The Summer Reading Challenge: behind the scenes
Each summer Richmond upon Thames Library Services, along with many other library authorities in the country, challenge children aged 4 – 11 to read six library books between mid-July and…
Bibliotherapy: reading for health
Search self-help in the libraries' catalogue or in a book shop and you will find hundreds of publications. From anxiety, self-esteem and grief to mindfulness, self-care and cognitive behavioural therapy…
Cover Story 2017-2018: The best in teen fiction
Once again librarians from our Reading and Learning Teams have been busy promoting Cover Story our annual pick of the most exciting teen fiction reads published throughout the last year. Our…
Bookstart – never too young to enjoy books
No one is ever too young to be introduced to a book! Librarians are passionate about the value of reading and enjoying stories. They know that from a very early…
What’s hot? The most in-demand books of 2017
In 2013 with the introduction of a new library management system, Spydus, the reservations service was reinvented as a click-and-collect process to rival that of any commercial organisation. We can now…
From Writer to Author – help along the way
Other than time, inspiration and a passion for writing what can you do to make it from writer to author? Writers' Clubs and Creative Writing Courses Joining a writers' group…
Are you a Book Groupie?
In the rather anonymous building next door to Richmond Library there is a dimly-lit room full of rolling book stacks. On these shelves lives a collection of more than 150…
Jane Austen: Behind the Bonnets
Many will have seen the films and luscious TV adaptations of Austen's works - beautiful costumes, affluent country houses, the carriages. And at the centre of it all, an attractive…
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – 20th Anniversary
Just in case you didn't know ..... Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, written by Rowling, was published twenty years ago on 26 June 1997 and fans across the globe…
Cityread – London 1583: Spies. Suspicion. Murder.
As another fantastic Cityread London festival draws to a close we are tired but triumphant here in Richmond upon Thames Library Services. We have put on 11 successful Elizabethan themed…