Creepy Paris or Spooky London?

I posted before about the new ‘twinning’ arrangement between Church Street Library and Bibliotheque Place des Fetes in Paris. We’ve recently held two children’s events as part of the French twinning project.

The first one was ‘Imagine Creepy Paris’, where the children had the choice to draw either the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame church and then decorate them to make them creepy…

Eighteen children took part and created some fantastic works, some of which you can see in the pictures here.

     

The second one was ‘Draw your Creepy London’. This time the children could draw Big Ben, Tower Bridge or the Tower of London. Big Ben was the most popular, and the children showed some great art skills. This workshop was even more successful and 23 children took part.

All the works will be sent to our twin library in Paris and we will receive arts from the children who participated in similar events at Place des Fetes. Keep an eye on the Church Street Library news & events page for details of the exhibition by the Paris children.

[Julie]

We’re open! [Marylebone Library on the move… pt9]

There were still a few artisans going about their artisanning (sorry), and some of the technology was lagging a little behind, but we opened on time, welcomed back some ‘old faces’, and – excitingly – some new users. People saw the sign outside and thought, “Oh, a library – that’s great!” In they came in with no idea that they were pioneers, and soon every space was being used.

It wasn’t quite as dramatic as when they opened Primark on Oxford Street (the doors got bent in the crush for that one!), but it was pleasing to see the new library with users in it.

  

As I walked home, I had three conversations with regulars from the old library:

“Are you open yet?” …
“Are the computers working?” …
“Did you still get the newspapers while you were shut?”

Yes, yes and yes, in that order.

[David]

Love the Summer Reading Challenge

We’re in the last couple of weeks of the Summer Reading Challenge (it’s not too late to join though!) and, as always, it’s been a great success. And it hasn’t just been brilliant for the children involved – here’s what Stacey, one of our much-appreciated volunteers, has to say:

“The Creepy House Summer Reading Challenge has been a really exciting event to be a part of.  As a volunteer, I listen to the children tell me all about the books they have read this summer.  Their enthusiasm is contagious and it’s uplifting to see so many kids energized about reading. Whether they are talking about Horrid Henry or Winnie the Witch, the kids have strong opinions and connections to the stories they are reading. I love seeing the sense of accomplishment they feel when they earn a star or when they realize they may have beaten some of their schoolmates to the finish line.  The program is a great way to foster healthy competition and a love for reading. One thing all of the kids agree on is that the smelly stickers they receive as prizes, literally stink!”

[Stacey, Summer Reading Challenge Volunteer]

Marylebone Library on the move… pt8

Clocks. There are clocks everywhere.

And where there aren’t any clocks yet, there are post-it notes saying “clock”.

You can’t run a library without clocks. For a start, the library users like to know what the time is. If you’ve spent the morning researching the history of 14th Century Korean porcelain, or browsing the latest DVD releases, you need to know when to get your notes together, or make your choice of viewing, before slipping round the corner for a coffee or a sarnie.

As for the staff, the clock rules, regulates and directs all our working lives. 9.00am – set up ready. 9.30am – open the doors, go on public duty, or do some paperwork in the office. And so the day goes on. But not yet.

The library is still being prepared for next Wednesday’s opening (28th), and the clocks are waiting for hooks on the walls. With public areas on three floors, spread either side of a central stairwell, at least half a dozen clocks are needed. With two offices and a staffroom, that’s three more. Allergic to clocks? Don’t panic. The loos are clock-free areas.

Apart from the clock situation, this building is really starting to look like a library. Books are on shelves, magazines in racks, and computers on desks (admittedly not quite connected yet, but the man with the screwdriver is on his way). Some really lovely people have been touching up the paintwork and cleaning all the surfaces. Oh, is that the clock man I can see over there? Now we can get organised!

[David]

It’s not too late to join the Summer Reading Challenge!

Have your children complained of being bored this summer holiday?

Are you looking for free things for them to do?

If so, look no further than your local Westminster library!

This years’ Summer Reading Challenge, ‘Creepy House’, is in full swing and it’s not too late to join up. Children still have time to read books from the library and receive their rewards – the stinky stickers are proving really popular!

