To All West Berkshire Libraries Customers

We are pleased to bring you the latest news from West Berkshire Libraries, including details about the services we are currently able to provide in line with government rules on managing the risk of COVID-19.

We are delighted that the government’s roadmap for lifting the current restrictions offers public libraries the opportunity to re-open on 12 April. (This date is subject to the Government's satisfaction that transmission rates continue to fall nationwide this month.)

We hope it will once again be possible for visitors to come into library buildings from 12 April to choose their own books and to use our PCs, printing and copying facilities. We are now working hard to finalise arrangements for this and will have more information for you in our April newsletter. As always, please continue to check our social media for the most up to date news.

There’s still time to book for our free talk on Wednesday 10 March, when West Berkshire Council’s Assistant Archaeologist Beth Asbury and Berkshire Finds Liaison Officer Philip Smither will be talking on Zoom about the archaeology of our district and the heritage resources available to anyone interested in local research.

We have another Zoom talk coming up on Thursday 24 March, 7pm. Local historian David Peacock presents an illustrated introduction to the Anglo-Saxon period in West Berkshire. Tickets are £5 per household, available from the West Berkshire Heritage website. Bookings close on 23 March.

British Science Week runs from 5-14 March this year and we’ll be celebrating on Instagram, highlighting some of the best books about science, technology, maths and engineering which we are sure you will enjoy.

You might also like to borrow a book – or a play - for Shakespeare Week, which follows on 15-21 March. Find plenty of online activities for all the family for both of these special weeks on their event websites.

If you missed our recent Rhymetime, you’ll find it available to view now on YouTube. We’re pleased to say that Berkshire Maestros are preparing another Rhymetime session for us, which will be available from Wednesday 31 March. Check our social media on the day for the link.

Don’t forget that you can find out about all our online Storytimes, children’s crafts and other activities and news by following @WBerksLibraries on Facebook,Instagram and Twitter.

Libby is one of our suppliers for e-books and e-audiobooks, which are FREE to borrow for all members of West Berkshire Libraries.

The easiest way to access these resources is to download the Libby app from your app store (Google Play for Android users or the Apple app store for iOS users). You can then search for West Berkshire Libraries and log in with your library card number and PIN. We’ve put together a short online guide on using Libby to help you get started.

From 10 March we will be moving our digital magazines from RBdigital to the Libby app, too. In connection with this, anyone who has borrowed an e-magazine from us over the past six months will shortly be contacted by RBdigital. After this move you will still be able to browse, borrow and enjoy all the same great magazines that you loved in the RBdigital app, but with even more choice – another good reason to download the Libby app now!

Don’t forget that we have e-books and e-audiobooks for you from our supplier BorrowBox as well, plus a fantastic range of e-newspapers available for free through PressReader.

Everything in our e-library is available 24/7, with no overdue charges for late returns. Find more information about this, along with details of our e-resources for study and leisure interest, on our website

Do you know anyone who is unable to collect books from the library because of age, disability or other special circumstance? Please tell them about our At Home service, which is a vital link for customer who have difficulties getting to their local library.

Once someone is registered as an At Home library member, one of our friendly and professional team will contact them to discuss their requirements and find out what sort of books they enjoy, including whether they prefer hardbacks or paperbacks, large print books or perhaps audiobooks. We then deliver these to the door step at a safe distance. Deliveries are usually made every three weeks.

Please help to spread the word to anyone who may benefit from this service. Thank you.