An original innovation by the community of Bradwell in Hope Valley has seen a steady growth over the past three years since its conception in November 2021. Now the Community Library offers more than 5000 books of which our patrons may borrow three books for up to three weeks, and they may also borrow Jigsaws for an indefinite period – and would you believe it tea and coffee is available when anyone visits.
The library is totally managed, and organised, by a group of 25 volunteers from within the local community and it was instigated and developed due to the County Councils diminishing library provision in this particular rural area of Derbyshire.
We rely totally upon voluntary donations of books and jigsaws, all of which are in an excellent condition, plus the dedication and commitment of our volunteers, also we are grateful to the Bradwell War Memorial Hall where this particular library has made its home.
The initial funders for this facility, to whom we are extremely grateful, were Breedon Cement Works, The Co-Operative Store in Bradwell, and Network Signs at Bamford. The Bradwell Parish Church also made a valuable contribution by way of hosting a fund-raising Coffee Morning for this facility. We have books available for sale, in our foyer, and we also manage a Community Notice Board and local Diary.
What is an exceptional plus for this rural area is that we do have 3 of the local schools accessing this facility on a regular basis, thereby creating a new experience for the children to access the written word via books and away from what is becoming a problem for this age group – the dreaded electronic device! Also, during the school holidays, we offer special craft activities for the children and information regarding this can be accessed via our web site. These visits all take place outside our normal opening times.
Our usual opening times are: Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 10.am-12noon. Tuesday: 6pm-7pm and Thursday: 3pm-5pm.
You will be pleased to know, those of you who are technologically minded, that you can find further information, as previously mentioned, on our library website: http://www.librarycat. org/lib/BradwellCom munityLibrary
Better still why not pay us a visit where you can be assured of a very warm welcome. We are situated in Bradwell War Memorial Hall, Netherside, Bradwell, and we are open throughout the year.
This facility is a great provision and is open to all residents within Hope Valley. there are no exclusions – all are welcome.
There may be one small problem for some, for we do ask for a membership fee and this may appear quite excessive. Again, there are no exceptions – all our members are asked to make a voluntary contribution to the vastly sum of: minimum £1 per person.
Please pay us a visit sometime and, if you read this early enough, you may be in time to join us for a glass of mulled wine to celebrate the New Year, plus three years of the library being open on: Tuesday 7th January from 6.30pm.
PS – The £1.00 membership by the way is for life!!
Looking forward to seeing you soon, and A Happy New Year to you all.
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