Report from the Hub Feb 2025



WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB

Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary

For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com


Report from the Hub


 Coffee at the Hub – why not come in and have a coffee, tea or chocolate. We also sell Fruit Shoots (sugar free) and a small selection of ice creams / popsicles.

 Christmas Raffle – Clare Ellis has provided the Hub with more wonderful hampers this year. The lucky winners were: Wendy and Cathy (no surnames supplied)

 Our monthly leaflets are available in the Hub for a full monthly list of activities.

Reminder: The Library no longer takes second hand books or magazines due to lack of space. At the time of print, the British Heart Foundation are also not taking second hand books.

 

Watch this Space

 Cuppa with a Coppa – will meet on Wednesday 19 February 2025 at 2 pm in the Hub

 Wellbeing Group – will meet on Friday 21 February 2025 between 2 pm and 3 pm in the Hub

 Our talk in 28 February is being given by our own Joyce Hoy – Travellers Tales. Again it will start at 7.00 pm – tickets will be available after the January talk. Joyce will be showing photos of some her trips as well as anecdotes.

 The talk on 28 March will be given by Ross Thomas. The subject being King Charles 1 – Martyr or Traitor? The road to the scaffold. Tickets will be available after the February talk.

 

With the temperatures falling drastically, pop into the hub for a browse and/or a chat. You will always be greeted with a warm welcome and a friendly face and it you want, a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. Also, please remember, that with increasing reliance on technology, we are happy to assist with accessing information on-line. Help is also available from Citizens Advice, Age UK and One Stop Shop.

 

WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB

Tel: 029 2280 5574 – during opening hours. For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

 

Like and follow us and keep up with news and events on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary


 



WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB

Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary

For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com


Report from the Hub


Happy New Year from the Volunteers of the Library


Report from the Hub

  • Coffee at the Hub – why not come in and have a coffee, tea or chocolate. We also sell Fruit Shoots (sugar free) and a small selection of ice creams / popsicles.
  • With winter here and shorter, colder days, please feel free to pop into the hub for a browse and/or a chat. You will always be greeted with a warm welcome and a friendly face. Also, please remember, that with increasing reliance on technology, we are happy to assist with accessing information on-line. Help is also available from Citizens Advice, Age UK and One Stop Shop.
  • Christmas Raffle – Clare Ellis has provided the Hub with wonderful hampers this year. We will report who won the hamper in our next edition.

 

  • Reminder:

The Library no longer takes second hand books or magazines. At the time of print, the British Heart Foundation are also not taking second hand books.

 

Watch this Space

  • Cuppa with a Coppa – will meet on Wednesday 15 January 2025 at 2 pm in the Hub
  • Wellbeing Group – will meet on Friday 17 January 2025 between 2 pm and 3 pm in the Hub
  • Our next talk is on Friday 24 January 2025 at 7.30 pm in the Hub by Professor John Miles on ‘Cayman Islands – 50 years on’
  • Our talk in February is being given by our own Joyce Hoy – Travellers Tales. Tickets for both talks available in the New Year

 

Library Hub – December 2024



WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB

Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary

For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com


Library Hub – December 2024


Books New Arrivals – our selection

Children’s fiction: The Glorious Race of Magical Beasts by Alex Bell

Crime: Safe Enough by Lee Child. New collection of short stories

Fiction: Such Charming Liars by Karen M McFarlane. ’It’s their last heist and they only have one shot’

Non Fiction: Most delicious poison by Noah Whiteman. Spices to vices – The Story of Nature’s Toxins

Report from the Hub

Coffee at the Hub, why not come in and drink a coffee. We also sell Fruit Shoots (sugar free) and a small selection of ice creams / popsicles.

As winter approaches and the days shorten and become colder, please feel free to pop into the hub for a browse and/or a chat. You will always be greeted with a warm welcome and a friendly face. Also, please remember, that with increasing reliance on technology, we are happy to assist with accessing information on-line. Help is also available from Citizens Advice, Age UK and One Stop Shop.

Christmas Raffle – Clare Ellis has provided the Hub with more wonderful hampers this year. Look out for it in the Library – tickets £1.00 each. Monies raised will go towards the upkeep of the library

Reminder: The Library no longer takes second hand books or magazines due to lack of space. The British Heart Foundation in Barry will accept books.

