This article was first published by author Debbie Rolls in Talk of the Town Magazine, in the February 2024 edition. Please visit the TOTTM website and help support the amazing work they do for the local area.
The opening of the new Library has led to a regeneration of the Friends of Loftus Library. This year’s AGM was well attended, indicating the enthusiasm for the new library.
The Friends of Loftus Library was set up to support and maintain a library in Loftus. It was originally formed when there was a threat of library closure. If members of the community had not come together then library services in Loftus would have been a memory rather than the new vibrant library we have now.
Today the Friends of Loftus Library exists to promote library services and to raise money to enable a wider range of activities. In recent years the group has funded visits by Kirkleatham Owls, always a hit with local families. A coffee morning organised by the Friends in December raised £45 which will contribute towards the cost of an animal visit in the Easter holidays.
To celebrate the opening of the library the Friends set up the New Start Poetry Competition.
Library staff, Friends and local Saltburn poet Julie Easley are currently poring over submissions from children and adults. The winning entries will be published in Talk of the Town, displayed in the library and performed at a poetry event in the library.
The Friends are helping the library diversify their offerings. It is good to see a craft group for adults now meeting in the library on a Friday morning. Over the Christmas period, we helped organise three very popular wreath-making workshops. It is hoped another wreath-making event can be organised for Easter. On Monday 12th February 2024 there will be a glass heart-making workshop, participants will be able to collect their finished glass heart on Valentine’s Day.
There is now a regular children’s craft session on Wednesday afternoons. During the February half term, this will be supplemented by lantern-making sessions on Thursday 15th from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm. Young people will work with an artist to make lanterns that will then be used in the Light up the Valley event in Saltburn over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of March 2024.
The Friends are involved in promoting the full range of services and activities available at the library. These include online and in-person services. You can now read or listen to a book without, even visiting the library. Regular activities at the library include a family history group, monthly book club, Rhyme Time, Baby and Me and the popular Saturday Lego Club.
Libraries are always great sources of information. The library has a great local history section and library computers can give you access to all kinds of specialist search engines that would normally require a subscription. Staff can tell you about council services and help you apply for bus passes. It is also becoming the home of various specialist advice services including Citizens Advice and support for job seekers and those dealing with dementia.
More Loftus Library events
To find out about events, pop in, phone 01287 640582 or email loftus_library@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk
For further details of the Friends of Loftus Library or to be added to our mailing list email friendsofloftuslibraryredcar@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page.
Denise Nesbitt: Chairperson
Debbie Rolls: Secretary
Friends of Loftus Library
Talk of the Town Magazine
This article was first published by author Debbie Rolls in Talk of the Town Magazine, in the February 2024 edition. Please visit the TOTTM website and help support the amazing work they do for the local area.