Bookstart Book Crawl takes place in all libraries across Newcastle until 19 June 2010. Book Crawl is for children aged between 0-5 years and encourages a love of books and reading.
Each time children visit the library to borrow books they will be given a colourful sticker for their collectors card. Once they have four stickers they will receive a bright, fun certificate designed by a popular illustrator. There are three different certificates to collect.
Ask to get involved at your local library or ring 0191 2774100 for more details.
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For the past few months I have been working with a group of colleagues from across Newcastle City Council to help refresh the look and feel of the Council website. Although our website recently received a top rating of 4 stars in a SOCITM report called Better Connected 2010 (which compared council websites across the country), we have been looking at ways to make it easier for people visiting our site to find what they want. Work is now progressing well and we hope to be ready to unveil the new Council website at the end of March. This will just be the first stage in a series of improvements.
I have also been working with colleagues at Fenham Library to install self-service facilties at the end of March. This will mean that Fenham will benefit from the same technology as City Library and it will be easier than ever to use the library. The excellent staff at Fenham will still be on hand to help customers get used to the new service. At the same time our Home Delivery Service will also be moving from Brinkburn to Fenham. The Home Delivery Service take library materials like books and audiobooks to the homes of residents who can no longer visit a library. It’s a valued part of Newcastle Libraries that is much appreciated by the people using it.
It will soon be easier than ever to reserve items with the introduction of online reservations. We are currently working with our library catalogue suppliers to introduce a much more streamlined system for book, CD and DVD reservations. It will notify you by email that your item has arrived and is waiting to be collected at library of your choice.
I have recently been to a meeting in London with a group of publishers to discuss the lending of e-books. A number of library authorities are now starting to loan e-books, which can be downloaded onto a variety of handheld devices. We hope to be launching a trial e-books service in Newcastle in the not too distant future. If you think e-books are a good idea (or not) we’d love to hear from you.
I’m off to Iceland for a couple of days for a short break. I’m going to try to find some examples of Icelandic libraries (well I will be wearing an anorak!) and if I do, I’ll post some pictures on the blog when I get back.
Please get in touch if there is anything you would like to say about the library, good or bad. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
David Fay
City Libraries Manager
david.fay@newcastle.gov.uk
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Fenham Library will be closed for one week from 22 – 28 March. This is to enable the installation of self-service terminals and to relocate the Home Delivery Service. During this time there may be some slight disruption to the Home Delivery Service however we will do our best to keep this to a minimum.
The library will open again as normal on Monday 29 March.
For renewals or for further information phone 0191 2774100 or email information@newcastle.gov.uk
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Sara Paretsky visited City Library recently to promote her latest book in the V.I. Warshawski series – Hardball. Sara is the author of fifteen previous novels and has won several awards – to find out more about Sara visit her website.
She took the time to speak to us about her work and you can listen to us interview her below.
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Well done to Catherine, aged 8 from Cleadon Village, who chose the winning name for our tiger – Striper! Catherine wins a Waterstones voucher for £10.
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Internet taster sessions will now be available at City Library on Sundays from 3pm – 4pm. This is in addition to the sessions we offer every Monday to Friday from 9:30am – 10:30am and 2:30pm – 3:30pm.
In a free one to one internet taster session you can learn the basics of using a computer and getting online. Find out how to email a C.V. as an attachment, shop online or start tracing your family history. To book your free session contact 0191 2774100 0r email information@newcastle.gov.uk.
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A North East family spent a week without art and found it a lot harder than they expected! How would you and your family cope if you were not allowed to draw, sing songs, dance or read books? Watch the Arts Council film below to see how they got on.
North East family learns the value of art:
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To find out more about the project visit the Arts Council website.
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Come along to our storytime with British Sign Language interpretation and enjoy making your own butterfly to take away with you. This takes place at City Library from 2pm – 3pm on Saturday 20 March.
Suitable for children aged 8 and below. Children under 8 should be accompanied by an adult. No booking required but numbers are limited so event will be on a first come first served basis.
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Join us in celebrating the 30th birthday of Spot the Dog! There are parties, stories, crafts and games in lots of our libraries. No booking is required, just turn up. Suitable for ages 0-5.
