I would have advertised the date of this meeting on the blog - but there was a mix-up with emails. I knew that the AGM was coming up, but I hadn't got the email telling me the date.
Then I met Janet, the Chair of HOWLS (Hay-on-Wye Library Supporters) in the Deli on Thursday morning, and she told me it was that evening.
The first thing to report is that there is such a lot happening in the Library now. Siân Platten, from Powys Library Services, gave a run down of all the different clubs and activities that go on in the Library.
Storytime is very popular, especially with small children. This involves singing, and the Library has some instruments they can hand out, but they need more, and instruments that are more suitable for small hands (and robust!). This would be things like shaker eggs and other percussion instruments. HOWLS has some money in the bank account, and it was agreed that someone would look into buying new instruments. The other thing that would make Storytime better would be finger or glove puppets, and that's being looked into, too.
Lego Club is also popular, mostly for unstructured play, and there is a small Craft Group for adults that they are hoping will grow - that's on Monday evenings.
Before all the disruptions of lockdown, the Library had a session called Enchanted Hour, which usually had a speaker, often a local author. They are hoping to revisit the format - but have no budget to pay speakers. They would also like to expand the format from local authors talking about their work to green issues, which overlaps nicely with the work the Library CIC is doing in promoting local resilience.
The CIC was responsible for organising the Citizens' Assembly at the Swan in January, discussing local food production, and the results of that meeting are being collated now. At the meeting, survey forms were filled in to give an idea of what skills people could offer, and it is hoped that those people will be able to get together and carry the project forward. A film of the meeting is being edited too, which is the sort of thing that could be shown at Enchanted Hour.
There will be a Climate Week in June, and Mike Eccles, who has been working very hard on all this, is hoping to be able to plan an event to discuss local energy production for Hay.
The Library also runs a Library of Things - the loan of ipads has been very popular, especially for children who need to do homework online, or people doing online courses. Where the loans have been long term, the county's digital librarian, Tilly, has been able to obtain some reconditioned laptops to be given to those families that need them.
The Library of Things also loans out balance bikes for children who are starting to learn to cycle.
They have a range of bags to borrow, containing sports equipment, games and activities to promote development for children (with information to help parents to use them), and memory boxes for people with dementia. These are picnic hampers containing objects on a theme, like Gardening, or On the Beach - some of the local residential homes have expressed an interest in them. They also loan out blood pressure monitors.
Then there are collections of books that can be loaned out on various subjects - for people with dementia and their carers and families, or for people with particular health problems or mental health problems. There is also a collection on cancer support from Macmillan Cancer Care, and one for children on bereavement.
There is a popular Welsh conversation group. At the moment the people taking part are mostly fluent Welsh speakers, so there is some thought being taken to start another group for beginners in Welsh.
Some families spend time in the library after school, and the school is keen to work on projects with the Library.
From all of this, it is clear that the Library is not just a place for borrowing books - it is a vital community resource. The comment at the meeting was "We need a bigger library!"
It will only be possible to keep the library we have if the contract between the CIC and Powys County Council remains in force. A five year contract was signed, and it has some time to run, but negotiations for a new contract have to start eighteen months before the old one ends. This would ensure the continuation of provision of library staff, and the present opening hours. The CIC has contracted to provide £5,000 a year to pay towards the upkeep of the library, which costs about £25,000 a year to run. If they can't pay that, then the contract is broken. Around the country, councils are having to make hard decisions about funding, which usually means cutting funding to the arts and services like libraries, so it's very important that we protect Hay Library.
Mike Eccles has been working very hard to get local people or businesses to support the Library by means of standing orders - anything from £500 a year down to £50 a year, and about £3,000 is being raised by this method. Hay Festival used to provide a grant to the Library, but over the last few years the management team has changed, and the consequences of lockdown have meant that they have had to rethink their financial priorities. Other big employers in Hay are the Pill Factory, Huws Grey, and Hay and Brecon Farmers. The Pill Factory chooses a different charity to support every year, so cannot be a source of continuous funding for the library.
So the Library desperately needs new supporters, and Mike had a stack of standing order forms with him.
To find out more about the different activities at the Library, or to pick up a standing order form (or to borrow a book!) visit the Library:
Monday 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 6pm
Thursday 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 6pm
Friday 1.30pm to 6pm
Saturday 10am to 12.30pm
And visit the Powys County Council website and StoriPowys for information about all the services the Library provides.
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