Cambridgeshire Libraries
December 2012
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| Give the gift of reading this Christmas! |
We welcome your donated books in good condition at any time of the year, but please consider giving a new book to the library this Christmas.
It may be a favourite paperback or children's book or something you see when shopping for books as presents.
Books for early years such as board books, picture books and nursery rhyme collections are especially welcome.
Please just hand your gift in at the library, we can provide a bookplate for your message if you wish.
All books will be put into library stock and will benefit all the library users in the county, if you'd like some ideas of popular authors please see our Top 100 Popular Authors.
Your gift will be appreciated long after Christmas is over - some of our books are borrowed over 40 times before they become too worn for the library shelves.
Thank you and Merry Christmas to you all! |
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| Christmas and New Year opening times | |
All libraries in Cambridgeshire, except Central Library, will be closed from 1pm on Monday 24 December (unless scheduled to close earlier) until Wednesday 2 January 2013, when normal service will resume. Cambridge Central Library is closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
- Central Library will be open daily until 5pm, except Sunday 30 December when it closes at 4pm.
- Loan periods will automatically be extended to cover the longer break and drop boxes will not be available during this time.
- Items can be renewed online or by telephone.
- Alternative arrangements have been made for monthly mobile library stops which fall in Christmas week and twice monthly stops in this week have been cancelled. For full details please email or call 01223 718356.
- Many reading groups change meeting dates/times because of the holidays. Please check with your local library when your group is next due to meet.
Find out the opening times for all our libraries, library access points and the mobile library service over the Christmas and New Year period. |
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Card Aid at Central Library |
 It's not too late to buy your Christmas cards from the Card Aid shop on the 1st floor at Central Library.
The shop offers an unrivalled range of cards, together with assurance that all profits from the cards you buy are going to charity. Award winning Peace Oil is also available at the shop. |
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Christmas events |
 Get in the Christmas spirit at one of our festive events!
Visit Santa at St Neots Library, make your own Christmas cards at Central Library or sing along to a selection of Christmas carols played by members of RAF Wyton Area Voluntary Band at St Ives Library.
See a full list of our Christmas events on Cambridgeshire.net. |
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Best books of 2012 and recommended read in December | |
To help give you some ideas of what or whose books to read, and what and who is a popular read why not have a look at our best books of 2012, Author Profile of the month or Top 100 Popular Authors.
Visit our Reading website, and why not join a reading group too? |
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Public help Cambridgeshire Library Service join the IT crowd |
 In the New Year residents will start to benefit from free Wi-Fi in Cambridgeshire Libraries and updated public computers, to help them seek jobs, access services and stay in touch.
Earlier this year, customers were asked for their views on the current IT provision in their local library. Coupled with feedback often received by staff in libraries, it was clear that the public felt the computers could be improved to make it easier for them to access web based services.
A free Wi-Fi network will be installed in phases across Cambridgeshire Libraries, whilst public computers will be upgraded to enable a better service that supports modern software. |
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Exhibition of Lilian Ream photographs - last chance! |
 It's your last chance to see the exhibition of Lilian Ream photographs at Wisbech Library.
The exhibition offers a unique insight into the past, bringing to life the ordinary people, places and day-to-day activities of Wisbech.
The exhibition ends on 17 December. |
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Six hundred year old document now at Huntingdonshire Archives | |
 Huntingdonshire Archives has recently acquired a very rare medieval document - an estreat roll of the manor of Godmanchester, dating from 1398.
The document was bought at auction with generous support from Godmanchester Town Council, Godmanchester's Porch Museum and the Friends of the National Libraries. It lists individuals who had committed various infractions in the town together with the fine they had to pay, including:
- Pelagious Godard, fined a penny for leaving dung on the highway
- The Prior of St Mary's in Huntingdon, fined three shillings and four pence for obstructing the flow of water at the bridge
- Joanna Taylor and her daughter, fined four pence for unlawfully gleaning leftover crops from the fields after harvest
The document is written in Latin on a long roll of parchment. It is now housed safely at Huntingdonshire Archives, on the first floor of Huntingdon Library, so you are welcome to come along and read it - as long as your Latin is up to scratch! |
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Penderels Trust direct payment events | |
 Penderels Trust has organised a series of open days at libraries across Cambridgeshire to tell people about direct payment for social care. Events will take place as follows:
31 January 2013, 11am - 3pm at Ely Library
13 February 2013, 11am - 3pm at March Library
19 February 2013, 11am - 3pm at Wisbech Library
Visitors are invited to drop-in to find out more about services that help people with disabilities live independently. |
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Have you used any of our online services? | |
Did you know that...
 A Christmas Carol is a short novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1843. The story, suddenly conceived and written in a few weeks, is one of the outstanding Christmas stories of modern literature. (Source: Ency. Britannica)
If you wish to view images of Christmas up to Mid 20th Century, why not look at the The Bridgeman Art Library Archive? (Source: Credo Reference)
Also, in this festive Spotlight, we are highlighting two articles from Britannica - Christmas and Santa Claus - providing relevant topical information for young children. Find out about the different ways that Christmas is celebrated around the globe and the many traditions that are practised at this time of year.
Discover more of our online services. |
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Forthcoming events and activities |  Click on your local library to discover what events and activities are coming up in the next few months.  
We're trialling a new layout of the events and activities section of the newsletter. Is it easier to find what's on at your local library? Let us know what you think.
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What would you like to see in this newsletter? Do you have any trouble reading the text?
Please tell us what you think by emailing your.library@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
We would like your input in improving the look and contents of the newsletter. |
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