New community library to be opened in Castlefield on Saturday 12th September 2015 at 1.30pm

A new community library will be opened in Castlefield on Saturday 12th September 2015 at 1.30pm.

The library moved from its long-time home at Castlefield school to the nearby Community Centre in June 2015 and is now a community partnership between Buckinghamshire County Council, local residents and the Wycombe-based Karima Foundation.

Increased opening hours and better accessibility are hallmarks of the new library and at the launch on Saturday local young people who completed the library’s ‘Record Breakers’ Summer Reading Challenge will be presented with their medals and certificates.

Two Volunteer Library Co-ordinators employed by Karima will be supported by 14 trained volunteers which has enabled the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday opening times to be extended by two hours.

David Jones, the County Council’s Head of Library Services, said the community centre was a more easily accessible location for the community library, and since the move visitor numbers had increase by around 40%. ‘The community library will continue to provide the full range of services,‘ he said. ‘In fact we’ve increased the number of public computers so that more visitors can get online.‘

Martin Phillips, Cabinet Member for Community Engagement, who will officially open the community library, said the library would play a key role in the community centre’s future, encouraging Castlefield’s children and adults to develop a love of reading. ‘Everyone in this new partnership has worked hard to get where we are today,‘ he said. ‘And it’s important that we forge ahead together to provide the community with a resource of great value to them.‘

Leading the project for the Karima Foundation, local Deputy Head Teacher Khaiam Shabbir, said: ‘The project has been a credit to the efforts of all involved, and the quote that still sticks in our minds from a visitor over the summer – “Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to see Castlefield as busy as it has been and with as many diverse people as I have seen in here this afternoon”.‘

Joining Martin Phillips for the launch will be local division County Councillor Zahir Mohammed, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills.

Castlefield Community Library is one of a network of 16 community and nine county-run libraries. The website address for the new library is http://www.buckscommunitylibraries.org/castlefield/home.

The opening hours of the new library are as follows :

Saturday : 12.30pm to 5.30pm
Tuesday : 2.00pm to 8.00pm
Thursday : 2.00pm to 8.00pm
Sunday, Monday,Wednesday, Friday and Bank Holidays : Closed