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27
May 2022
Community library marks 10 years at the heart of Bilton and Woodfield
The 10th anniversary of the Harrogate district's first community library will be marked this weekend.
Bilton and Woodfield Community Library opened its doors in May 2012, after more than a year of planning and preparation.
The volunteers decided to take it on when North Yorkshire County Council said it could no longer afford to staff and run the library.
While they have support from the council, they have had to raise up to £9,000 a year just to cover running costs.
Greta Knight, who has been involved in organising and running the library since the beginning, said:
The funds are collected from fines for overdue books, as well as selling second hand books. The library also offers printing and photocopying and is a member of the Harrogate Local Lotto.
St John's Church supports the library too, such as with a fundraising coffee morning being held later this month.
Greta Knight
Alongside the challenges of raising money, the last 10 years have brought numerous changes for the library — and some less than welcome surprises.
After just a couple of years in the Old Vicarage on Bilton Lane, the library moved to new premises on the site of Woodfield Primary School, adjacent to the children's centre, on Woodfield Road.
In 2017, the building suffered a catastrophic flood thanks to a faulty boiler, which left it unable to open for more than two months.
This year, a second flood happened thanks to a burst pipe in the children's centre. Ms Knight said:
Once the building was dry, repairs were carried out and the volunteers were finally able to get back in to put all the furniture and books back in place.
Flooding at Bilton and Woodfield Community Library.
Adding to two years of closures and disruption through the pandemic, it was a very unwelcome setback - but the volunteers have worked determinedly to enable it to reopen fully again.
Now, as well as books, the library is offering its popular schedule of events each week. They include a scrabble club, children's story time and a monthly coffee morning.
Today's celebration
Tomorrow, however, the coffee morning makes way for an event to celebrate 10 years of the community library. From 10am tomorrow, visitors can read display boards about its history, meet some of the volunteers, and see decorations made by children in a craft session last weekend.
The cake will be cut by Pat Webber, wife of the late county councillor Geoff Webber, who was very supportive of the library and even suggested the location of its current home.
While the anniversary is a chance to reflect on how far they have come, the volunteers are not content to sit back. They have plans for more activities in future - including reintroducing visits for local primary schools from September - and are always on the look-out for new people to join their team.
Despite the uncertain future of the neighbouring Woodfield Community Primary School, Ms Knight said the library is in safe hands and will continue to open its doors to the community for many years to come.
Read more:
- Ripon library to close for refurbishment
- Bilton has 'sufficient primary places' if Woodfield school closes
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