Come and see the new designs planned for the library interior. Library Services are running a public engagement session on Saturday 24th November 2018 from 11:00-15:00 at the Roger Ascham Library Site. This is a free drop-in event and all are welcome.
Our wonderful team of story sharers are volunteering again this term to read to small groups of reception children from Milton Road Primary School. The children will be walking across to the Milton Road Library bus with their teacher Mrs Bliss and clambering aboard to explore and share the wonderful story books in the collection. Many thanks to Marion, Jenny, Helen and Chris for their support.
The bus is our temporary provision whilst the building is redeveloped. It offers a surprising number of books and is open on four days of the week (see above for opening times).
Many thanks to Jannett Klinke for sharing these photos from the old building. So looking forward to seeing the spaces we will be opening up soon in our exciting new building.
Hard at work installing the new and colourful hoardings outside of the library site to brighten the corner! Thank you for everyone who contributed in one way of another.
View more pictures on the Friends of Milton Road Library Facebook page.
So thrilled to see the display panels beginning to come off the press at Anglia Graphics! We can’t wait for them to be put up at the end of next week. The artwork looks fantastic, artist Jo Tunmer has done a great job in combining the drawings into a magical landscape. So so excited to see this taking shape.
Great news for a Friday afternoon! Huge thanks to the brilliant Anglia Graphics in Swavesey who’ve agreed to support our The Art of Reading project by printing the hoardings at a significantly reduced price. The project will now cost a total of £2,750 and having raised a magnificent £1,250 from 62 donors, as well as funds from the City Council and other sponsors, we’re just a few hundred pounds short of our target! Here’s a glimpse of what’s to come – one of the stretches of artwork created from some of the children’s drawings by the fantastic Patsy Rathbone! Do help us reach the target by heading to our Crowdfunding page if you haven’t already given!
Our JustGiving Crowdfunding page
Big thanks to young filmmaker Ciaran Tunmer who has made this short film about the day we spent at his former school, Milton Road Primary School, as part of our The Art of Reading project. Enjoy! And please share…
As agreed the portico from the old building will be reinstated as the entrance to the new facility. The stonework was carefully removed and stored before the main demolition started. Work to clear the site has, however, had to be put on hold at present because more contamination was unexpectedly found beneath the building and removing it needs careful planning.
Press Release
Milton Road Library is a valued and important civic building in this residential area between Chesterton and Arbury. It has recently been demolished as part of a redevelopment plan to create an improved library and community space (with flats above). There will be a much improved garden area as part of this with doors out from the children’s area plus places to sit and plants and trees to enjoy. We plan for it to be inviting and welcoming for all (not just library users).
A number of trees were removed and all have been fully pollarded to clear access. What had been a green and leafy corner passed by hundreds of people each day has become a blank building site surrounded by large hoardings – these will be there until March 2019 at the earliest.
Our plan is for a project that is as joyous and inclusive as possible, involving our youngest members of our communities and their families and educators. Members of the library steering group and artist Jo Tunmer ran a whole day workshop last Friday involving the whole of Milton Road Primary School. In doing so the children were asked:
A total of 253 pieces of art were created and elements from them will be included in the new coverings for the hoarding. It is expected that some of the work will also be displayed in the new library when it reopens.
Friends of Milton Road Library plan to work with the County Council and the developers to transform the hoardings around the current building site with some of the drawings, creating a temporary gallery that celebrates the children’s creativity and that everyone can enjoy. To do this we need to raise funds. www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/theartofreading
Today every child in a local primary school has been involved in a project run by volunteers and the Friends of Milton Road Library called The Art of Reading. The children have been thinking about the stories they enjoy, and produced some wonderful drawings and writing.
The organisers hope to take some of the children’s drawings and use them to transform the ugly grey hoardings around the new library building site into a fantastic temporary artwork for everyone to enjoy. The children’s work will be displayed for a year or so while the new library is being built, turning the site into a vibrant celebration of the creativity of the Milton Road community.
Donate to our Just Giving project
Although everyone involved is donating their time for free, it would cost about £4,000 to produce enough panels cover the entire hoarding. We hope the council and developers will help, but we are also running a fundraising campaign and hope that you can help. The more we raise, the bigger the display will be. Please, donate what you can – even a small gift will help make this idea a reality! And please tell your family and friends, share it on social media, and do get in touch if you have any ideas about how to make this happen!