Henan University Visit – Central Library
On Wednesday 3 December Manchester Central Library was honoured to host a delegation from Henan University and the Chinese Consulate in Manchester on an official visit to the library facilitated by Bowen Education.
The delegation was greeted by Lord Mayor Cllr Carmine Grimshaw and enjoyed a guided tour of the library delivered by Head of Libraries, Galleries and Culture Neil MacInnes. The delegates later gifted to Manchester Central Library a collection of 51 dual-language books in Mandarin and English. The collection offers a mix of Chinese history and art history books for adults and beautiful children books, and will greatly enrich our offer of Chinese books at the library.
The delegates also had a private viewing of some of the most amazing objects from the Library’s Chinese collections, including a few examples of exquisitely illustrated embroidery pattern books from the Bellot Collection.
The event was a wonderful celebration of the importance of cultural exchange, and it further cemented our partnership with Bowen Education, one of our main collaborators for our annual Chinese New Year celebrations.
Public Menorah Lighting – Didsbury Library
Didsbury hosted a wonderful Public Menorah Lighting to mark the eight-day festival of Hanukkah. The event was well attended and filled with music, dancing, and a warm community spirit. Children received gift bags, enjoyed delicious donuts, and took part in crafts at the library stall, creating beautiful Star of David decorations. A fire performer wowed the crowds, and the highlight of the evening was the Menorah lighting, accompanied by words from Rabbi Mendel Vilenkin and the Lord Mayor Cllr Carmine Grimshaw. It was a truly special celebration, and Didsbury Library were delighted to be part of it.
Manchester Libraries Joins the Libraries Development Framework
Manchester City Council are among the first group of Local Authorities to have their library services join the Arts Council England’s Libraries Development Framework. This is a demonstration of a high quality library service. To meet the criteria of the framework, the library service demonstrates innovative and creative work around data, local communities, partnerships, and strategy, and is committed to the ethics and values of public libraries. Manchester ‘Strongly Met’ each criteria, which is the highest possible assessment. This reflects the high level of use of our libraries – including Central Library, the most visited public library in the country.
Read more at our Manchester Libraries blog.
Disability History Month Celebration – Central Library
On Thursday 4 December, Manchester Central Library had the pleasure of hosting a free, disabled-led event organised by the Disabled People’s Archive (DPA) and North West Film Archive (NWFA). The event was a celebration of UK Disability History Month and the launch of DPA’s new project.
The theme for this year’s UK Disability History Month is ‘Disability, Life and Death’. To focus on the ‘life’ aspect of this theme, attendees spent the afternoon recognising at the joy which comes from being part of the Disabled community. A range of creative activities took place, starting with a short presentation to introduce the DPA’s new project. There was a DPA object handling table, a creative group film-making activity, a relaxed film-screening and a community lunch. Everyone enjoyed taking part in the ‘university challenge’ for PhD students, which was a great way to show off their research in accessible ways.
This was also a wonderful opportunity to learn more about DPA’s new project: “Accessing Our Hidden History”. Funded through The National Heritage Lottery Fund, this project aims to showcase the DPA through a series of events, including educational workshops, archive sessions, and a community archive outreach programme. The event was the perfect way to get us excited about the project, and we are definitely looking forward to hearing more.
From Manchester to Melbourne – New Library Cultural Partnership
Chorlton Library has entered into a unique partnership with the City of Melbourne Libraries in Australia.
It will bring Manchester and Melbourne, two UNESCO Cities of Literature, closer together through a programme of literature and cultural exchange.
The partnership will develop in the coming months and years. Melbourne libraries have already donated books about First Nation culture to Manchester Libraries which will be held in Chorlton Library and will be available for loan across the city.
Read more at our Manchester Libraries blog.
Taste Hong Kong 2025 – Build a Business
Build A Business was honoured to serve as the guest speaker on 8 December at TASTE HONG KONG, a premier conference for the food and beverage sector organised by the United Hong Kong Business Association. The team presented comprehensive resources designed to support start-ups and small businesses in achieving sustainable growth to nearly 70 industry professionals, including restaurateurs, food wholesalers, wine suppliers, independent grocery store owners, international food traders, and catering equipment suppliers. The event proved tremendously successful, genuinely adding value to Manchester’s Hong Kong food and beverage community whilst fostering meaningful connections amongst fellow food enthusiasts ahead of the lucrative Christmas and New Year trading period.
