Suffolk Libraries’ 10th birthday: a month of celebration and reflection
On 1 August, Suffolk Libraries marked 10 years since being launched as the independent charity which runs the county’s library service.
Throughout the month of August, many of our libraries, staff members, partners and friends helped to celebrate this momentous achievement.
At the beginning of the month, we opened two new libraries in Suffolk. Our new Moreton Hall Library officially opened on 1 August, with our new Red Lodge weekly pop-up session opening on 2 August.
We’ve also been sent videos of our friends and partners wishing us happy birthday, including local councillors, authors, and even representatives of the Royal Family. The full playlist is available to watch on our YouTube channel.
Bruce Leeke, CEO of Suffolk Libraries, wrote an insightful blog piece about the amazing work all our staff do for our local communities, reflecting on our achievements over the past ten years and how we’ve made lives better for the people of Suffolk.
Bruce added:
“Suffolk Libraries is run by the community for the benefit of the community and that’s why almost everything we do is down to the amazing people who work and volunteer for our charity. This celebration is also about paying tribute to everyone who has played a role in our story; our staff, community groups and the many people who’ve supported our journey over the past ten years.
“Looking to the future we’re now focused on how we can help people in the tough times ahead with many people struggling with the cost of living and rising energy bills. We already offer a wide range of services that provide a lifeline to people on low incomes and are making plans to expand what we offer.
"Our story is one of making an impact on people’s lives in times of adversity and we are committed to carry on doing this.”
At the beginning of July, we launched a campaign inviting customers to share their stories about how the library has impacted them. We received an overwhelming number of heart-warming stories from people of all walks of life, telling us how our library services have helped them in some way. You can read some of their stories on our website.
Many of our libraries got involved with birthday celebrations in inspiring and innovative ways, including craft sessions and birthday walls. The East of England Co-op kindly gifted all our libraries vouchers to spend on party hats, cakes, decorations and more to help us mark the occasion.
Customers and staff at Bury St Edmunds Library celebrated with cake-cutting and live music performances from a local band, and Chantry Library also held a party which was attended by the Mayor of Ipswich, Councillor John Cook.
Suffolk Libraries also took up residence in a pop-up beach hut at Lowestoft from 13 to 21 August, kindly sponsored by Adnams. The beach hut was host to fun family activities, book giveaways, storytelling and more. People came along to pick up a book and relax by the beach.
We also teamed up with theatrical group Get Lost and Found to host free engaging and interactive performances of Mischief and Mystery in Moomin Valley for children aged 4-7 to enjoy during the summer holidays.
Though our birthday month is now over, we still have lots of exciting events coming up, including live music performances as part of our Sounds of Nashville mini-tour with local musician Tony James Shevlin and Iowa-based singer-songwriter Scott Stilwell.
Thank you to all our staff, volunteers, partners and customers who helped us celebrate 10 amazing years of being an independent charity.
