The Globe, Community Library @ Stokesley is 6 months old!

The Globe, Community Library @ Stokesley is 6 months old!

by Sue Thompson

Six months ago, today life at Stokesley Library changed. When we opened the doors at 2pm on Monday 3rd April we had become (with the support of the local Town and Parish Councils, and the community) The Globe Community Library @ Stokesley, in partnership with NYCC Library Services. As a community library, we are staffed by volunteers, overseen by a board of trustees, and managed by our experienced and well-qualified Library Manager, Jane Hall.

The structure and staffing weren’t the only changes. To make sure that keeping the library open was sustainable we had to reduce our opening hours. We open 19.5 hours a week - at least three hours every day, except Wednesday and Sunday. Our opening times are constantly under review and we recently tweaked them and are now open on Thursday mornings. A full review of opening hours will take place later in the year.

With 136 registered friendly and helpful volunteers, there have been no difficulties filling rota slots. They are an enthusiastic bunch who have been involved in the planning and delivery of all our events.

Over the summer we took part in the Summer Reading Challenge, run by the Reading Agency. 178 children enrolled in the Challenge and 152 completed it. We had incredible support from Peter Wright, one of the BBC’s Yorkshire Vets, and Fletcher’s Farm at Little Ayton.

The Children’s Development Group have been very busy. They organised two activities for Bookstart Week, which were appreciated and enjoyed by the children and adults who attended. They also ran 2 craft/activity sessions for the children enrolled in the Summer Reading over the summer, both were well attended and generated great feedback. They have their eyes firmly fixed on Halloween, so look out for some spooky stuff appearing soon!

We’ve been pleased to welcome some high-profile visitors over the last six months. Philippa Gregory came to our very successful launch event in June and officially opened the library by unveiling the commemorative plaque. Rishi Sunak, our MP, popped by in September to see how we were getting on, and to meet the volunteers and library users. And we mustn’t forget Mabel the Reading Dog (with her lovely owner Gill) who paid us two visits over the summer.

It has been a wonderful, whirlwind six months and we’d like to say thank you to everyone - volunteers, library users, and visitors - for your continued support, we couldn’t do it without you. Here’s to the next six months!

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