Category Archives: General Information

Events, General Information

Kimberley Short Story Writing Competition

ARE WORDS YOUR PASSION?

Have you ever wanted to share your words with others?

Umberto Eco says: “To survive you should share your stories.”

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

£100 for the winner and £50 each for two runners up


 Write a Short Story about anything you choose:

  • Between 1000 and 1500 words in length, anonymous (for the purposes of judging) and in doc, docx or pdf format.
  • Fill out the entry form here on the Library Website at http://castlecarylibrary.org.uk/story and upload your story.
  • You will receive an email confirming your submission.
  • Submit by midnight on November 30th 2021.
  • You can submit more than one entry.
  • You must be 18 or over.

Les Kimberley had great plans to take the library forward to become a hub for activities to benefit the residents of Castle Cary. This competition, in his name, is one which sets out to bring the strands of reading and creative writing together for members of our community. 

In the words of Annie Proulx, “You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.”

Children, Events, General Information

SUMMER READING CHALLENGE

Summer Reading Challenge 2021 – Great fun for children, this year’s challenge has an environmental theme. Pick up a leaflet from the library to find out more and to help the Wild World Heroes solve problems. Collect stickers every time you finish a book and add these to your poster plus go online for more exciting things to do! Ask in the library and see online at: www.wildworldheroes.org.uk

And for both adults and children, don’t forget to organise your summer reading by dropping into our lovely little library to borrow a few books. Remember too, you can order virtually any book through the online catalogue at www.librarieswest.org.uk where you can also find plenty of online materials such as e-books and digital newspapers and magazines, as well as a range of activities for all ages.

The library is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10am – 12.30pm and 2pm – 4.30pm plus Saturday 10am – 12.30pm. We have a lot of new books in the library, both fiction and non-fiction, including children’s, so it is well worth paying us a visit.

We look forward to seeing you in our lovely local library soon.

www.castlecarylibrary.org.uk

General Information

Browsing Is Back!

    More good news! You are now able to come into the library and browse through all the books we hold. We have quite a few new books as well so it is certainly worth coming along to have a look. Please note that browsing will be limited to one person at a time in line with Covid-19 guidance. Our opening hours have been extended as well and are now:

    Tuesday            10.00am – 12.30pm & 2.00pm – 4.30pm

    Wednesday      10.00am – 12.30pm & 2.00pm – 4.30pm

    Friday                 10.00am – 12.30pm & 2.00pm – 4.30pm

    Saturday             10.00am – 12.30pm

    We look forward to welcoming you back into our lovely community library.

    General Information

    Good News – Partial Re-opening

    Good news! We are partially re-opening from Tuesday 23rd March.

    In line with Covid-19 guidance, we will be open for a click and collect service only, so no browsing or use of the public computer as yet. Books can be reserved from the extensive listing on www.librarieswest.org.uk and you will be notified when they are at the library for collection.

    The library will be open mornings only, 10am to 12 noon, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. We look forward to seeing you!

    General Information

    News during Lockdown

    In common with all but the four main Somerset libraries, Castle Cary’s Community Library remains closed during the current lockdown. We are looking forward to reopening as soon as we are able to. Please note that, during lockdown, fines on books that become overdue will be waived until we are able to reopen.

    In the meantime, there are plenty of online materials such as e-books and digital newspapers and magazines that can still be accessed via the Libraries West website, as well as a range of activities for all ages – please visit www.librarieswest.org.uk and see what is on offer. You can also search the extensive catalogue of books on this website and decide which ones you would like to read once our own library reopens. We are also pleased to announce that Castle Cary Library has a lot of new books, both fiction and non-fiction, for all ages. For reviews and articles concerning children’s books we recommend the website www.booksforkeeps.co.uk.

    We had a successful ‘book bag’ project before Christmas, with over 200 children’s books being loaned out to 50 families just in time for lockdown. These books can be returned once we reopen and more borrowed. News on this will be available through Castle Cary Primary School.

    A book sale is planned for Saturday 5th June at the Shambles, restrictions permitting.

    We look forward to seeing you in our lovely local library soon.

    General Information

    Jigsaw Puzzles to Borrow

    From January the Library is planning to have a jigsaw puzzle loan system with puzzles available to loan just like the library books.

    If anyone has any jigsaws (must be complete, no missing pieces) and would like to donate these to us, please drop them into the library where they will be available for anyone to borrow.

    General Information

    We were back to no browsing

    BUT browsing is now back from 4 December 2020!

    Readers are NOT limited to the books in Castle Cary Library but can also place reservations on books in any library in Libraries West, and these should usually arrive in our library for collection about a week after ordering.

    Borrowers can either go to the Libraries West website and reserve the particular books they want by computer, and will then get notified when the book arrives at Castle Cary for collection.

    OR they can use the “Library Choice” method (also known as “order and collect” – it has been renamed – pick up a form from Castle Cary Library to fill in and return with as much detail as they can about books they like to read, and we will hunt out books for them..

    Children’s books are of course available in the same way.

    General Information

    Book Sale Postponed

    This event postponed to a later date.

    The Friends of Castle Cary Library will be holding a book sale at the Market House, Castle Cary on Saturday, 7th November 9.30 -12 noon.

    Come, find a selection of new, nearly new and not so new books and support us in raising funds for Library Development.

    Please wear a mask and follow the one-way system to
    keep this event Covid-safe

    General Information

    Browsing the Library

    We’ve managed it! Despite our small space we’ve created an area where our borrowers can hunt for their own books again! It’s not the whole library, but it’s a good section – and if you think what you want is in the rest of the library we are only too happy to look for you.

    If you have got used to us finding books for you, please do go on asking us to do it. We have resources which tell us which other authors are like your favourites.