Selsdon library events

There are a few new upcoming library events which are going to be held at Selsdon library. Details of the activities are shown below, in the posters.

One event, an author visit with Phil Taylor, will take place on Saturday 23rd November from 2.00 – 3.00pm.
Phil Taylor will be talking about his new book, called Brian, His Granddad & the Cup of Ages

 

When eleven-year-old Brian Pankhurst has to stay with his grandparents, he’s not exactly enthusiastic. He barely knows them, after all, and they’re a little strange. They’re stranger than he realises, in fact. Very soon after he arrives at their ancient house, Brian starts to feel that something isn’t right. Why has someone sent his granddad a completely blank letter? Why don’t people who go in to the local bookshop ever seem to come out again? What does his granddad mean when he says Brian’s father wasn’t really an accountant? Then Brian wakes in the middle of the night and finds he’s going to have to adjust to three things very quickly: magic is real, monsters are real, and he and his family are in terrible danger…

In addition to this event, there is to be a drama event taking place at Selsdon library, run by Abbie Palache. This will take place on Saturday 7th December from 2.00 – 4.00pm

“I am a storyteller, a storymaker and a story lover. 
Whether it is to an audience of hundreds or to an audience of one, I love to bring traditional myths, legends and fairytales to the 21st century listener. ”

Please find below posters advertising the events
Phil Taylor Poster
Abbie Palache Poster

To book your place for either of these events, please contact:
Croydon.selsdonlibrary@carillionservices.co.uk
020 3700 1017

We hope to see you there!

A Discussion on Sherlock

On Saturday 29th June, Ashburton library will be holding a session where teenagers (11-19 years of age) can meet up to talk about all things related to Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, including books, films and TV shows.

The poster to advertise the event is below, containing all of the details, and there is a link to a PDF version here.

Please do feel free to come along if you are interested!

NEW: Ashburton reading group for teens

Many libraries don’t have good reading groups aimed at children. Lots have writing groups and host all manner of activities, but forget to promote and encourage one of the main functions of libraries: reading. Ashburton library, as of this Saturday (18/05/13) will be holding a monthly meeting for people aged 11-19, where we will discuss a specific book. This Saturday, we will be discussing ‘Uglies’ by Scott Westerfeld.

If you haven’t read the book, don’t worry! Come along anyway, and you can still have a look, and join in the discussion based on your first impressions of the book, etc. We will have copies of the book with us to have a look at, and you can suggest books for us to read in the future.

We will also be looking at the books we bought during the book pick at Waterstones – A group of teenagers went on a trip to Waterstones, where we selected new books for the library – and giving away copies of books from World Book Night.

We hope to see you there! The meeting is from 2.30-4.00pmish, and refreshments will be served.

 

What is “Reading Activists”?

Reading Activists in the new name for The Reading Agency’s MyVoice project.

Reading Activists is running in 18 regions in the UK and, according to The Reading Agency,  by 2014 there will be:

• 6000 young people running 60 reading hubs in libraries, schools and youth clubs
• 27,500 young people taking part in 760 creative reading and writing activities
• 30,000 young people taking part in online reading activities, of which 6000 will be doing reading-inspired volunteering roles

You can get details on The Reading Agency’s Reading Activists project via their website,  on their facebook page called In the Loop and by following them on Twitter @ReadingActivist.

But, is it for you?

• Are you aged 11 to 19 years?
• Looking for something fun, exciting and creative to do?
• Want to meet other young people to make a difference?
• Interested in putting on events for young people?
• Want to learn new skills and get some work experience?
• Want to meet writers, musicians, artists and other creative people?

Gain new skills and build confidence by becoming a Reading Activist in your local community.

What Reading Activists means to us

We got involved in Croydon MyVoice at Ashburton Library and don’t regret it one bit, although there is always more that can be done! We took along a friend too and we’ve now had experience in organising events, including nail art – which really is NOT our thing, but, hey, you have to go along with the majority vote.

Reading Activists may be operating in your area so take a look and give it a try.

In our next posts we will give details of what we have done in Croydon and how the project has developed.

MyVoice Word Fest #Croydon

On Saturday 17th November, an event will be held at the Croydon Central Library/Clocktower from 10.30-4.00pm.