Blakelaw Library: Thursday 18 March 9.15am
Cruddas Park Library: Thursday 18 March 10:30am
Kenton Library: Saturday 20 March 10.30am
Walker Library: 23 March 10am and 1:30pm
Outer West Library: Wednesday 24 March 10:30am
West End Library: Monday 29 March 10:30am
City Library, Level 3: Saturday 10 April 2pm
Gosforth Library: Tuesday 20 April 9.30am
High Heaton: 20 April 9:30am
High Heaton Library: Tuesday 20 April 9.30am
Denton Burn Library: Thursday 22 April 10:30am
Gosforth Library: Friday 23 April 10.30am
East End Library: Friday 23 April 11am
Fenham Library: Monday 26 April 10:30am
Jesmond Library: 4 May 2:15pm
Moorside Library: Tuesday 11 May 10:30am
Newburn Library: Monday 17 May 10:30am
Newbiggin Hall Library: Monday 17 May 1.45pm
Copyright Eric Gill.Salpot Ltd 2010
Spot the Dog is a popular series of children’s books written by Eric Hill. Ask in your local library to borrow one of our many picture and board books.
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The latest edition of our Page Turner newsletter is now available for you to pick up in our library branches. Alternatively you can view a pdf version here. Page Turner is a look ahead to the next three months of events at Newcastle Libraries.
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Authors Ann Cleeves and David Hewson visited City Library in February as part of our programme of author events. They spoke to Sheila Naughton of Newcastle Libraries about their book tour and their work – you can listen to the podcast below.
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Calling all 0-6 year olds – help us celebrate World Book Day by launching Bookstart Bookcrawl 2010!
Bookcrawl encourages a love of books in children as each time they borrow a book they collect a colourful sticker. Once they have 4 stickers, they then receive a bright, fun certificate.
There are two free storytime sessions at Outer West Library and Fenham Library on Thursday 4 March from 10am – 11am.
No booking required. Please contact Outer West Library and Fenham Library for more details.
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We have a week long programme of events to celebrate International Women’s Day on Monday 8 March. International Women’s Day is a global celebration of the achievements of women past, present and future.
Monday 8 March
Pop in for a coffee and a chat at West End Library all day or at Denton Burn Library from 10am – 12noon.
Tuesday 9 March
Women at work: women of WW2, 2pm – 4pm at City Library, is a talk and workshop using heritage resources illustrating women’s war effort in the region. Part of the North East Festival of Learning.
There’s also a coffee morning from 10am – 12noon at Moorside Library. Share stories, experiences and information. Refreshments and cakes provided. All welcome including children.
Wednesday 10 March
Anne Perry is a bestselling crime writer and will be visiting City Library from 2pm – 4pm. Anne will talk about her new book Execution Dock. Suitable for ages 16 years and over. This event is free but places must be booked in advance by phoning 0191 2774100 or emailing information@newcastle.gov.uk.
Thursday 11 March
New Writing North has selected Carolyn as one of the Read Regional poets and authors who will tour the region this year promoting their books. Carolyn Jess-Cooke will launch her new collection of poems Inroads at City Library from 6pm – 7:45pm. This event is suitable for ages 16 years and over. No tickets are required, just turn up.
Friday 12 March
Them Wifies and Theatre Pie perform Breaking the Cycle at City Library from 2:30pm – 3:15pm. Theatre Pie is a young women’s drama group who have recently created a play called “Breaking the cycle” which aims to raise awareness about domestic violence and the support available to women in the north east. Suitable for ages 16 years and over. No need to book, just turn up.
Sunday 14 March
Janet Bennett, harpist and singer with a striking gold harp and beautiful voice, will conclude the special celebrations of the week. Janet will perform a range of music and songs, including Northumbrian and Scottish airs at City Library from 4pm – 4:45pm. This is suitable for ages 16 years and over. No need to book, just turn up.
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Join us for a coffee and chat at West End Library on Monday 8 March to celebrate International Women’s Day. All welcome, drop in all day!
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From 13 – 28 March there’s two weeks of entertainment for everyone at venues all over Jesmond. Most of the events are free and include a cake baking competition, football coaching, choral singing and piano recitals.
You can download the Jesmond Festival programme for more information.
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