Libraries Update – April 2025
Official Reopening of Chorlton Library
On Saturday 5 April, I was delighted to officially re-open Chorlton Library with the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Paul Andrews. Hundreds of people came along to the opening ceremony where they heard the choir of St Johns Church singing from the newly uncovered balcony underneath the magnificent dome in Chorlton Library. It was a great event befitting of a truly wonderful library. Read more at the Manchester Libraries Blog.
Chorlton Library Events
Chorlton Library Events mark the opening of Chorlton Library, April was full of events and activities in Chorlton Library. Events for children included the family fun day on 5 April, and there were several events for adults which were really well attended. Find out more at the Manchester Libraries blog.
Black British Book Festival at Manchester Central Library
On Saturday 28 March, 1000s of people visited Central Library for the Black British Book Festival. It was a fantastically vibrant atmosphere throughout the day. Talks included Joseph Coelho and DJ Paulette amongst others. You can read more about the event and see those talks at the Manchester Libraries blog.
Full Volume: The 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 Four: Emma Barnett
See Myself in Books
This March saw the inaugural See Myself in Books Festival take place at venues, schools and libraries across the city, as well as an online offer. Devised to complement our neurodiverse and ethnically diverse collections, the festival brought 14 authors to school pupils and a further author at our Family and Community Day at the National Football Museum on 22 March. The largest (and launch) event was held at The Stoller Hall on 18 March here author Maisie Chan and author and illustrator Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola entertained and engaged 350 children from seven schools, with UK Comics Laureate Bobby Joseph acting as MC. Pupils from Birchfields Primary became our Media Cubs reporters for the day and produced some fantastic films about the day which you can view on YouTube. We then took twelve top authors out across the city and online to speak to schools over the two weeks leading up to the Black British Book Festival on 29 March at Central Library, where Read Manchester also had a stall and engaged with families on the day. Our author line-up over the two weeks included Elle McNicoll, Farhana Islam, Ashley Thorpe and Helen Rutter amongst many others. In total, the See Myself in Books Festival attracted 105 classes to 32 events. There were 43 schools (5 were high schools) with 3469 children attending and 716 adults. A total of 804 books were gifted as part of the festival. A pupil told us “It was great to see Black authors and illustrators. It made me remember I could be whatever I want to be when I grow up”.
The Build a Business – Project Extension
Great news! The Build a Business project has secured funding for another 12 months, and we couldn’t be more excited. This means we’ll be offering even more support to local start-up businesses through new workshops, one-to-one sessions, and events over the next year. Whether you’ve just had an idea or you’re already up and running, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to learn, grow and connect with others. We’re proud to keep supporting our community’s entrepreneurs – here’s to another year of building brilliant businesses together!
Build a Business – Event with the United Hong Kong Business Association (UHBA)
Build a Business are very proud to have been invited to the United Hong Kong Business Association’s (UHBA) inaugural ceremony on 4 April 2025. During the last 12 months, phase 2 of the Build a Business project, the team have been involved in supporting the setup of UHBA, which evolved as a result of regular networking meetups we arranged to bring the Hong Kong business community together. The Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Paul Andrews and Build a Business Team Head Jonathan Ebbs were invited as the guest speakers on the day. The team felt privileged to be partnering alongside a group of driven, talented professionals from the Hong Kong community who are starting up new businesses in Greater Manchester, and we will continue to show our support, organising future networking events and workshops for this Cantonese-speaking group.
Business Events in the Generator
The Generator team have been getting ready to provide another year of support to entrepreneurs and small business owners in Manchester! Staff kicked things off with a brand-new workshop from one of their members, called ‘Content Planning for Small Businesses’, which equipped entrepreneurs with knowledge and skills to manage their social media presence in an effective and balanced way, and received plenty of glowing feedback. Staff also hosted one of their most popular workshops, ‘Mastering Canva for your Social Media’. This workshop is always a highlight of the month, and attendees leave with practical skills they can immediately apply to their designs. The Generators monthly Networking Evening continued to welcome new and familiar faces, and provide a relaxed environment for entrepreneurs to meet, share ideas and connect! It was great to host the BIPC’s event for World Intellectual Property Day, highlighting the importance of IP in the music industry with an engaging and diverse panel of speakers from across the industry. Generator staff also hosted another successful Open Day at Royal Mills, where potential new members had the opportunity to try out our facilities and learn about the business support they can access through the library.
Reopening Day – Chorlton Library
The opening of newly refurbished Chorlton Library was marked by a fantastic event. Following an impressive restoration, the Grade II listed building now looks remarkable, with its-hidden architectural features, including the dome concealed since the 1970s now revealed. The day commenced with the launch the new Lego club, which was well-attended! Various library teams came to celebrate and join in this special occasion, such as Archives+, Read Manchester and the Children’s team who hosted various craft and information stalls. Additionally local artist Mandy offered screen printing delightful Chorlton celebratory tote bags. The atmosphere was lively, with attendees participating in activities and the opportunity to return to their local library! The VIP launch and cutting of the ribbon began at 1pm as the Lord Mayor, local Councillors, executive members, contractors, designers, former and current library staff, and members of community as enjoyed the speeches and of course, the celebratory cake! It was wonderful to see the community exploring and enjoying the space again as they also enjoyed pizza and cake donated by local businesses.
