St George’s Day- What To Read

Posted on by Zara

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

Library Journal – March 2025

Posted on by Zara

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.

Library Journal – January 2025

Posted on by Zara

Happy New Year from all of us at Narborough and Littlethorpe Community Library! We look forward to a year of continuing to provide our villages with plenty of reading material and opportunities to join in with the community.

If your New Year’s resolution is to read more this year, our library is the place to visit. At the end of December, we received a delivery of two boxes of brand new books! The selection includes crime fiction, contemporary fiction, and more. We have new books by James Patterson, Jilly Cooper, M J Alridge, and CJ Sansom, to name a few.

We have recently been displaying the books of a selected author of the month. For December, we chose the books of Lynda La Plante. For those unfamiliar with her work, she is a crime fiction writer who also wrote the highly rated BBC television series Prime Suspect, starring Helen Mirren.

Looking for recommendations? We have a catalogue called “Who Writes Like…” that you can use to look up your favorite authors and find similar books by other authors.

Or, you could try a title that our librarians loved last year. We recommend Kristin Hannah’s The Women, The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak, and In Memoriam by Alice Winn. You can check where to find these books online at https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/libraries.

A huge thank you to everyone who came to our Christmas Fayre last month! We had lovely crochet Christmas decorations for sale and others crafted from books, all made by our volunteers. We raised a great amount of money for the library, and we hope everyone got some nice gifts for friends, family, or themselves!

We also had a children’s lucky dip with great prizes and a Christmas coloring competition. Our favorite entries were given an advent calendar, kindly donated by the Co-op. They were put on display inside and outside the library, along with Christmas trees colored in by local nurseries, they looked fantastic.

Our librarians are facing a new challenge over the next few months. Leicestershire County Council has implemented a new system that we will use to process book loans, returns, etc. We will have a training session before our first shift using the new system in February, but it will still take some getting used to. It may be a while before we get back to providing the speedy service our patrons are accustomed to.

Please note the following information, which will also be available on our website (nandlclibrary.org). From January 3rd until February 17th, you will not be able to reserve or place a hold on a book. During the same time frame, you will not be able to renew books online. To renew a book, visit any library or call us at (0116 286305) and we can renew it for you. You will also not be able to print from our PCs between February 6th and 17th.

If you use Borrowbox, make sure you login before 5th February, at 7pm you will not be able to login again until February 17th. If you are logged in and do not log out, it will not log you out and you will be able to continue to use Borrowbox.

We apologise for the disruptions this will cause. but the new system will help us provide better service in the future.

Disruption To Services (Jan/Feb 25)

Posted on by Zara

Leicestershire County Council have enlisted a new system that we will use to process book loans, returns etc. Our librarians will be trained to use it but It may be a while before we get back to providing the speedy service our patrons are used to. 

Unfortunately, the various updates and upgrades will lead to some disruptions in the services we provide, noted below. We apologise for the inconveniences that this will cause, but the new system should help us provide you with a better service in the future.

Between 3rd January until 17th February
– you will not be able to reserve or place a hold on a book
– you will not be able to renew books online, to renew a book, visit any library or ring us (0116 286305) and we can renew it for you.

6th February – 17th February
– you will not be able to print from our PCs

If you use Borrowbox, make sure you login before 5th February at 7pm you will not be able to login again until February 17th. If you are logged in and do not log out, it will not log you out and you will be able to continue to use Borrowbox.

For further information please visit https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/libraries/using-library-services/libraries-system-change

Christmas Fayre!

Posted on by Zara

We are having our Christmas Fayre at the library on Saturday 7th December, 2pm – 4pm.

We’ll have Christmas gifts and cards for sale, and a lucky dip for children. There will also be a colouring competition for children aged 4-11 with advent calendars for the winners.

We also have these beautiful decorations made from books for sale at the library now.

All proceeds fund the ongoing costs of running the library so we hope you’ll join us!

Black History Month – What To Read

Posted on by Zara

October marks Black History Month and we have a display at the library.

Books we have highlighted on the shelf are:

An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

We also love the authors James Baldwin, Zadie Smith, Yaa Gyasi, Malorie Blackman and Caleb Azumah Nelson.

And of course we have more books on our shelves from browsing!

Get Online Week Event – Find Out How We Can Help You Get Online

Posted on by Zara

For the Get Online Week initiative by the Good Things Foundation our Digital Drop In team are holding a free event for you to go along and find out what they do.

Whether you want to connect with friends and family, shop safely online, apply for jobs or access online services like the NHS – come along and find out how Digital Drop In can support you.

We also have some free data SIM cards for anyone who needs them, courtesy of the Good Things Foundation.

We hope to see you there!

The event is on Wednesday 16th October from 10am, at Narborough and Littlethorpe Community Library.

Narborough and Littlethorpe Community Library
Station Road
Narborough
LE19 2HR