There will be at least four workshops of which people will be able to choose two to do. The workshops we are considering so far are: Creative Writing Workshop (possibly on a gothic/romantic theme and including looking at different writers styles and how to write for genres), Manga Workshop, Hip Hop Shakespeare workshop and a Street Dance workshop. These are still to be decided.

The plan is that there will be stalls for people to look at while they are waiting for or between workshops. For example, some of the possibilities we are considering are publishers, authors, book shops, Croydon College, careers advice, nail art, graffiti wall, library information, join the library, book swap and a book give-away. We also hope to have an ongoing art/craft activity that people can drop in and out of.

We have already held a Word Fest meeting at Croydon Central Library to get these initial ideas together, but there is so much more to plan! This is part of the Reading Agency, MyVoice Project in Croydon and anyone aged 11-19 is welcome to get involved.

If you can think of anything else or would like to get your ideas across, come to the Word Fest planning meeting on the 8th September in Ashburton Library. The meeting will be held at 2.30pm. We will also be discussing ways we will publicise the event, and design ideas for logos, etc.

If you can’t make the meeting but have ideas to share, add them to this blog and we will take them along!

It is helpful if you can let Liz, the librarian in charge, know that you are coming to the planning meeting so that she can plan for numbers and refreshments. Email her at myvoice@croydon.gov.uk.

We hope to see you there!

Click on the link below to download the official poster. Display it and help spread the word!
word fest planning meeting poster

MyVoice – get involved!

Croydon Central Library held its first MyVoice planning meeting this past Tuesday, allowing 11-19 year olds to really get involved in their local libraries and contribute to the planning of future events. In this meeting, we discussed a few ideas for the upcoming Word Fest (though this name might be changed, as there may be some activities to do with art, etc.)

Some of the ideas people were keen on are listed below:
Manga Workshop
Creative Writing Workshop
Stalls – a number of stalls from publishers/book stores/agencies that support young people
‘What’s Croydon Reading?’ feature in Croydon Advertiser/Croydon Radio
The Hip Hop Shakespeare Company workshopStreet Dance Workshop
Football match reporting
Authors – Workshop? Reading? Debate?
Broadcasting Book Reviews
Reverse the Riots Campaign

It’s not too late to get involved!
If you would like to join us in planning these activities, you can contact Fiona Tarn at Croydon Central Library or email MyVoice@croydon.gov.uk

We will keep you updated with the plans for future MyVoice workshops and events for the Word Fest, on this blog. Feel free to suggest your ideas to us here or on Twitter and get involved.

It would be great if other MyVoice groups could share ideas and activities that were particularly successful.

Croydon Radio and author Diane Messidoro promote MyVoice event at Croydon Central Library

Yesterday, on Croydon Radio, new host Janet Smith interviewed the author Diane Messidoro about her new book, How to Keep a Boy as a Pet, as well as answering people’s questions about writing and talking about libraries in general.

We would like to say a big thank you to Janet Smith for picking up on our post and for reading out the details of Word Fest at Croydon Central Library! to Croydon on her programme.

We found the whole interview very interesting, and the interview can be relistened to here, under ‘The Croydon Arts Show – Extra, on Sat Aug 4th at 11:00 UK’. It is definitely worth a listen.

If you’d like to hear the promotion of MyVoiceUK and the thoughts of Diane Messidoro on the benefit of libraries you can listen at 28 minute in, or click on the audioboo below, made with kind permission from the team at Croydon Radio.

 

Word Fest at Croydon Central Library!

Croydon Central Library will be holding its first MyVoice planning meeting on Tuesday 7th August at 2pm. This is a great chance for young people to get more involved in their local libraries and plan future events to be held there.

MyVoice is a Reading Agency project for children aged 11-19, and welcomes new people to come along. It is already running in Ashburton and Thornton Heath libraries in Croydon.

It would be really helpful to phone in advance so the library knows how many people are coming, but this is not necessary if it is a last minute decision. You can just turn up for this initial planning session to get ideas for creating a Word Fest to be held later this year.

If you are unsure you might like to check out details of what MyVoice has been doing in other Croydon libraries here.

We hope to see lots of people on the 7th!

Ask for Liz or Fiona when you turn up, or drop them an email atMyVoice@croydon.gov.uk