Our next preloved book sale is on Saturday, July 12th, 10:15am – 12:30pm outside the library.
We have plenty of adults fiction, non-fiction and children’s fiction and non-fiction preloved books for sale, come get a bargain!
Preloved Book Sale
Summer Reading Challenge 2025
This year’s summer reading challenge is here!
For those new to the challenge, it is hosted annually by The Reading Agency, who set the theme and provide incentives to encourage children to read during the summer holidays. We have stickers to collect and medals to be won!
How It Works
Any library member aged 4 – 12 can join in, you can join the library for free at any time.
- Sign up for the challenge at any time from July 4th, your child will get a starter pack including stickers, a reading goal is set and your child can take part in our treasure hunt at the library.
- Any book counts towards their reading goal, including comics, ebooks and audiobooks.
- Upon returning books, your child will be given more stickers and a door hanger.
- When the reading goal is met (6 books or more!) your child will receive a certificate and medal!
- Your child has until September 6th to complete their challenge.
Sign Up
Any librarian can sign your child up at any time over the summer, during normal library opening hours and provide them with a starter pack during our usual opening hours.
This years theme is Story Garden, although any book counts towards their reading goal. Book recommendations can be found here, or you can browse some recommended books from the Reading Agency, or come to the library and browse our shelves!
Raffle Winners!
Narborough and Littlethorpe Community Managed Library gives our local community the opportunity to not only borrow books and use the internet, but also to enjoy social and learning activities. Or indeed to sit on our bench outside and enjoy our small garden
We now rely totally on voluntary donations and grants to fund all our running costs and insurances etc, so our fund raising is essential.
On behalf of the library team, I would like to thank all our local businesses who have so generously provided Raffle Prizes to this year’s Summer Raffle:
- Asda, Fosse Park
- Hilton Hotel, Enderby
- Plough Inn, Littlethorpe
- Hi Tide Fish Bar, Narborough
- Petals Florist, Narborough
- Narborough Arms
- Pizza House, Copt Oak
- Old Inn, Littlethorpe
- Narborough & District Bowling Club
- Royal Court Shoe repairs, Narborough
- Narborough Post Office
- Tesco, Copt Oak
- Cloud Nine, Narborough
- Next, Enderby
- The Bread Box, Narborough
- Oh Sew Clean, Narborough
- Hair Sanctuary, Narborough
- Narborough Eyecaare
- Oasis, Narborough
And congratulations to the winners of the prizes! Pictured is our volunteer Dave presenting Jean with her 1st prize hamper.
| Prize | Winner |
| Luxury Hamper | Jean L |
| 3 month Voucher for 2 adults | Rodger |
| Meal for two | Helen H |
| 2 x Fish supper. | Lee H |
| Nokia C22 Mobile Phone | Tracey H |
| Bouquet | Dave W |
| £20 Voucher received | Joanne C |
| Voucher for 2×14″ Pizza | Parnell |
| Voucher for Nail Care £30 | Haywood |
| Bottle of Spirits | Parnell |
| Handbag | Paul F |
| Tea For two Voucher | Jan |
| Social Club Membership | Pauline S |
| Two bottles of wine | Sue J |
| Bottle of Red Wine | Chris V |
| Selection of Household Ornaments | Ann H |
| Selection of Cosmetics and toiletries | Jackie S |
| Voucher for Meal Deal. | Jenni H |
| Voucher for Meal Deal. | Derek P |
| Voucher for Meal Deal. | Olena |
| Voucher for Meal Deal. | Janet |
| Voucher for Dry Cleaning. | Sue E |
| Voucher | Lesley W |
| Pair of Sunglasses | David H |
| Two £5 Massage Vouchers | Ralph |
Summer Fair
Our summer fair will be on Saturday 14th June, 2025, from 2-4pm at the library.
We will have handcrafted toys and gifts for sale as well preloved books.
There will also be a tombola and children’s lucky with fantastic prizes to be won, or you could win a bottle of wine on our bottle-bola!
We will also have a free children’s activity.
It will also be the last chance to buy raffle tickets, as we will be drawing the winner at 3:30pm. We have lots of prizes including a hamper, phone and meal vouchers, so be sure to get your ticket!
This is an important fundraising event, so come along and support your local library.
Summer Fair
Saturday, 14th June, 2025
2-4pm
Narborough and Littlethorpe Community Library, Station Road, Narborough
Wriggly Readers Cancelled on 20th May
Unfortunately Tuesday’s (20th May) Wriggly Readers session is cancelled as important maintenance work is being carried out at the library.
We are sorry for the disappointment, we know how much people love these sessions, they will be back the following Tuesday (27th May).
Book and Plant Sale
We’re holding a book and plant sale at the library on May 17th, 10:15am – 12:30pm.
We have a huge variety of preloved books for sale, including adults fiction and non-fiction and children’s books.
All proceeds from the sales go towards the ongoing costs of running the library, so we thank everyone for their support.
Also, don’t forget to get a raffle ticket while you’re there!
St George’s Day- What To Read
We have been celebrating English authors for St George’s day month at the library. We have a wonderful display with art by our volunteer Maddy, and a selection of hand picked books for you to discover. Here’s a closer look at a few of the titles.
