What’s on in York: Libraries Easter events start today

Stories, crafts and a craft fair happening over the Easter holidays come and check it out.

Easter Egg Hunt

Date: Tue 4 Apr – Tue 25 Apr
Time: Library opening times
Venue: Fulford Library and village
Cost: £1

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Children’s Easter Crafts

Date: Mon 10 Apr
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Venue: York Explore Library
Cost: £2

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Treasure Island Craft Club

Date: Thu 13 Apr
Time: 2.30pm – 4.30pm
Venue: Dringhouses Library
Cost: £2 per child/£5 family ticket

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Easter Stories & Crafts

Date: Thu 13 Apr
Time: 3.00pm – 4.00pm
Venue: Clifton Explore Library
Cost: £1.50

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Exciting Easter Crafts

Date: Fri 21 Apr
Time: 3.00pm – 4.00pm & 4.00pm – 5.00pm
Venue: Dringhouses Library
Cost: £2 per child/£5 family ticket

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What’s on in York: Bookbinding – Japanese Bound Books

Mar _4Japanese BooksYork Explore Library
Sat 4 Mar
10.30am – 3.30pm
£35

Japanese binding is both a decorative and functional form of bookbinding and is an easy way to bind together single sheets of paper.  It involves a technique called ‘stab stitching’ which used thread or sometimes ribbons to create a decorative effect on the outside cover.  Teaching and learning will be based on a variety of methods and these will include demonstrations of techniques and personal guidance.

Please note a kit will be provided on the day for an additional cost of £6.00, payable to the tutor.

Please bring a packed lunch, use the library cafe on site (hot and cold meals and drinks), or alternatively there are excellent cafes nearby.

Book online by clicking here or call  01904 552806.

 

Meet author Jean Harrod: A diplomat turned crime writer

York Explore Library :

Thu 7 Jul : 6.30pm – 8.00pm :

£3 or £2 with a York Card

July 7_Jean Harrod _1Jean Harrod will talk about her life as a diplomat. She worked behind the ‘Iron’ Curtain (East Berlin) during the Cold War, and the ‘Bamboo’ Curtain (Peking and Shanghai) after Mao’s death; and in many other embassies around the world.

As British Consul, Indonesia, she dealt with murders, missing persons, and a terrorist kidnapping involving Britons, working with the police on investigations and forensics. One day, she decided, she would write a series of diplomatic crime novels.

Deadly Diplomacy was published in 2015, featuring diplomat Jess Turner and Australian DI Sangster. A British businesswoman is brutally murdered in a Queensland resort. Jess travels to Brisbane to liaise with the police and the help the victim’s journalist sister. They soon become the killer’s target.

Deadly Deceit (June 2016) is set in the British Turks and Caicos Islands, Caribbean, where Jess Turner is on assignment to the Governor’s Office. The coral seas are stunning, but things are not what they seem. The locals are upset about illegal migrants from Haiti arriving on their shores, and fearful of their voodoo. The Governor is critically injured in an accident, and a brutal murder occurs. What Jess uncovers sends shockwaves all the way to London.

For more information about Jean please visit  www.jeanharrod.com or visit her on twitter: @jeanharrod.

Ticket can be bought online at www.feelinginspired.co.uk or at any York library.

There are a maximum of 60 tickets available.

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York Libraries and Theatre Royal publish progress reports

Reports from two key leisure operators in York will be debated by the Council next week.

They cover the activities of the York Explore Library team and the Theatre Royal.

The Libraries now operate as an independent “community benefit society”. They receive funding of over £2 million a year from York taxpayers so it is disappointing that the report says little about the organisations financial position. Nor are KPIs tabulated.  However, local libraries have maintained, and enhanced, their reputations over the last year. They are more outward looking with several – including Acomb – seeking to establish “Friends” support groups. They are also meeting the challenge of a, still expanding, technology sector.

Theatre Royal has re-opened following refurbishment

Theatre Royal has re-opened following refurbishment

The Theatre Royal – which is an independent trust – has had a turbulent year with performances moved to the Railway Museum while the St Leonard’s Place building was completely modernised. The work ran 6 months behind schedule which was a major challenge for the theatre’s management. Early reactions to the recently reopened theatre have been generally positive. With the Council having paid their annual grant up front to help pay for the costs of the refurbishment the theatre faces a testing few years on the financial front. The Theatre Royal is an important part of York’s cultural heritage and most residents will wish it well as it seeks to re-establish itself.

 

What’s on: Coffeehouse, debate, discussion, controversy and coffee.

Wed 4 Nov : 6.30pm – 7.30pm York Explore Library

Oct -Dec _CoffeehouseCoffeehouse : Debate, Discussion, Controversy, Coffee: Read All About It: Political journals, scandal sheets and the beginnings of journalism

This autumn’s talks take their inspiration from the 18th century origins of the Coffeehouse and look at the history of everyday things and the way this can inform our ideas and attitudes.

The autumn series is facilitated by Dr Kaley Kramer of York St John  University.

