Treasure trove!

Every so often we unearth undiscovered riches.

Moving a pile of disreputable old filing cabinets out of an office the other day we discovered a long-forgotten portfolio. Luckily, we're all dead nosy and had a quick look inside before throwing it away. Just as well: it's a collection of original artwork by children's artists who'd visited our libraries in the 1970s and 1980s. They'd come along, talked to the children and did a few illustrative sketches in the process and somebody had the sense to keep them safe for future use.

I'm just starting taking photographs of them (there aren't many smaller than A3 sized so in-house scanning's not an option for us). I'm putting them onto the Library Service's Flickr account in a set I'm calling "Discovered Treasures." (The ones I've put on so far haven't been digitally remastered so look a bit murky. I'll be putting "before" and "after" versions online eventually.)

20 Great Authors (and Actors) Read Famous Literature Out Loud

Every now and then, the Open Culture site presents vintage clips of great authors reading classic literary works – works they have often written themselves. These are interesting because you get to hear the author's voice and their characterisations, which might or might not chime in with your own ideas.

Also featured here are some authors reading other people's work and a few classic clips of famous actors giving literary readings.

Drop into Smallbridge Library for healthy living advice

We all know we need to live a more healthy lifestyle but where to start? We are having a healthy living drop-in session at Smallbridge Library on Thursday 5 August between 2pm and 4pm.

You can pop in and have a chat with a Health Trainer and have a free health check, including:

• Checking your Body Mass Index (BMI)
• Help with stopping smoking
• Advice on healthy eating and nutrition

And much more.


For more details call Smallbridge Library or Health Trainer Jill on 01706 510844