

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, CDs and DVDs rose by four per cent over the last year, to 4,153,816
• Issues of children’s books rose by seven per cent in a year
• More than 88 per cent of comments received by the library service are positive
• More than 50% of the population used the service last year

Ernie White, Cabinet member for libraries, said: “I’m delighted that people are voting with their feet and making our libraries a great success. “They’re warm and welcoming and a great place to visit, 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 are Oadby library, which opened last month (February) and Newbold Verdon, where a new library and community facility opens in April.