Volunteers Celebrating Persian New Year – Archives+
Archives+ volunteer Rayhane delivered an engaging presentation about Nowruz (‘New Day’), the Persian New Year festival. For over 3,000 years Nowruz celebrations have been a cherished tradition in Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, and beyond. The festival usually starts on the day of the spring equinox (20-21 March) and lasts for 13 days. Rayhane told us everything about how this special time of the year is celebrated in Iran: families start preparing for Nowruz weeks in advance by cleaning their homes from top to bottom and decorating them with flowers to symbolise a new beginning. They also set up a haft-seen, or ‘seven s’s’ table, by placing on the table seven dishes holding seven symbolic foods, all starting with ‘s’ in Farsi (above is a photo of our own version)! Another popular tradition is to light fires in the street and jump over them, which is believed to bring health and good luck! Who knows, maybe next year we’ll try that one.
Earth Day – Hulme Library
Earth Day was celebrated at Hulme Library as staff organised a lovely wildflower seed planting activity, followed by a recycling game and poster making session, with thanks to the Recycle for Greater Manchester team! It’s amazing to witness the hesitancy to putting hands in the dirt, to then loving it! A pinch of seeds, a light dusting of compost to put the seeds to bed, a little water and the decorating of a seed stick and lots of happy people taking away their bee attracting, wildflowers. Next up children played a recycling game which encouraged them to learn what goes in each of the recycling bins. Afterwards children and parents made their own recycling posters based on the recycling game. Everyone had lots of interesting chats about what can be recycled and what has to go in general rubbish bins.
Earth Day – Central Library
Every year on 22 April, Earth Day inspires people all over the world to take action to protect our planet, raising awareness of the impact of the environmental crisis on the health of our communities. This year at Central Library, staff marked the day early, with a special edition of our Family Film Club on 19 April. Held every third Saturday of the month, the film club is recommended for children up to 12 years old and their grownups. 28 young cinephiles and 25 adults joined us in the Performance Space for a free screening of WALL-E with complimentary popcorn and themed crafts! Inspired by WALL-E’s love of recycling, we built some fantastic robots using reclaimed materials. To copy our design, all you need is a small cardboard box, two kitchen roll tubes, two coffee cup lids, a wooden stirrer and a lolly stick. There was also a special activity for the budding gardeners in the audience, who helped themselves to the resources they were interested in from the seed library so that they could plant tomatoes, sunflowers, strawberries and other plants to take home with them!
Book Start Gifting Event – Brooklands Library
Brooklands Library staff visited Button Lane Primary School to host a Treasure Chest gifting event which was attended by 38 children and 15 parents. The Book Start gift was presented to the class, and the contents of the bag were explained. Children were encouraged to read the stories at home and provide feedback to their teacher when returning to school. Library staff then read ‘5 Little Men in a Flying Saucer’, the children were highly engaged with the story, and the parents actively participated throughout the session. Everyone then had fun bouncing puppets and using various fabrics together as they sang song such as ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’.
Easter Craft Party – Avenue Library
During the final Saturday event prior to Easter school holidays, children at Avenue Library participated in an hour of crafts games. The children created a variety of delightful items, including spring-themed hats and bags, in preparation for any egg hunts they might have joined. The was filled with cheerful voices and smiling faces, creating a truly joyful atmosphere.
Easter Activities – Central Library
School holidays at Central Library are always a fun time as the children’s library is busier than ever with families spending time together. 25 children attended the Greek Easter Crafts session delivered by Speak Greek and attendees made cute Easter bunny-shaped egg holders. Lego Club was popular as ever, with 42 children and 27 adults attending over two sessions. 20 children and 9 adults joined us for bee-themed crafts with author of A Bee Story, by Natasha DeVoe, while over 40 children and 15 adults had a go at making collage butterflies with Nayna.
HAF Activities – Gorton and Longsight Library
Children and their families at Gorton and Longsight Library thoroughly the Holiday Activity Fund events over Easter. A wide array of exciting activities were available to choose from, including those inspired by Minecraft, Edison and Lego Robots, and learning various styles of Japanese ‘cute art’ such as Manga. In one session participants learnt how to do continuous line drawing that they then transferred into making a wire sculpture portrait.One of lunches provided became an engaging activity as children could make their own wrap by combining their own salad and dressing combinations, with delightful vegan chicken strips. One young participant shared their thoughts on HAF as they said, “I like that I get to see my friend. I also really like the activities; they are fun interactive”.
Chorlton library – Lego Club
Chorlton library now has a Lego club, we have run two sessions so far and they have been super busy and well received. We have loads and loads of wonderful Lego bricks, windows, wheels and so on, so you really can get creative, let your imagination run and challenge yourself to a big Lego build.We have had some amazing builds so far, including a swimming pool, tree house and maze. The Lego club runs on alternative Saturdays with a new colouring club on the other Saturday, both clubs are free and open to children, so come and join in the fun.
Celebrating Spring – Didsbury and Burnage Library
Burnage and Didsbury library celebrated the arrival of Spring with a seeds planting activity. It was a great opportunity for families to connect with nature and explore our collection of books encouraging all things green. Participants were able to decorate their own recycled pots with bits from previous craft activities set in the libraries. It led to a lot of creativity! They then filled the pot with compost and planted a sunflower seed to take home, along with a pack of seeds to take home to support local growth.It was a very successful launch of our Seed libraries’ initiative, now running in 9 libraries across Manchester thanks to Nature-Culture funding. Library users can access seeds, compost, compostable bookmarks and more at various locations in the city.