The Community Library/Hub organised a very successful trip to Westonbirt Arboretum in October. Apart from the initial shower of rain, it was a long walk but seeing the trees in their autumn colours was wonderful.

Keep an eye out for our next trip in the new year.

Watch this Space

  • Cuppa with a Coppa – tba at 2.20 pm in the Hub
  • Wellbeing Group – Friday 13th December 2024 between 2 pm and 3 pm in the Hub
  • On Saturday 16 November. Wenvoe Library joined with Dinas Powys and Sully community libraries for a local Christmas Post. Each card posted will cost 40p and will run until Saturday 14 December 2024. Full list of streets accepted will be displayed in the Library. All monies will contribute to the running of the Library.

 


 

Community Library November Events



WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB

Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary

For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com


Library Hub – November 2024


Books

New Arrivals – Our selection

Crime:

Pursued by Death by Gunnar Staalessen – a fiercely good crime novel.

Romance:

The Secret Orchard by Sharon Gosling – A long lost romance.

Fiction:

So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison – sharp, comedic vampire novel.

Non Fiction:

Biology – 100 ideas in 100 words – Science Museum.

Young Readers:

Meet the Maliks – Twin detectives by Zanib Mian.

Report from the Hub

  • Coffee at the Hub, why not come in and drink a coffee. We also sell Fruit Shoots (sugar free) and a small selection of ice creams / popsicles.
  • As winter approaches and the days shorten and become colder, please feel free to pop into the hub for a browse or a chat. You will always be greeted with a warm welcome and a friendly face. Also, please remember, that with increasing reliance on technology, we are happy to assist with accessing information on-line, or completing any applications. Help is also available from Citizens Advice, Age UK and One Stop Shop.
  • Christmas Raffle – monies raised towards upkeep of library
  • The Library no longer takes second hand books or magazines due to lack of space. The British Heart Foundation in Barry will accept books.
  • Children who signed up for the Summer Reading Challenge were presented with their certificates at a school assembly.

 

Watch this Space

  • Cuppa with a Coppa – tba at 2.20 pm in the Hub
  • Wellbeing Group – 15 November 2024 between 2.00pm and 3.00pm in the Hub
  • Gail Griffiths will be giving a Talk on Friday 22 November at 7.00pm on Hot Air Ballooning. Tickets £3.00 each at the Library.
  • Wenvoe Library has joined with Dinas Powys, Llandough, Michelston le Pit and Sully libraries for Christmas Post. Each card to be posted will cost 40p and will run from middle of November until Saturday 14 December 2024. Full list of streets accepted will be displayed in the Library.

 

COMMUNITY LIBRARY / HUB

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

We are recruiting more volunteers to join our team.

The Library / Hub offers a wide range of services to our Wenvoe Community

You can choose how and when you work, full training is given.

Many of us have been working together since 2016, we always welcome new volunteers.

For a job description and further information, please call in or contact us on wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

 



Community Library October Events



WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB

Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary

For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com


Library Hub – October 2024


Books New arrivals – Our selection

Crime: Inside Threat by Matthew Quirk. The White House has been breached.

Romance: Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis. Pure romance magic.

Fiction: The Midnight Hour by Eve Chase. A golden family, a buried secret and a clock ticking down.

Non Fiction: Kier Starmer – the biography by Tom Baldwin

Young Readers: Photo Skills – How to be a brilliant photographer.

Report from the Hub Team

Coffee at the Hub; why not pop in for a coffee and a chat. We also sell Fruit Shoots (sugar free) and a small selection of ice creams / popsicles.

As winter approaches and the days shorten and become colder, please feel free to pop into the hub for a browse or a chat. You will always be greeted with a warm welcome and a friendly face. Also, please re￾member, that with increasing reliance on technology, we are happy to assist with accessing information on-line, or completing any applications.

Volunteers – we are in need of more volunteers. If you are interested, pop in for a chat. See separate advert.

Don’t forget to measure the height of your sunflower at the beginning of October and register it with the Library

Watch this Space
Cuppa with a Coppa – tba at 2.20 pm in the Hub
Wellbeing Group – tba between 2 pm and 3 pm in the Hub

Westonbirt Arboretum

We now have a date for the trip to Westonbirt Arboretum – 25th October 2024. The coach will be £25 per person. Entry to the Arboretum is £14.40 but if we block book there is a 10% discount taking it to £12.96.

This is in addition to the coach cost.