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time. The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie’s empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho’s gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost.
We say: This is about the dark under belly of London when two girls try to make it in the entertainment business.
Available at the library, click here to order further copies
The Pier Falls by Mark Haddon
An expedition to Mars goes terribly wrong. A seaside pier collapses. A 30-stone man is confined to his living room. One woman is abandoned on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean. Another is saved from drowning. Two boys discover a gun in a shoebox, and a group of explorers find a cave of unimaginable size, deep in the Amazon jungle. Here, Mark Haddon demonstrates two things: first that he is a master of the short form, and second that his imagination is even darker than we had thought.
We say: a dark and emotional collection of short stories
Available at the library, click here to order further copies
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Towsend
Teenager Adrian writes candidly about his parents’ marital troubles, the dog, his life as a tortured poet and ‘misunderstood intellectual’. His painfully honest diary makes hilarious and compelling reading.
We say: suitable for teenagers, YA, and adults, this is a humourous diary about school life and separation of a child’s parents
Available at the library, click here to order a copy
Summer Raffle Tickets On Sale Now!
Tickets for our Summer raffle are now on sale at the library!
The tickets cost £1 each, raffle to be drawn at our Summer fayre on 14th June at 3:30pm.
Thank you to the local businesses for their generosity for donating prizes. Our raffle is important fundraising event for the library, and keeps us able to provide our services.
Prizes to be won:
- Food hamper – Asda Fosse Park
- 3 month voucher for 2 – LivingWell Health Club, Hilton Hotel
- Nokia C22 mobile phone
- Meal for 2 – Plough Inn, Littlethorpe
- Fish supper for 2 – Hi-Tide Fish Bar, Narborough
- Bouquet – Petals Florist
- £20 voucher – Narborough Arms
- 2 14″ pizzas – Pizza House, Copt Oak
- £30 nail care voucher – Cloud Nine Beauty
- Bottle of spirits – Tesco
- Handbag – Royal Court Shoe Repairs
- Tea for two – Hilton Hotel
- Social club membership – Narborough & District Bowling Club
- 2 bottles of wine – Old Inn
- Bottle of Wine – Narborough Post Office
- Household ornaments – Next
- Cosmetics and toiletries – Next
- Meal Deal voucher – Bread Box
- Dry cleaning voucher – Oh Sew Clean
- Voucher – Hair Sanctuary
- Sunglasses – Narborough Eyecare
- Massage voucher – Oasis
Busy Hands & Minds Cancelled in April
There will be no Busy Hands and Minds sessions at the library in April.
We apologise for the disappointment and look forward to resuming the sessions in May.
Library Journal – March 2025
Our new computer system is now live! Our volunteers have risen to the challenge and are figuring out intricacies of the new system, finding new features as they go. As our librarians have their first shifts on the new system they may be a bit slower than usual in processing your books as we want to make sure that everything is done correctly. We thank you in advance for your patience.
The new system up and running means that you can now reserve books to pick up at the library (£1 fee applies) and use Borrowbox as usual.
In January, we held an afternoon tea party for our volunteers and friends of the library to thank them for their support in 2024. It was a lovely afternoon, with tea, sweet treats and a quiz. These social events are fantastic ways for our volunteers to socialise.
To become a friend of the library we ask for a donation of a minimum of £10, but larger donations are gratefully received, membership lasts for the financial year. By becoming a friend of the library you are helping the library stay open as we are completely self-funded, and this scheme provides incredibly valuable income. Friends of the library get newsletters emailed to them throughout the year and are included in an annual draw to win a small gift. To become a friend of the library please come in and fill out a form.
In the summer we will be holding a summer fayre with a tombola, if anyone has any unwanted gifts or suitable items for tombola prizes, we would gladly accept any donations. Again, these events are vital for the financial stability of the library.
Our non-fiction book stock has had a boost last month. We have lots of biographies, including Sonny Boy (Al Pacino), and Boris Johnson’s autobiography, and books covering health and history. If you don’t know what to have for dinner, we have a batch of new cook books including baking, easier recipes, high protein and vegetarian. Or, if you want to get away we have a selection of travel guides, explore London, Crete, Denmark or China, come to the library and decide where your next holiday will be.
The new year has seen the last of our original five trustees step down as her maximum term of nine years has been completed. Most of our library regulars will know Maggie, pictured below on the left with our chair of trustees, Helen. Maggie led the group who turned Narborough Library into a community managed library, thus saving the library from closure. She has worked tirelessly over the years not only behind the counter but also organising events, fundraising, and being a general beacon of knowledge for everyone else who volunteers at the library. She is carrying on as a volunteer, but we want to say a huge thank you to Maggie for her hard work and dedication to the library. At an afternoon tea we presented her with gifts, including a planter (she is an avid gardener and some of you would have bought her plants from our plant sales), and a book about her time at the library, and the important work she has done for the community.
Throughout March we will be celebrating women’s authors and characters for International Women’s Day (March 8th), come and take a look at our display and recommended books.
Narborough and Littlethorpe Community Library 