We also have a great programme of free events to entertain children and families – here’s the full list – and to get a taste of what awaits, here’s what’s been going on this week in Westminster’s children’s libraries:

Creepy House pop-up workshop at Maida Vale Library

Children had great fun learning how to make their own pop up creepy houses with Georgia, Westminster Archives’ Conservator. Maida Vale library is now open in its old space on the ground floor, so go along and pay them a visit!

Creepy Crawly House at Queen’s Park Library

Zoo Lab visited Queen’s Park library this week and brought along lots of creepy crawlies to delight children and terrify the adults! Anna from Zoo Lab showed them cockroaches, giant African land snails, a corn snake, a hermit crab and a tarantula, among others…

Haunted House drama workshop at St John’s Wood Library

Children were encouraged to use their imaginations to dream up a creepy house of their own, and then act it out. They had a brilliant time playing games and pretending to be ghosts, ghouls and zombies with Bebie, the drama coach from actingworks.

[Rachel]

Seeing the Savoy: a fun day out with our Friends

Volunteers and Friends of the Archives recently enjoyed a guided tour of the world-famous Savoy Hotel. The visit was just part of a varied programme of events laid on for the Friends of Westminster City Archives group.

Here’s a special report from one of our members, Gloria:

“What a unique and impressive accumulation of ‘firsts’: Savoy was the first luxury hotel in Britain, the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity, and the first one with electric lifts – charmingly known in the late Victorian period as “ascending rooms” [see picture above]. The Savoy also became the first hotel to provide most of its rooms with private bathrooms en suite. My grandson would have used the word “cool” to describe this visit and I certainly feel like this has quite possibly been the coolest place I have ever been.

Although more than few weeks  have elapsed since our visit, all the comments and anecdotes of the history of the hotel are still in my thoughts – imagining Claude Monet and James Whistler painting views of the Thames from their rooms, Vivien Leigh, Fred Astaire, Coco Chanel and Maria Callas wandering around, and Churchill and Eisenhower drinking during the Second World War in the famed American Bar. It has been a sheer pleasure being able to experience, even for a short guided visit, the lavishness, elegance and grandeur of such an important London landmark.

I wish to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Georgia for all her hard work in organising these unique visits and maintaining such a high level of excitement for the Friends and Volunteers of the Archives.”

[Gloria, Archives Volunteer]

Happy Birthday HLS! [Part 1]

Westminster’s Home Library Service is 65 years old! Since 1948 we’ve been visiting customers in their homes, making sure that people who can’t get out (whether they be ill, elderly, disabled or caring for someone who is) can get the books they want and need.

We celebrated part 1 of the 65th anniversary with a health and wellbeing information morning, including a complimentary hand massage, at Church Street Library. We followed this with a 1948 quiz, lunch and birthday cake with a glass of bubbly.

Our readers weren’t put off by the deluge of rain that morning and a good time was had by all, meeting each other for the first time as well as finding out about other Westminster services available to housebound people.

If you or someone you know would like to use the Home Library Service, please get in touch.

[Elaine]

Marylebone Library on the move… pt7

To move a library, you pack everything up, load it into vans, unload it all at the other end, and arrange the furniture, the books and the computers in the new premises – right? Wrong!

Everything happens at once. Sure, to start the whole thing off you have to pull some books off the shelves and load them into crates. Or deconstruct some tables and stash them in the van. But as soon as you fill a van, it’s off to the new gaff, the contents are unloaded, and the reconstruction starts. From then on, right up to the last vanload, there is a continuous stream of stuff, out of the doors, along the streets of Marylebone, into the open maw which is Macintosh House.

If I’ve given you the impression that I am somehow a big part of this process, let me confess: I’ve been like a man in a chain gang, taking the next bucket and passing it on. I know my place!

Apart from the library’s managers, very much the clients in this operation, the masterminds are the movers, planning a vanload in their heads, assembling the ingredients and loading them. It’s not as awesome as it should be, because it’s just too smooth. They don’t shout or disagree or flounce off shaking their heads. They mutter and chat, or say nothing and just do it. Respect.

Library staff, as they do their bit towards this mammoth operation, are failing in one respect. There has been a complete disregard for the normal dress code. T-shirts (with slogans!) are being worn by almost everyone. A colleague in a rugby shirt has just carried a crate past me. And he nearly snagged my bow tie as he did so. Scandalous.

By the 28th the stream will have stopped flowing. A pity really – it’s great to witness.

[David]