The coach will leave at around 9.30 am from the usual place outside the Wenvoe Arms and pick up for return around 4pm. A £10 non-refundable deposit will be required.

The Arboretum can provide wheelchairs and motorised scooters but we would need to let them know as early as possible of how many would be needed.

Don’t be disappointed as numbers are limited. Pop into the library to book your seat.

Summer Reading Challenge 2024 – until we meet again next year

The aim of the annual Summer Reading Challenge is to encourage children to keep reading during the sum￾mer holidays, ensuring they are ready for a great start to the new term in the autumn. Children set a reading goal and collect rewards for reading anything they enjoy.

As it has done each summer for the last seven years, the Hub launched the Summer Reading Challenge 2024

on the first Saturday of July, this year being 6th July. All Primary School and Nursery children were invited to take up the Challenge.

And it has been a successful year. Sixty-eight children aged from 3 to 11 took up the challenge. In total fifty children have read at least 2 books. Seventeen completed the challenge, each having read six books. A fur￾ther six read more than 6 books each. These ‘Super Readers’ will be awarded an additional prize in the form of a book token from the Hub as a special ‘well-done,’

Certificates and prizes will be handed out to all successful challengers at a whole school assembly just before October half-term.

Well done everyone! It has certainly been a bumper year for readers.

Alina Trigger

 



Community Library September Events



WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB

Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary

For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com


Library Hub – September 2024


New arrivals – Our selection

Crime: Mrs Pargeter’s Patio. Mystery fans seeking pure escapism fun will be rewarded.

Family: An Ideal Husband by Erica James. Wonderful on family dynamics.

Fiction: SAS Hero: Gold Red by Chris Ryan.

Non Fiction: One Thousand Shades of Green by Mike Dilger. A year in search of Britain’s wild plants.

Young Readers: The Library Mouse by Frances Tosdevin & Spolina O’Connor. Quill the library mouse is a dreamer. He longs to write stories and share them with children at his beloved library.

Report from the Hub Team

  • Coffee at the Hub. Now the warm weather is here, why not come in and drink a coffee on our patio. We also sell Fruit Shoots (sugar free) and a small selection of ice creams / popsicles.
  • Volunteers. We are in need of more volunteers. If you are interested, pop in for a chat.

 

Watch this space

  • Cuppa with a Coppa – tba at 2.20 pm in the Hub
  • Wellbeing Group – tba between 2 pm and 3 pm in the Hub

 

Wenvoe Village Mother and Toddlers

What is there to say other than the group is extremely popular and well attended. We had a peak attendance early in July of 39, which includes the children & parents/grandparents & childminders.

We have been running long enough now to see our initial cohort of children move on to playgroup or nursery, they seem very old at three! So the majority of children coming now are aged 1 – 1 ½ & our play activities & stories reflect this.

It is a great outlet for grandparents, some who have recently moved to the area to support the care of their grandchildren. Some weeks it is like a mini Clwb Clonc as a few of the grandparents and parents speak Welsh.

We had the second of our annual summer outings at the end of June – a walk across the Barrage to the children’s play area plus a picnic. Short of being blown over we didn’t get as far as the play area but returned to a cafe for shelter & a chat. The children didn’t seem to mind at all.

Here are some comments made by a few of the adult attendees:

The children’s group on a Wednesday morning is absolutely fantastic. My eldest daughter, attended when she was younger and I have no doubt that it greatly contributed to her developing language, love of singing and books. I have no hesitation in now bringing along my newborn daughter. A lovely welcoming group for all to enjoy.

This group has been a pleasure to attend both for us as grandparents and the children – to see them develop skills has been a blessing. The volunteers are delightful and nothing is too much trouble for them. The children really enjoy learning songs and listening to stories.

The joy the children get from books is wonderful to observe & families are encouraged to register the children with the Library as early as possible.

Westonbirt Arboretum

We now have a date for the trip to Westonbirt Arboretum – 25th October 2024. The coach will be £25 per person.

  • Entry to the Arboretum is £14.40 but if we block book there is a 10% discount taking it to £12.96. This is in addition to the coach cost.
  • The coach will leave at around 10am from the usual place outside the Wenvoe Arms and pick up for return around 4pm.
  • A £10 non-refundable deposit will be required.
  • The Arboretum can provide wheelchairs and motorised scooters but we would need to let them know as early as possible of how many would be needed.
  • Don’t be disappointed as numbers are limited. Pop into the library to book your seat.

