West Berkshire Libraries newsletter

Read the latest issue of our monthly newsletter.

To All West Berkshire Libraries customers

Welcome to our November news!

Everyone is welcome!

The shorter daylight hours of autumn are now with us and before long it will be time to prepare for the winter season. But whatever the weather, you can be certain that a warm and friendly welcome awaits you in your local library.

A fantastic range of activities for adults and children takes place every week throughout the year in West Berkshire libraries. Visit our library events website to see what we have on offer at your local library: www.westberks.gov.uk/library-events

Visit Newbury Library on Saturday 23 November between 11am and 2pm to meet some of West Berkshire's amazing local authors, including Helen Saxon, Tim Jarvis, Fiona Barker and many more.

Alongside being able to chat to authors directly, there will be several scheduled talks and readings throughout the day, including 'How to Write Fiction' by Tim Jarvis. Follow @WBerksLibraries on social media for updates and schedules for the day.

All of the authors will have a selection of their books on display, with titles for children and adults. Books will be available to purchase and each author will be more than happy to personalise a copy for you.

Talks for adults in Carnegie Lounge:

11-11:15am - Helen Saxon: 'True Crime'
11:30-11:45am - Sarah Harper: 'Ella's Ghost'
12-12:15pm -Tim Jarvis: 'How to Write Fiction'
12:30-12:45pm - Peter Tickler: 'The Tickers Jam Murders'
1:30-1:45pm - Simon Bowden: 'Hidden by Law'
1.45-2pm - Pete Logan: 'No one cares: it's okay to speak up'

Events in the Children's Library:

11:30am-12pm - Rachel Guy will be hosting a Storytime & Craft Activity based on 'Pinecones in my pocket', a rhyming children's book about finding opportunities for play when out in nature.
12:30-1pm - Lisa Mullan will be hosting a Rhymetime based on her book 'The Missing Birthday Cake', an interactive, rhyming, picture book mystery for children aged 3-7.

Pop up shops at Thatcham and Theale libraries

As the festive season approaches, why not make your Christmas shopping count for more this year? Cards For Good Causes will be available at Thatcham and Theale libraries for 2024, offering you the chance to support both charities and your local community with every purchase you make.

Cards will be available during library opening hours until Christmas Eve at both venues. Come and browse a wonderful selection of Christmas cards supporting a wide range of UK charities.

Have your say on the council's budget

West Berkshire Council has launched a public consultation to give residents the opportunity to have their say on how to balance its 2025-26 budget. Information about this can be found here. You will see that this included a proposal to discontinue the Mobile Library service and replace it with a more effective library service option for residents in rural areas e.g. deliver by the 'At Home' service and e-library provision. Residents are invited to complete an online survey to give their views.

West Berkshire Council budget 2025-26

World Nursery Rhyme Week

We LOVE rhymes in West Berkshire Libraries so we are celebrating the national World Nursery Rhyme Week from 11-15 November.

Alongside brilliant books you can borrow to help you brush up on your rhymes, all our libraries have FREE weekly, drop-in Rhymetimes for you and your little ones. Check our website for details of Rhymetime at your local library.

What's On: November

In addition to our regular activities, we have lots of extra events taking place in our libraries this month:

Sunday 16 November, 10.30am-12pm - Read with Ruby the Pets As Therapy dog at Mortimer Library.
Saturday 23 November, 11am-2pm - Local Author Book Fair at Newbury Library.
Thursday 28 November, 5-6pm - Meet the Author and Story Competition at Theale Library
Friday 29 November, 5-6.30pm - A Taste of Italian at Hungerford Library
Saturday 30 November, 10am-12pm - Come and Meet Ruby the Pets As Therapy dog at Thatcham Library.
Saturday 30 November, 10.30am-12noon - Board Games Cafe at Mortimer Library

For full details about any of these events or to see what's on offer near you, please check with your local library or visit our Events website. Facebook users can also see what's coming up by following @WBerksLibraries and going to our Events listing.

Events in West Berkshire Libraries

Carers Rights Day

Carers Rights Day is on 21 November and this year's theme is 'Recognising your rights'. Every day, 12,000 people become unpaid carers for a partner, family member or a friend - many of whom don't see themselves as carers, often unaware of their legal rights and what they're entitled to in terms of support and benefits.

West Berkshire Council has teamed up with a range of partners and organisations to hold a special event on 21 November at Frank Hutchins Community Hall, Thatcham, RG18 4QH, between 2pm and 5pm. Drop in to talk about the issues carers face and find out where to get help. There will be free refreshments, cakes and parking. There is no need to book for this event. Find out more on the Carers Rights Day Event page , email Stephen.Hammond@Ageukberkshire.org.uk or call 0118 959 4242.

Introducing BFI Replay

West Berkshire Libraries now offer library members FREE access to BFI Replay from our public computers - don't forget to bring your headphones with you!

Provided by the British Film Institute, BFI Replay is a brand-new online video platform. Described as a 'living digital archive', BFI Replay is designed to give you access to thousands of newly digitised programmes and films captured from videotapes across the 20th century and almost lost forever. Take a journey through the decades as you explore the BFI Replay collection and enjoy over 60 years of film, television and video from all corners of the UK.

Winter Fuel and Pension Credit information sessions

West Berkshire Council is running dedicated drop-in sessions at local libraries to help people find out if they're eligible for the pension credit benefit, which could include winter fuel payments.

Around 10 million pensioners are set to lose their winter fuel payments under changes being brought in by the Government.

In West Berkshire alone it is estimated that around 600 pensioners have not yet claimed pension credit or applied to see if they're eligible.

Pension credit is separate from the State Pension and is worth, on average, over £3,900 a year and could provide extra cash to help with living costs to many people who need financial support.

The first drop in advice session will be held at Newbury Library on Tuesday 19 November, 10am-12pm.

Representatives from the Council's Revenue and Benefits and Community Engagement teams will be on hand to help, along with Age UK and Berkshire Department for Work & Pensions (DWP). Our Libraries Digital Services Officer will also be there to provide 1 to 1 support sessions if needed.

If you, or a family member or friend are aged 66 or over, you or they may be eligible for pension credit, so please spread the word about the sessions and come along if you can.

Libraries Annual Report 2023-24

The West Berkshire Libraries Annual Report 2023-24 is now available on our website. Take a look for a reminder of all that happened during the year and to read about our challenges and plans for 2024-25.

West Berkshire Libraries Annual Reports

Our next newsletter will be out in early December. But don't forget that you can keep up with the daily news about everything that's happening in our libraries by following @WBerksLibraries on Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter).