THIS WEEK


The Lead Story Library of the Year


COMMENDATION FOR VOLUNTEER-RUN LIBRARY


Preston Community Library Wembley, Brent


A WEMBLEY COMMUNITY


THE LIBRARY, RUN BY VOLUNTEERS, IS AT THE HEART OF THE


lthough Preston Library was one of six libraries closed by Brent Council seven years ago, campaigners and volunteers have come together to make the new library a shining light in the communit. Now managed by the volunteers who led the campaign to save the library, the Preston Communit Library has been highly commended for the tireless work of its volunteers and for its position at the heart of the communit. In fact, Brent Library Service—hearing that the library has been atracting large audiences for its events—has asked Preston Communit Library to bring two of its author events to its own libraries: one was held around Susie Boyt’s My Judy Garland Life (Virago), and the other, a Second World War memorial event with Elisa Segrave, was about her book The Girl fom Station X (Ebury).


Open four days a week, the library is run by some 80 volunteers, the eldest being 97. The children’s library is “a well-stocked and animated environment”, and member- ship is around 1,400. “This shortlisting couldn’t come at a more pressing time,” says


KAMILA SHAMSIE AT AN EVENT AT THE LIBRARY FOLLOWING HER WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION WIN


literary event lead Geraldine Cook, who adds that the accolade is a “much-needed boost” for the management team (made up of the former library campaigners) who are determined to carry on running the library with all its activities, even when they may have to move the library temporarily, while the council develops the current site for flats.


SHORTLISTED


Shetland Library Shetland


A 12


“madly busy” year for the Shetland Library saw a mix of e-book promotion, events


and activities, and the overhaul of its mobile library service, driving issues and visits up, and costs down. The library set out to improve the


mobile service because fewer custom- ers were using it, and reliability wasn’t great, says service manager Karen Fraser. It retired one old van, saving the council £100,000 in capital replacement costs, and then made its remaining newer, more accessible van work harder to cover all areas, backed up with extra staffing,


12th July 2019


service promotion and extra stops. “Amazingly, in our first year—despite considerable upheaval and halving our ‘fleet’—we have already attracted more (and younger) customers and increased issue figures a little,” says Fraser. The library is still working


to increase the number of stops at community hubs such as shops or playgroups. Fraser adds: “Mobile services are essential in Shetland’s scattered rural communities.” While always “lively”, last year’s reader development programme was


The Preston Community Library has been highly


commended for the tireless work of its


volunteers and for its position at the heart of the community


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“exceptional”. The library organised 10 events in one weekend for The Big Takeover, a local Year of Young People festival, and special guest Nick Sharratt packed out five of them. “The poor man spent about two hours sign- ing books after each event,” Fraser said. “Families couldn’t get enough of him!” The library makes sure to identify


events that can promote stock. When it heard Dr Ben Garrod was coming to Shetland, it struck up banter on Twitter with him, bought more of his books and the whole library “went dinosaur crazy” for a week—it even had a dinosaur serving customers on the issue desk. Fraser says: “It is really good


to be shortlisted, as last year was a very busy one for our staff, who put huge enthusiasm and commitment into their work. Everyone promoted our services and that showed up in our results.”


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