 

Tuesday mornings in the Hub

A collection of retired gentlemen meet at the Hub on a Tuesday morning, enjoying each other’s company and varied topics of conversation. A cup of delicious coffee served by very cheerful ladies keeps the gents well lubricated and allows the conversation to carry on flowing.



Community Library August Events



WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB

Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary

For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com


Library Hub – August 2024


Books – Our Selection of New Arrivals

Crime:- Months to Live by James Patterson and Mike Lupica. She has a year to live – if they don’t kill her first.

Fiction:- Absolutely and Forever by Rosa Tremain. How do you find the courage to make your own life?

Non Fiction:- The Royal Wardrobe Rosie Harte. A very formidable history of the monarchy.

Young Readers :- Flip Flap Build Rockets – Over 180 combinations of rockets and space rovers

Report from the Hub Team

  • Coffee machine – the Hub now has a new coffee machine. Now the warm weather is here, why not come in and drink a coffee on our patio. We also sell Fruit Shoots (sugar free) and a small selection of ice creams/popsicles.
  • Volunteers – we are fortunate to welcome new volunteers to the Library, as always, we are in need of more volunteers.

 

Watch this Space

  • Cuppa with a Coppa – Wednesday 21 August 2024 at 2.20 pm in the Hub
  • Wellbeing Group – Friday 16 August between 2 pm and 3 pm in the Hub
  • A trip to the Westonbirt Arboretum is being organised for later in the year – watch this space!
  • A trip to the National Eisteddfod in Rhondda Cynon Taff is being organised for Friday 9th August. Coach tickets will be £10.00 per head, this will not include entry to the Eisteddfod

 

Clwb Clonc

Clwb Clonc is a Welsh language club which meets weekly for Welsh speakers of all levels to practice speaking Welsh in a friendly environment. The group meets every Monday morning, and due to its popularity has grown to enable us to hold 2 sessions.

Typically, there are around 30 of us each week, and whilst the sessions are casual and unstructured, we have several experts on hand to give support, together with a full suite of course books to support those who are undertaking formal learning. As you would expect we have a very good selection of Welsh reading books at the library which are available for borrowing by any member of the Vale of Glamorgan libraries.

In addition, we are currently organising a coach trip to the Eisteddfod in August. An amazing

opportunity to surround yourself with Welsh language and culture. We have also been able to support a student working towards the Duke of Edinburgh award, where he has devised a social media activity to aid learning.

If you think this is something that interests you, please do come along on Monday morning either between 10.30 and 11.30 or 11.45 to 12.45. You can be assured of a warm welcome from a very friendly bunch!

Hopefully we will see you there – Gobeithio y gwelwn ni chi yna

Golden Girls

This is an all female group which meets once a week for discussions.

Want to meet new friends – why not join us

Want to discuss issues on your mind or have problems you’d like to share – join us

Or, just want a coffee or tea and a chat – come and join us.

What we hope to provide is a safe and supportive space, a safe ear, provide ideas and maybe supoort you.

We meet every Wednesday at 1.30 pm – 3 pm in Wenvoe Library / Hub. Parking available on site

 



Community Library July Events



WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB

Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary

For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com


Library Hub – July 2024


Books – Our Selection of New Arrivals

Crime: The Next Girl by Emiko Jean. A masterful, deeply sinister read but subtly handled.

Fiction: House of Shades by Lianne Dillsworth – a fabulous gothic read.

Non Fiction: The pocket rough guide to Jersey

Romance: The Happy Hour by Cressida McLaughlin. Is one hour a week enough to fall in love.

July Special Events

Sunflower Seeds Galore: Sunflower Competition

Can you grow the tallest sunflower in Wenvoe? Pick up a pack from the hub and get growing! A book token will be presented to the winner of each category of under 8 & 8 and over. Judging will take place during autumn half term – £1 per entry.

Report from the Hub Team

  • Coffee machine – the Hub now has a new coffee machine. Now the warm weather is here, why not come in and drink a coffee on our patio.
  • Volunteers – we are fortunate to welcome new volunteers to the Library, as always, we are in need of more volunteers.

