Christmas Craft Morning - today!

Saturday 12 December 10 am to 12.30 pm
Come along to the library today to decorate biscuits and make tree decorations to take home.  Free, but donations to the Friends are always welcome!

Library services over the Christmas period

Sawston Library will close at the usual time of 5 pm on Wednesday 23 December and will not re-open until 10 am on Saturday 2 January.  After that it will be open as usual (see right).  Loan periods will automatically be extended to cover the break and items can be renewed online (see link above) or by phone when the library is closed. 

If you would like to borrow items during the break, although local libraries will be closed, the Central Library in Cambridge will be open at the following times:

Sunday 27 December: 12 pm - 4 pm
Tuesday 29 December: 9 am - 5 pm
Wednesday 30 December: 9 am - 5 pm
Thursday 31 December: 9 am - 5 pm

Minutes of AGM

The minutes of the Friends of Sawston Library AGM are now available here. The meeting was held on 20 October in the library and reviewed what the Friends have done over the past year and looked forward to the coming one.  This included our involvement in consultations for the Community Hub and Library Service Review as well as the various events that have been organised in and around the library, and planned for the coming months.

In the light of the budget cuts for library services in South Cambridgeshire that will take effect over the next three years, various fundraising proposals were discussed and a summary is available here.  Any comments or suggestions on this topic would be very welcome.

All members of the committee proposed staying in their current positions for another year, and were elected unopposed.

Friends of Sawston Library AGM

Tuesday 20 October 7 pm

The Friends' AGM will take place in the library next Tuesday.  Please join us for tea, cake and library news. Hear the latest news about the Community Hub, the library service and the saga of Cambridge Central Library. We've got some ideas for events and speakers that we'd like to share and, as always, would very much welcome your ideas and support.

Also, on Saturday 24 October, 10.30 am in Cambridge Central Library: Friends of Central Library open meeting In the conference Room - on the third floor, just opposite the cafe.

Following the third floor saga, the campaign group are setting up a Friends group for Central Library. Do just turn up, and get involved if you care about Cambridge library! Users of the Cambridgeshire Collection would no doubt be especially welcome.

Storytime

Join us for half an hour of pre-school stories and fun in the library on the second Wednesday of each month at 10am.

The  next sessions are on: 14 October, 11 November and 9 December.

All are welcome, but it will be first come, first served.

Need some help with computers?

Fridays 10:00-12:00

Would you like some help with computers and basic IT skills?  Volunteers are available on Fridays at the Library to offer advice aimed at beginners over 50yrs.

• One or two-hour free sessions aimed to help and assist people over 50 years with basic/beginner IT/Computer skills
• Led by volunteer tutors
• Flexible to suit individual needs 
• Booking is required, please ask at the Library.

You can also try a number of online Digital Unite guides to help with basic computer skills before booking a free buddying session.

Job Club

Thursday 5 November 13:00-14:00

Would you like some help with job hunting and CV writing?  Sawston Children's Centre is running a Job Club in the Library on Thursday 5 November.  Come along for some free advice.

Summer Reading Challenge Ceremony

Saturday 19 September, 10.30 am

Did you complete the Summer Reading Challenge?  Come along to the Awards Ceremony in the library on Saturday.

Lego in the library

Tuesday 18 August
10.30 am to 11.30 am

For ages 4 and upwards; parents stay with children. Free, but must be booked in advance at the library. Contact Anne Worthington: 0345 045 5225.

Committee meeting minutes

The minutes of the last Friends' Committee Meeting, held yesterday, are now available here.  Events in the library, the recent Library Services Review and the Community Hub were all discussed.  The next meeting will be the AGM on 20 October in the Library.

Craft morning - Saturday 6 June

Come and join us for some crafty fun on Saturday 6 June between 10am and 1pm in the library.  As ever, it is free to join in but donations are always welcome!

Storytime - Wednesday 13 May - 10-10.30 am

Join us for half an hour of pre-school stories and fun in the library this Wednesday at 10am. We're hoping to press some flowers, so bring along a flower or three!

All are welcome, but it will be first come, first served.

Committee meeting - and a reminder

 The minutes of the FoSL Committee meeting which was held on Tuesday 5 May are now available here.  Among other things, the Committee discussed library events past and future, all the details are in the minutes.

Also, a very important reminder from Yasmin: please do fill in the Library Service Review survey by 10 May.  If you haven't yet filled it in, and don't have time to go through the big document, the impression I've received from our County Councillors is that the *first* question is the important one:

"What do you value about the library service?".

No doubt you'll have your own thoughts. It's a pretty big question. The answer I put, on behalf of FoSL, was:

"Access: to a huge variety of high quality books, to internet, to someone who can help with bus pass applications etc, to storytime sessions, to the Summer Reading Challenge, to computer buddies, to leaflets and information on our local area, to computers, to safe, comforting and comfortable spaces for all ages."

I've read other answers which verged on essays; it's your chance to say what you think. If you don't have time to answer the rest of the survey, please do at least fill in that first important question.

Bank Holiday

The library will be closed on Monday 4th May - we hope you all have a great bank holiday weekend!  Usual service will be resumed on Tuesday.

Sawston Community Hub and other things

The plans for the proposed Sawston Community Hub are on display in the library until Friday 1 May during our usual opening hours. Please come along, see the plans and offer your opinions/support.

On a slightly related note, if you haven't already completed the Library Service questionnaire on the future of libraries in Cambridgeshire, you have until Sunday 10 May.

Currently, £1.835m savings are planned from library services over the next three financial years from the current budget of c£4.5M to run the service. The Library Service already made savings of around £3.2m after the last Library Service Review; this was managed through changing the way the service is run behind the scenes and things like not recruiting new staff as staff retired. So much of the low-hanging fruit has been harvested; what's next for ever-more money saving?  Ask your candidate for the general election about funding for county councils, and hence the Library Service, if you get a knock at the door!

Your view is important, so please make yourself a big mug of tea and have a go at filling the form in.  You can find the form and other background information here.  The FoSL committee have looked at the review in detail, and submitted a group response, which you can find here.

You may have heard about plans for the third floor of Cambridge Central Library.  There is more information and a petition here.

And finally, the library will be closed on Monday 4 May for the bank holiday.

Talk: The Cramptons, a Remarkable Sawston Family

 
Thursday 14th May, 2pm

Bryan Howe will visiting the library to talk about the history of the Crampton Family.  Join us to find out about Sawston's industrial past and the influence that this family and it's progressive business had on the village.  All welcome.

March Committee Meeting

The minutes of the latest meeting of the FOSL Committee are available here.  Among the items discussed were the proposed community hub, details of which were presented at a meeting last November and can be viewed here, and the current review of the Library Service being undertaken by Cambridgeshire Libraries in the light of future budget cuts.  FOSL are keen to be involved in the discussion of users' needs. Details of the review can be found on the Cambridgeshire Libraries website and in their published strategy document.