Business Support – Generator
The Christmas season at Generator reached a high point with their brilliant networking evening at the Town Hall Extension. The event was a perfect chance to reconnect with familiar faces and welcome new ones, providing a vibrant space for businesses and entrepreneurs to meet, build valuable relationships, and strengthen the Greater Manchester enterprise ecosystem. The team were also delighted to welcome their colleagues from Build A Business and the Business & IP Centre.
Guests were entertained by the incredible talents of Magic Philip, who had some pretty awesome ticks up his sleeve, it added such a memorable touch to the evening. December has been a very busy month, with 7 popular workshops taking place from Royal Mills and the Townhall Extension, alongside their busiest networking evening yet also goes to show how GM businesses and entrepreneurs are squeezing the most out of 2025!
Christmas Crafts – Gorton Library
Gorton Library embraced the festive spirit with a creative craft session for children. Young participants designed their own snowmen and made beautiful collaged Christmas cards by reusing cards from previous years. The event was full of fun, showcased some brilliant designs, and encouraged new skills in creative recycling!
Manchester Libraries Podcast!
‘Full Volume: The Manchester Libraries Podcast’ takes listeners behind the shelves of our city’s much-loved libraries. Presented by the Central Library’s own Alan Lynch, every month the podcast lifts the lid on a treasure trove of insider tips, exclusive interviews, book reviews, and much more.
Listen to Episode 11: Christmas Edition
Christmas at Brookdale Park – Newton Heath Library
Library staff braved a cold and sometimes rainy day at Brookdale Park in Newton Heath to celebrate the Christmas season. Families visited Father Christmas in his grotto, receiving a book from Read Manchester and a selection box. Everyone enjoyed free hot drinks and pies together (both savoury and mince pies!), alongside the festive craft activities, lovely stalls, and even the chance to feed reindeer! Library staff ran a festive craft activity, and the atmosphere was full of fun and cheer. It was a fantastic day enjoyed by all.
Dixons Brooklands Academy Christmas Fayre – Brooklands Library
Brooklands Library joined the festive fun at Dixons Brooklands High School’s Christmas Fayre with a vibrant library stall. Families enjoyed making bookmarks and Christmas wreaths, alongside a range of crafts and games. Thanks to Read Manchester, staff were able to gift a wonderful selection of books for all ages, delighting visitors who chose a free book to take home. It was a fantastic event that brought the community together and spread plenty of festive cheer.
Winter Welcome – Longsight Library
The Winter Welcome event at Longsight Library was a fantastic celebration of creativity and community. Artist Emma Martin from Building the Bridges brought together local organisations and residents for a day filled with festive activities. The library became a hive of creativity, with handheld lanterns and robin and flower masks being made for the evening parade. Peoplescape Theatre led a wonderful shadow puppet workshop, while the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Museum, and Jodrell Bank offered inspiring activities. At 4pm, everyone braved the cold with their lanterns for a stunning parade through Longsight! This was followed by the Christmas lights switch-on and a picnic tea for the wonderful performance at the Pakistani Community Centre.
Christmas Extravaganza – Central Library
Manchester Central Library’s Christmas Extravaganza made a spectacular return with our first ever Sunday Funday dedicated entirely to Christmas! On 14 December, 1,175 visitors from across Manchester joined us for an afternoon of festive fun, including face painting, seasonal crafts, warming refreshments, and classic carols from local choirs. Performances came from Loreto Big Band, Chinese Community Choir (Chinese Music Classroom – Chetham’s School of Music), Manchester Community Choir, Streetwise Opera, Manchester Musical Youth, and Stretford Ukulele Band.
The Saturday Film Club joined the celebrations with a special screening of Dr Seuss’s ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’ and Aardman’s ‘Arthur Christmas’. Other highlights included a Christmas sing-along and, back by popular demand, a wreath-making session. It was a truly magical day!