 

Watch this Space

  • Cuppa with a Coppa – Wednesday 10th July at 2.20 pm in the Hub
  • Wellbeing Group – Friday 12th July between 2.00pm and 3.00pm in the Hub
  • A trip to the Westonbirt Arboretum is being organised for later in the year – watch this space!
  • A trip to the National Eisteddfod in Rhondda Cynon Taff is being organised for Friday 9th August. Coach tickets will be £10.00 per head, this will not include entry to the Eisteddfod

 

Summer Reading Challenge 2024

The Hub is launching the Summer Reading Challenge as it has done each summer

The Summer Reading Challenge encourages children to keep reading during the summer holidays, ensuring they are ready for a great start to the new term in the autumn. Children set a reading goal and collect rewards for reading anything they enjoy. Children can sign up at the Wenvoe Hub from 6th July and it’s FREE to take part.

All Primary School and Nursery children are invited to take up the Challenge!

This year’s Challenge is called Marvelous Makers and it is all about creativity!

From dance to drawing, junk modelling to music, there is something for everyone.

This year’s theme has been developed in partnership with a leading arts charity, Create. It is about a group

of enterprising young people who are planning to set up a theatre for the local community. The project requires all their skills in music making, dancing, art, and computer skills.

The 2024 Summer Reading Challenge will be launched in the Wenvoe Hub on Thursday 4th, the day the school has their visit.

Each child signs up to read at least 6 books over the summer holiday. They can be anything they enjoy: comic books, picture books, non-fiction and fiction. After every two books read, there is a reward and then by the end of the summer holidays a special certificate and a medal. There are 3 rewards to collect and then finally the medal if six books have been read.

Last year our children did really well. There were 35 who took up the challenge and of those 14 were Super Readers. These were children who read more than six books.

Let’s hope we can do even better this year. So, let’s get Reading!

Hay on Wye – Literary Festival

On Friday 31st May a merry band boarded the coach at 8.30 outside the Wenvoe Arms for our trip to the Hay Literary Festival. It was a return visit for some and a new experience for others, but everyone was really looking forward to it.

The first port of call for most of the travellers on arrival was coffee. It was great to see that the organisers had put so much thought into sustainable products and the site had many areas where the reusable cups could be washed out. The coffee was delicious too! (The loos were really good as well!)

Everyone then headed off, some to talks they had previously booked and some to explore what was on offer. There was definitely something for us all, from Greenpeace to information on visiting India, jewellery to clothing. And, of course, books! Heaven for us library groupies!

A trip into Hay village during the day was fun and it was interesting to have a look at the castle, find out why Hay had become so synonymous with booksellers and to visit some of the quirky shops.

We were all ready to head back to the bus by 5pm. We’d all done our 10,000 steps, for sure. A raffle of a couple of bottles of Prosecco on the way home made the end of the day and we were back in Wenvoe by 6.30’ish.

Absolutely a trip to go on the regular calendar.

Look out for details of the next outing to Westonbirt Arboretum in the Autumn



May 2024 Report



WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB

Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary

For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com


2023 Activity Report


 

Books New arrivals – Our selection

Crime: Unnatural Death by Patricia Cornwell – A Scarpetta Novel

Fiction: Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange =- Story of 3 generations of a native American community.

Non Fiction: Flights of Fancy by Richard Dawkins – Defying gravity by Design and Evolution

Teenage: Alex Rider – Nightshade Revenge by Anthony Horowitz – Action, adrenaline, adventure.

May Special Events

Sunflower Seeds Galore SUNFLOWER COMPETITION 2024

Can you grow the tallest sunflower in Wenvoe? Pick up a pack from the hub from 1st April and get growing! A book token will be presented to the winner of each category of under 8 & 8 and over. Judging will take place during autumn half term – £1 per entry

Themes for May

The theme for the Library foyer in May is Spring

Mr Marvel the Magician

Mr Marvel has been booked for Wednesday 29 May 2024 between 11 am and 12 noon in the small meeting room of Wenvoe Community Centre. Suitable for ages between 3 and 8 years. Tickets available at the Hub at a cost of £5.00 each

Report from the French Group

Every Tuesday around 11 am a small group of people meet in the library to chat to each other in French. Their fluency varies and occasionally, chat is more focussed on the English language as we enjoy the excellent coffee available at the library.

If you fancy revising the French you learned at school, even if you would just like to learn a few essential phrases to equip you for a forthcoming visit to France, or if you are very fluent but would like to practice on us, then why not drop in. You would be sure of a friendly welcome – a la prochaine mardi? Peut être?

Report from the Hub Team

❖ The Easter competition of how many eggs in the jar was won by Maria Tong with an estimate of 180 – the exact number was 178. Well done Maria!

