Halton's book of the year 2010 award

Halton's Book of the year 2010 has been awarded to Justin Cronin for his novel 'The passage'. Readers voted online and at the special event.

The story involves people who are bound together in ways they cannot comprehend. For each of them a door is about to open into a future they could not have imagined. And a journey is about to begin. It is an epic journey that will take them through a world transformed by man's darkest dreams, to the very heart of what it means to be human. And beyond. THE PASSAGE.

You can read a review by Jackie Millington here.

Ashley Adventures display at Widnes

Children from Ashley School Widnes attended the Shanghai World Expo in October 2010.

You will be able to learn about their experiences adventures and to meet some of them in person during a week-long display at Widnes library commencing 7 February

The display will include a colourful collage of photos from the trip, which shows the group coaching international crowds of visitors at the Expo, playing sit-down volleyball with the gold medal-winning Chinese Paralympics team, visiting the circus, and learning Tai Chi in a Shaolin temple.

Understanding family internet safety

Do you want to be able to:

Recognise online threats?
Understand how to protect your family online?
Recognise what safe and responsible behaviour entails?
Be more aware of online activities?

Then come along to one of our drop-in sessions to be held at Widnes library on Tuesday 8 February between 1.30pm and 3.00pm and Halton Lea library on Tuesday 8 February between 11.00am and 11.30am or Friday 11 February between 2.30pm and 3.00pm

Fun with Spot

Drop into your local Library and meet Spot the dog. Stories, rhymes and crafts for under 5’s

Wed 2nd March 10.30 – 11.30 Ditton Library
Fri 4th March 11.00 – 12.00 Widnes Library
Fri 11th March 10.30 – 11.30 Runcorn Library
Sat 12th March 2.00 – 3.00 Halton Lea Library

For more details contact
Allyson Watt
Runcorn Library
01928 565973

Storytelling at Widnes

National Storytelling Week starts on 29th January. As part of the celebrations, Paul Langford is coming to Widnes library to read extracts from 'The Goalkeepers Revenge and other stories' by Bill Naughton.

Described as “One of the greatest collections of children's stories ever written, recalling times and places from our past where the pace of life was so different from the hectic world we rush around in today.” “Charming, funny , dark & uplifting The stories are charming, funny, dark and uplifting and crackle with life and the inside knowledge of a bygone age”

An extract from the Society for Storytelling

"Storytelling can be found enriching lives everywhere: from nurseries to schools, from bereavement aids in hospitals to strengthening communication in the business sphere, from reminiscence centres to support groups for those with special needs, and in theatrical performances. The sharing between teller and listener empowers, feeding the imagination from one generation to the next."

Widnes Library
Kingsway Learning Centre
Wednesday February 2nd
4pm – 5pm

Flashback fiction

The winners of the Flashback Fiction will be reading their prize winning entries at Widnes Library from 12 o’clock Friday 21st January. The event will be hosted by professional author Angela Topping who judged the competition and will be offering her thoughts on the entries and writing in general

Flashback Fiction was a writing competition open to anyone living in the North West. Entrants were asked to weave a historical tale of no more than 500 words and submit on-line.

The local winner was Annie Marsh with ‘The Church and The People’ along with runner up Carole Mather’s ‘The Princess’. Stories by Jim Sheenan and Aimee Furness were also highly commended.

Books on wheels

No, your eyes do not deceive! - Books on wheels.

Halton Libraries works together with the Women's Royal Volunteer Service to deliver books to people who are unable to get to a library.

We'd like to hear from people who are interested in either selecting books for housebound people or delivering books to them at home. If you think you'd like to be involved as a volunteer, please call Halton Lea library on 01928 704455 or Widnes library on 0151 907 8383. Alternatively, email Nikki at nicola.lamb@halton.gov.uk

If you know of anyone who would like to make use of this home delivery service for the housebound, please pass on our contact details and we can arrange to explain our service to them in more detail.

p.s. It's not just women - men can volunteer too.

Family history clinics

Did you know we hold family history clinics at three of our libraries?

At Halton Lea they are on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Monday of the month at 10.00am. The next one is on 17th January.

At Widnes they are on the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month at 10.00am. The next one is on 17th January

At Runcorn they are on the 1st Monday of the month at 10.00am. They next one is on 7th February

Whatever stage you are up to with your genealogical research, you're very welcome to drop in on any of the sessions.

Internet for beginners

Halton Libraries have been running practical IT sessions whose aim is to introduce people to the government's 'My Guide' website. They've been so popular that we've arranged some more. There are two at Widnes library - one on Wednesday 2 February at 2.00pm and one on Friday 4 February at 10.00am. There is also one at Halton Lea library on Monday 7 February at 10.00am. The sessions last about two hours. The 'My Guide' website is for people who are completely new to the internet.

If you would like to book a place, call us at Widnes 0151 907 8383 or Halton Lea on 01928 704455, or leave your details with us next time you're in the library.

Build your CV

Do you need to create or update a CV? Widnes library will be running regular group sessions to show people how easy it is using the government's NEXT STEP website to create a CV.

Sessions will be every Thursday from 3pm to 5pm and the first one is on 13th January. Participants will be using a computer so it's important that you have basic IT skills.

If you would like to take part in one of the sessions, call us on 0151 9078383 or leave your details at the desk next time you're in Widnes library

Your new catalogue

Halton Libaries will be soon be using a new system to manage its stock. Whilst this is great news for our staff, it's even better news for our customers.

You will be able to search for library items, renew things you have on loan, place reservations on items that may be out at the moment (no charge for this), see if you have any messages, keep an eye on any fines you may have incurred and use the 'list' facility to store your favourite authors, titles or subjects. From the main page you can also link to our social networking sites or access our other onine library services. Information about other Halton Borough Council services is also just one click away.

The new system keeps a record of the things you've borrowed and most of our catalogue entries items even display as pictures! Come back to the Reading Room soon so we can let you know how and when you can access our exciting new catalogue.