Teen Cosplayers Take Over Central Library
In August we held our first ever teen cosplay event at Central library. The event was co-created with 15-year-old Amira. Amira contacted us via her school librarian when she was…
Category Community and social
Why not set up or join a book club and Be a Reading Rebel?
This 11 September is Book Club Day UK—a national celebration of book clubs, connection and community from The Reading Agency. This year’s theme is Be a Reading Rebel, celebrating the power of book clubs…
Libraries Update – August 2026
1996 IRA Bombing and the Regeneration of Manchester – 30 Years On Central Library is currently hosting two key exhibitions marking 30 years since the IRA bomb attack devastated Manchester…
Baby Week 2026
The Read Manchester/Manchester Libraries team was excited to take part in the Baby Week 2026 launch event recently. There was a full programme of activities and events for expectant parents, parents, and babies. The launch was held in the city centre at Manchester…
MAD – Manchester Activity Day Teens led event in Longsight
In March this year a group of amazing young people from St Peter’s High School in Longsight devised and hosted their own event at Longsight Library. The event was the…
Manchester volunteers pay tribute to Dolly Parton, and tell local families her books will keep arriving
Manchester Imagination Library has posted more than 50,000 free books to local children since 2018. Volunteers at Manchester Imagination Library, the charity that runs Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in parts…
Read Manchester Update Summer 2026
Welcome to our Read Manchester Summer update. We are well into the National Year of Reading now and Read Manchester celebrates a 10-year anniversary this year too! See what we’ve been up to and how you can help us to Go…
Giving something back – how corporate volunteers support Read Manchester
Volunteers greatly enhance our Read Manchester offer, whether that is our Literacy Champions or the business community. We want to give a big shoutout to several local companies who have kindly devoted their time to…
Read to the Beat 2026 Summer Reading Challenge
Join the rhythm of reading this summer! As the long, sunny days of summer approach, there’s no better time to encourage children to explore new ideas and stories than through the joy of reading. This year,…
Refugee Week 2026 at Manchester Libraries
Between 15 to 21 June 2026, Manchester Libraries are hosting a range of activities as part of Refugee Week. The theme for Refugee Week this year is ‘Courage’, and is the…
Doing Things Differently – Age Friendly Manchester
Manchester Leads the Way with Age-Friendly Culture and celebrates renewed commitment to creativity with older residents. At a gathering at The Whitworth, nearly 100 community leaders, Manchester Libraries, cultural organisations,…
Manchester Culture Awards 2026
Nominations for the Manchester Culture Awards 2026 are now open, and we want to hear all about the fantastic creative and cultural activity that has taken place in the city between…
Civic Pride: Celebrating Communities and Belonging
Manchester Histories FREE Festival 2026 Thursday 4 – Saturday 6 June 2026manchesterhistories.co.uk #MHF2026The multi award-winning Manchester Histories Festival is back for its tenth edition!Celebrate our histories at this FREE three-day…
Watch this superb Age Friendly Film
The Centre for Aging Better has just launched a brilliant short video promoting our Age Friendly standards – Age-friendly Libraries in Manchester. The video illustrates just how important Age Friendly’s work is…
Forum Library Creative Space update
Its been an exciting few months at the Forum Libraries Creative Space where we have hosted an array of unique and diverse performances for the people of Wythenshawe to enjoy.…
World Book Night 2026 with Read Manchester
Thursday 23rd April was World Book Night, the Reading Agency’s annual campaign which aims to celebrate and inspire reading for pleasure. As World Book Day encourages children to read, World Book Night promotes the too often overlooked benefits…
Read Manchester Spring Update
Welcome to our Read Manchester Spring update. We are well into the National Year of Reading now, with lots of exciting events coming up both nationally and locally. Since January, we’ve been out and about for World Book Day and celebrated…
Assheton Archives and Archery -A Sports Day with A Difference!
The Assheton of Middleton project has had many exciting events over the past year and the most memorable was a sports day with a difference as we hosted the Assheton History and Archery…
Children’s and Read Manchester
On 4th March 2026, Councillor John Hacking Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure and Neil MacInnes Head of Libraries, Galleries and Culture, took a report on Manchester Libraries to…
Good Things Foundation Visit to Chorlton Library
Councillor John Hacking with Vicki Sellick MBE and Sital Mistry Lee On Thursday 19th February, we were delighted to welcome Vicki Sellick MBE, incoming CEO of Good Things Foundation (GTF), and Sital Mistry Lee, Associate Director…