❖ The Spring Raffle is now on in the Hub – come and buy a ticket at £1.00 each. Clare Ellis has surpassed herself with the hampers this year. This will be drawn on Saturday 4 May at 12 noon.

❖ Coffee machine – the Hub now has a new coffee machine. Why not come in and try it.

❖ Volunteers – we are fortunate to welcome new volunteers to the Library; as always, we are in need of more volunteers.

Watch this Space

▪ Cuppa with a Coppa – Wednesday 8 May 2024 at 2.30 pm in the Hub

▪ Wellbeing Group – Friday 17 May 2024 at 2 pm – 3 pm in the Hub

▪ The Hay Literary Festival Trip is being organised for the end of May 2024; cost will be coach only. Come in and leave an expression of interest. Coach due to leave around 08.30 hours

▪ A trip to the Westonbirt Arboretum is being organised for later in the year – again cost will be coach only; adult entry tickets around £12.00 each

▪ A trip to the National Eisteddfod in Rhondda Cynon Taff is being organised for August.

 



The Library Hub In 2023



WENVOE COMMUNITY HUB

Tel: 02920 594176 – during opening hours or wenvoelibrary@outlook.com

Like and follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/WenvoeCommunityLibrary

For general enquiries you can email us at wenvoelibrary@outlook.com


THE LIBRARY HUB IN 2023


Many readers will remember that in 2016 a group of Wenvoe residents took over responsibility for our village Library to save it from closure by the Vale of Glamorgan Council. Thus was born our Community Library.

Subsequently Wenvoe Community Council obtained money to replace the old building with the new one we see today which opened in Autumn 2021 as the Library and Hub for the Community. An article giving more background appeared in the November 2021 What’s On.

This item is a report to the residents of Wenvoe about the activities of the Library/Hub during 2023.

2023 Activity Report

The Library has seen it’s stock of books revised so that all books in the Adult section are modern or have been recently borrowed. New books arrive regularly and by arrangement with the Vale Library Service, our Volunteers request authors and titles which are popular with our readers. In addition, any book not held in the Library can be borrowed electronically, from home, by a registered user, being delivered to the Library for collection.

A ‘recommendations’ section has been opened where readers can champion a book they enjoyed with the book displayed as a guide to borrowers. New books are displayed as well as other selected reads. All displays are changed regularly.

Themed months were introduced in Autumn 2023 starting with Halloween and then Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. Books about the theme are displayed, including children’s books, enabling borrowers to have a ready source of material and parents,suitable books to inform their children about the subject.

On alternate Thursdays classes of children from our Primary School come, with their Teachers, to borrow and return books. This has been arranged with support from all Teachers, covers the whole School and encourages the skill of reading and the value of books as a resource for life.

New individuals have registered for library services throughout the year with borrowing activity being brisk.

Hub activities are numerous and wide ranging. Some are held when the Library is open, others are closed sessions.

Monthly:

The village PCSO attends on a Wednesday afternoon when he is on duty, to report on criminal activity and answer queries from residents. The times are announced on the Wenvoe Community Facebook page and in the Library; any resident can come.

During winter months talks are given, usually by a local resident, on topics of interest, again open to

anybody. There is a small fee to cover heating costs.

A Wellbeing session has started. Individuals with mental health concerns, and their carers, can come to a private session where they can exchange information and talk with others in similar situations. Carers who have come say they have found the sessions very helpful.

Weekly:

Clwb Clonc is a Welsh language group for those who wish to use their Welsh, or learners new to the language. It has proved very popular and is open to anyone.

Smaller groups using French and Italian languages have also started. These language groups are established by like-minded individuals who welcome people to join them.

Stitches is a group who make handicraft items.

Parent and Toddler group encourages parents of young children for friendship and activity. It is musical with piano, singing and reading stories.

Silver Foxes is a private session limited to men, to provide an opportunity for friendship, comradeship and discussion.

Financial matters

The Library/Hyb is self funding and costs about £5,000 per year which has to be raised. Our main sources of income are:

The coffee/refreshment area. This has been very successful and continues to give a major source of income. Anybody is welcome to come in for a drink when the building is open.

Coach trips have taken place during to London and the Christmas Market in Bath. Open to anybody, they were popular.

Raffles were held at Easter and Christmas with donated prizes.

Library/Hub Management Team



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