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Atherstone Library
Atherstone Library

Library customers from across the generations in North Warwickshire have been full of praise for the services provided by staff during the latest lockdown. Residents from Polesworth, Coleshill and ...

Library customers from across the generations in North Warwickshire have been full of praise for the services provided by staff during the latest lockdown.

Residents from Polesworth, Coleshill and Atherstone have been in touch with Warwickshire County Council’s Library and Information Service to express their gratitude, telling them that their local library has “kept us going through lockdown”.

Toby, who is in Year 5, emailed staff at Polesworth Library on behalf of his family, including his younger brother Josiah, sending them an article that he had written for World Book Day to celebrate his local library.

In the article, Toby says that Polesworth Library has “lots of cool and interesting books and is very efficient. You can click and collect your books. So, I have been Googling the best books for 10 to 11-year-olds because I like older books.”

Since the start of lockdown, browsing at any library has been suspended, but many libraries have continued to offer Click & Collect and Staff Select services.

Library customers can order a selection of books to collect from a library of their choice - a bit like the ‘click and collect’ service you can use to buy your shopping.

“In lockdown your feet can’t explore but in a book your mind can take you anywhere you want,” says Toby. “It helps you explore your imagination and helps mental health.”

“We end up ordering lots of books. Sometimes I can’t wait to get home to start reading my new selection of books.”

Quarantining and cleaning measures for returned books are in place for all library services.

“The books are quarantined so no worries there,” says Toby. “When we pick up, there is a screen, and they pass the books under. My bro likes it too. He often orders tractor books.”

Customers can pre-order the books they’d like to borrow using Warwickshire’s online library catalogue or the Staff Select service. 

Toby and his family were particularly grateful for the service at Christmas: “Christmas was great, we got loads of Christmas books and it made us look forward to Christmas more, when Christmas last year was going to be quite different.”

“When we get home, Josiah likes to tip all the library bags out and put the books in piles for who they are for. Mine’s always the biggest. They give you environment-friendly bags to carry the books in.”

Customers are contacted by email, phone or post when their book order is ready for collection or they can check their online library account. No appointment is needed to collect the books.

“I would recommend the library because it is free and you can keep the books for a month,” says Toby. “I never get bored because there is always something new.”

“I missed doing World Book Day at school this year and dressing up but look forward to a Year Six Book Day - and it will be my last one.”

Toby and his younger brother aren’t the only North Warwickshire residents who have been thankful for Warwickshire County Council library services during lockdown.

An older customer who regularly uses Atherstone Library’s Click & Collect and Staff Select services phoned library staff to tell them that the books are very important to her as she reads constantly because she has insomnia.

She told staff: “You are wonderful. You have been a lifeline to me. You're the only good thing that has happened during lockdown. You're the best thing in my life right now.”

Another regular customer of Coleshill Library emailed the County Council to pass on special praise for one of the library’s Customer Service Advisors, saying:

"I'd like to compliment the young man at Coleshill library. He is a delight to deal with, both personally and when I’ve been in a queue and seen him dealing with an elderly frail customer. 

“He is cheerful, warm, efficient, helpful and a compliment to the library. I applaud his excellent service."

Councillor Kam Kaur, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation said:

“Our library staff across the county are receiving these sorts of compliments every day. It is lovely to know that our services mean so much to so many people. Our staff say that it is a pleasure to be able help people during these times.

“I am so proud of all our library staff, who are delivering excellent services day in day out and which are very much appreciated by our residents. I know that they will continue to keep up the good work as all our services follow the roadmap out of lockdown.”

Warwickshire’s Virtual Library Service is also still available online 24/7. Warwickshire County Council’s libraries staff are continuing to work hard behind the scenes to ensure that people still have access to digital books, music and other library material.

BorrowBox, which is described as “your library in one app”, enables people to access library items whenever and wherever they are, allowing users to borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks for free. It is available across most digital devices, including the iPad and Kindle Fire.

All you need to access it for free is your library card number and email address.

To find out more about Click & Collect, Staff Select, BorrowBox and all current library services in Warwickshire, visit https://library.warwickshire.gov.uk.

Published: 12th March 2021

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