Library of the Month: Newton Heath Library

Things are really busy at Newton Heath Library! We underwent a refurbishment at the end of last year closing for 4 weeks to have a mini makeover. The old carpet was replaced by a fabulous new floor, the library was painted, and some new furniture and PC benching has completed the fantastic new look. The feedback from regular customers – they love it!

We celebrated the reopening the week before Christmas with pie and peas, cakes and mince pies and lots of visitors such as local community groups, a local school, ex-library staff and the Lord Mayor! We also featured a photo exhibition titled ‘Up North’ featuring black and white portraits of library visitors (with a surprise portrait from one of our library staff members!). 

Library staff have also attended several engagement events in parks this year including a cold and 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 with lots of freebies and even the chance to feed a 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. 

On a regular basis, we have a variety of activities spread throughout the week starting off on a Monday with our very popular Tiny Tots and Toddler Time at 11am. The parents and carers love the sessions! Baby Daniel’s mum says that his speech has really come along since he started coming to the library. Before Christmas they even had a visit from Father Christmas to gift the little ones a lovely book each.

Then in the afternoon, the age friendly digital group runs from 1-3pm where the members meet and learn about all things digital. We then finish off the day with our very well attended Lego club from 4-5pm, where the children and families take part in a weekly building challenge. 

Tuesday is the day that the Citizens Advice Bureau holds their weekly advice drop-in (first come, first served) from 9:30am-12:30pm. Then after school during term time, our volunteer Hannah runs a Homework Club for primary school aged children from 3-4:30pm. Working in partnership with Housing Services, the library offers a Kindness Rail where anyone in need of a winter coat can come along to Newton Heath Library on a Tuesday where Patsy from Housing will be on hand to provide a winter coat and further information. 

Wednesday sees local Heathfields Day Centre attendees have their weekly tea, coffee and craft meetup at 11am-12noon and then our local knitting group, the Newton Knitters, knit and chat from 2-4pm. 

Thursday has Manchester Adult Education Service running Talk English sessions both in the morning and in the afternoon.

On Friday, up to 25 over-55s pop into the library from 10:30am-12:30pm for our age-friendly coffee morning. Tea is also served along with biscuits. Occasionally one of the members will also bring in a cake they have made! Just as well we have the armchair exercises session at 1-2pm! On the second Friday of each month, we hold a Manchester City Council Housing Officer surgery from 11am-12noon.

On Saturday lunchtimes, The Bread and Butter Thing operates out of Newton Heath Library from 12-12:30pm distributing surplus donated food to the local community. We then finish the week with our Hello Saturday Club for children. Lots of families attend from 2-3pm where they make a creation to take home.

In school holidays, we regularly hold children’s craft activities themed around events such as The Summer Reading Challenge, Green Libraries Week and many others including Halloween and Christmas. Before summer, staff promoted the library and the Summer Reading Challenge at local school parent evenings and assemblies. We also had author and illustrator Dapo Adeola visit the library to run a drawing workshop with a local primary school and to promote the Summer Reading Challenge; the theme of which was Story Garden and was illustrated by Dapo himself.

We also take part in the Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF) where in summer, Christmas and Easter holidays we provide craft or STEM activities from 11am-3pm with lunch provided for the children taking part. Over the Christmas holidays this included a party session where the children took part in fun crafts such as making their own party poppers then once they’d had lunch they enjoyed a silent disco where they created their own playlist of their favourite songs and then had a boogie. The other session was a LEGO Robotics workshop which the children have already had previously and requested it again as they loved it so much!

Newton Heath Library is our ‘Green’ library and for this, is perfectly located on the banks of the canal and surrounded by the local geese and swan population. We have a seed library where people can take home packets of seeds and we are a clean up hub and hold litter picks. We also have a defibrillator installed on the outside of the building.

Newton Heath Library opening hours:

Monday: 9am-8pm

Tuesday: 9am-5pm

Wednesday: 9am-5pm

Thursday: 9am-1pm

Friday: 9am-5pm

Saturday: 9am-5pm

Sunday: Closed