Suggested donation £3.50 or £2.50 with a York Card (includes a hot drink from York Explore’s Cafe)

Please book via www.feelinginspired.co.uk or in person at any Explore Library Adults 16+

Crimes, coffee and conversation

Tue 3 Nov : 7.00pm – 8.30pm Dringhouses Library

Date: Tue 3 Nov
Time: 7.00pm – 8.30pm
Venue: Dringhouses Library
Cost: £6 / £5 with a YorkCard

In this interactive talk you the audience are the jury, while Rosemary presents the evidence concerning who killed this WW1 heroine in a ‘locked room’ mystery which still has not been conclusively solved.Night ShoreJoin us to celebrate the launch of the new edition of this true story, by local author Rosemary Cook.  

Who killed Florence Nightingale’s Goddaughter, and why?
You decide. 

Tickets available from any Explore York Library, refreshments included.

Signed copies of ‘The Nightingale Shore Murder’ at a discounted price. 

Disabled access and toilet.

More in the libraries

Coffeehouse, debate, discussion, controversy and coffee.

Wed 4 Nov : 6.30pm – 7.30pm York Explore Library

Oct -Dec _CoffeehouseCoffeehouse : Debate, Discussion, Controversy, Coffee: Read All About It: Political journals, scandal sheets and the beginnings of journalism

This autumn’s talks take their inspiration from the 18th century origins of the Coffeehouse and look at the history of everyday things and the way this can inform our ideas and attitudes.

The autumn series is facilitated by Dr Kaley Kramer of York St John  University.

Suggested donation £3.50 or £2.50 with a York Card (includes a hot drink from York Explore’s Cafe)

Please book via www.feelinginspired.co.uk or in person at any Explore Library Adults 16+

Conversation with Helen Cadbury and Tom Harper

Date: Wed 4 Nov

Wed 4 Nov : Tickets £4.50 , £3.50 with a York card

York Explore Library 7.00pm – 8.30pm

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Gervase Phinn

Sat 21 Nov: 2.00pm – 4.00pm : York Explore Library

GervaseGervase Phinn, one of Britain’s best loved comic writers, introduces his latest book A Lesson in Love, his new tale of life in the Dales. Laughter, tears and entertainment are guaranteed!

Gervase Phinn will sign books after the talk – an ideal Christmas present for anyone who loves Yorkshire.

All the beloved characters from Gervase Phinn’s other Little Village School novel make welcome returns in this new tale of life in the Dales.

Elizabeth Stirling (formerly Devine but now newly wed to Dr Stirling), the head teacher of the newly amalgamated school must prove its worth to the parents, governors, school inspectors and the children themselves.

She must tread the narrow line between kindness and discipline with diplomacy if she is to get what she knows the school needs – and avoid an unholy row about teachers and health and safety.

There are lessons learned and characters shaped in this most entertaining of novels. Humour and raw emotion, laced with humour and wicked observations pepper Gervase Phinn’s writing and this book is a wonderful example.

Tickets priced £6 or £5 with a Yorkcard are available from  www.feelinginspired.co.uk , or from any Explore York Library

Partners in crime: an evening with Mari Hannah and Kate Ellis

Tue 24 Nov: 6.30pm – 7.30pm : York Explore Library

Partners In Crime Poster PicIf you love police procedural don’t miss crime writers Mari Hannah (creator of the Kate Daniels novels) and Kate Ellis (author of the Wesley Peterson series) interviewed about their lives in crime writing by Chris Titley from The York Mix this November.

Mari will also be introducing her new standalone thriller The Silent Room, while Kate has a new novel out in her series featuring DI Joe Plantagenet, set in the northern city of Eborby….now does that remind you of anywhere?

Please book via www.feelinginspired.co.uk or in person at any Explore York Library.

Tickets are £4.50 or £3.50 with a YorkCard

Bar available on the night.

Adults 16+

 

Library attendances down in York

Overall use of York’s libraries fell by over 3000 last year.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

However just over 1 million visits were recorded which is still above the average for City’s of a similar size.

Every Library in the City except Fulford showed a reduction.

The overall fall would have been even greater had it not been for the newly opened Rowntree Park library which attracted nearly 50,000 users. However the new library depended on a large number of special events to attract visitors and it is too early to judge its long term attractiveness.

Acomb Explore Library

Acomb Explore Library

It appears that the Council has taken its eye off the ball recently with the controversial plan to privatise the library service having apparently affected staff morale while at the same time monopolising senior management time.

Even Labour Party supporters are unhappy with this plan with one member taking the opportunity to speak against the proposals at the last Council meeting.

The concern is that Labour are trying to distance themselves from the library service before reducing the subsidy available (and thereby forcing closures).

The largest drop in numbers was at the Acomb Library. This may be because special events – such as evenings with prominent authors – have been fewer in number recently.

A plan to locate Council customer facing staff from the housing and neighbourhood teams at the library was scrapped by Labour when they took office in 2011. This made it more difficult for the building to become the “hub” for activities in the Acomb area.