Suffolk Libraries

❄️📚 Suffolk Libraries is excited to announce the return of its "Warm Welcome" campaign for 2024! Building on the success of previous years, our libraries will once again serve as warm spaces, with many offering free hot drinks and 'kindness racks' stocked with free, high-quality donated clothing. Everyone is welcome to visit the library to stay warm, you don't need to participate in an activity - it's perfectly fine to simply come in and escape the cold and enjoy the company of others. So come on in and experience the warmth and hospitality of Suffolk Libraries this winter! Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eKPnGiwD Warm Welcome is supported by funding from the East of England Co-op

Suffolk Libraries has helped the National Literacy Trust to create a list of 100 books to inspire young readers in Suffolk. Suffolk 100 Reads aims to encourage children to discover a love of reading and to read more widely, by inspiring them to try books that have been recommended by their peers and role models. “When children and young people enjoy reading, they read more often, helping to build vital literacy skills and bringing wider benefits for wellbeing, confidence and learning. With this fantastic list, we want to support local children to find the stories that spark a passion for reading and encourage them to share the stories that speak to them with their friends and family, creating a community of enthusiastic readers.” - Faye Smith, Manager at the National Literacy Trust in Suffolk. Read the full news story: https://lnkd.in/eegZBrUd

We are excited to announce new winter creative workshops as part of The Blank Page Project for young people aged 10-16! Since its launch in March 2023, the Blank Page Project has hosted over 200 different creative workshops and has welcomed more than 3,000 young people into libraries across Suffolk. This year's winter workshops start on Monday 23 December and run until Friday 3 January. There are a total of 24 workshops facilitated by professional artists, with more than 450 free spaces available. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eu4D3twN

The recent report released by National Literacy Trust revealed only 1 in 3 (34.6%) of 8 to 18 year olds say they enjoy reading in their free time - the lowest percentage since NLT started this survey in 2005. Suffolk Libraries is reminding people of the importance of reading and highlighting the work we're doing to improve literacy and encourage children to read more. Here are five key ways we're inspiring children to read for pleasure: 🪪 There's no minimum age requirement to sign up for a library card - new parents can get a special library card for their baby 🚫 No overdue charges on children's books - borrow up to 20 books at a time for free, from any of our 45 libraries 🦉 Our libraries host free regular Wordplay rhyme and storytime sessions for under 5s to help with their development 🧭 This summer we launched our Reading Quest literacy campaign with a series of engaging reading activities to make reading fun 🎓 Suffolk Libraries has a schools programme which aims to provide more support and guidance for schools to encourage pupils to visit their local library. Read our full news story for more information: https://lnkd.in/eZ7VX6rM #SuffolkLibraries #Libraries #Literacy #MakingLivesBetter

Enhance Your Team's Wellbeing with Suffolk Libraries! Suffolk Libraries is now offering Fit for Work health and wellbeing events and away days to local businesses – completely free of charge! This fantastic offer includes access to free meeting spaces for wellbeing-focused events, physical activity sessions to help your team stay active and energized, and a wealth of wellbeing resources to support your team's health and productivity. Fit for Work is part of our Moving Minds project, funded by Arts Council England. It’s a great opportunity to invest in your team’s wellbeing, fostering a positive, supportive environment that can boost morale and performance across your business. Register your interest today – let’s work together to prioritise your team’s health and wellbeing! https://lnkd.in/edzWNHvs

🌎🤗Today is #WorldKindnessDay! Here's a pic from our first day of sorting toys this week for our Be Kind to a Kid Toy Appeal with our fantastic team of volunteers! Working in partnership with BBC Suffolk, our Be Kind to a Kid appeal aims to help make Christmas extra special for some Suffolk families by passing on donations of new toys to children who need them 🤖🎁 🎄Help us to spread some kindness this festive season! Find out more and how you can donate on our website: https://lnkd.in/eMf2xdpA

🌼 We're celebrating the success of our recent 'Make a Difference With a Daisy' fundraising campaign, which raised almost £27,000 to support the vital work of our libraries in the community! "The generosity of so many people and the support we’ve had is amazing and we have so many people to thank for another successful campaign. This all goes to show how vital the work of our charity is. The money raised from the Make a Difference with a Daisy campaign will make a huge difference to the work we do in the community making Suffolk a better place to live.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/efesg8Bn

🎄🎁 Help make Christmas extra special for Suffolk families! We're teaming up with BBC Radio Suffolk to relaunch our 'Be Kind to a Kid' toy appeal, and all 45 libraries are now accepting toy donations to pass on to children who'd appreciate an extra present this Christmas. Last year, we collected nearly 2,500 toys for local children. Please help make our toy appeal even bigger this year and spread festive joy to more Suffolk children and families! For more information on what kind of toys you can donate, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/eAnvSbeP #BeKind #WarmWelcome #WarmSpaces #ToyAppeal #ChristmasToys #Charity #BBCSuffolk #CostOfLiving #MakingLivesBetter #LoveYourLibrary #SuffolkLibraries #CommunitySupport

🤗October is #MenopauseAwarenessMonth with #WorldMenopauseDay taking place this Friday 18th October. This morning we're highlighting another of our My Menopause blogs, By sharing these stories, together we can stamp out the stigma around the menopause and help everyone feel supported. ✍️ Embracing 'The Change': My Menopause by Jackie Carreira. Jackie is based writer, musician, and co-founder of QuirkHouse Theatre. Jackie shares story about how the menopause impacted her creativity as an author and how she's embracing 'the change.' Read more: https://lnkd.in/eDf_nb6f Working with Suffolk Mind

📚✨ Our Online Book Festival is back next February! Dive into captivating author talks, explore diverse genres, and discover new favourite reads from the comfort of your home. We'll be kicking off on Friday 21st February with best selling author Stuart Turton, who will be talking to us about his career so far and his latest novel, The Last Murder at the End of the World. 🐦🎟️Early bird tickets are available for only £4.00 until 1st November! Don't miss out - book yours online: https://lnkd.in/e7K49epe