Fundraiser with Sugarbeat and Swamp Truck, 18 January

We're very proud to be hosting a corker of a fundraising gig this month with two great local bands, Sugarbeat and Swamp Truck. All profits from the event, which takes place on Friday 18 January at the Portland Arms, will go to support activities at Arbury Court Library.

Sugarbeat are Cambridge's premier punk pop covers band, playing foot-stomping classics including anything from The Sonics to Ceelo Green via The Buzzcocks, Talking Heads, Orange Juice, The Killers and Miles Kane - guaranteed to get people dancing. Southern rockers Swamp Truck are a Cambridge-based five-piece playing good time tunes from the likes of Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams and Steelers Wheel. Expect a night of cracking tunes and great fun, and all in support of your favourite library.

The gig starts at 7.30pm on Friday 18 January at the Portland Arms in Chesterton Road, Cambridge. Tickets cost £5 and can be bought on the door or in advance from www.greenmind.co.uk. We look forward to seeing you there!

Uncover the secrets of science at Arbury Court Library

A hands-on science exhibition is to visit Arbury Court Library this summer.

Visitors will have the chance to explore the secrets of light, electricity, magnetism and the microscopic world as part of Science Lab, a touring exhibit that will be hosted at the branch from 11-30 August.

The exhibition, which also includes a series of science shows and workshops, will also visit ten other libraries in the county as part of a project from The Cambridge Science Centre and Cambridgeshire Libraries.

To find out more about the project, visit the Science Lab website - and to help plan your visit, you can check Arbury Court Library's opening times here.

Arbury Carnival: we need your books!

The Friends of Arbury Library will once again be running a book stall at Arbury Carnival this year.

If you have any second-hand books you would like to donate for the stall, please get in touch on thefriendsofarburylibrary@gmail.com. Children's books would be especially welcome!

If you're attending the carnival, which takes place on Saturday 9 June, please drop in at our stall and say hello. For more information about the event visit www.arburycarnival.org

Strawberry Fair Launch First Slam Poetry Competition For Age 13 - 25 Across Cambridgeshire

STRAWBERRY SLAM POETRY COMPETITION:
www.strawberry-slam.org.uk

Strawberry Fair has launched the first poetry slam competition for young people age 13 - 25 from across Cambridgeshire.  The competition is free to enter and prizes include a prime performance slot at the Fair and opportunities to be mentored by critically acclaimed poets.

If you write poetry, love poetry and want to share your poetry, then we would love to hear from you.  You can use beatbox, rap, mc-ing, polyvocal or acapella, as well as poetry and spoken word.  All you need to do to enter is:

1. Go to www.strawberry-slam.org.uk
2. Follow the instructions to post a clip of yourself reading or reciting your poem.
3. Wait to hear whether you have been selected as one of 12 finalists to go through to compete in the Strawberry Slam final on Saturday 2 June.

Deadline for entries: Saturday 26 May 2012

The entries will be judged by five professional poets from London’s Point Blank Poets Collective and the 12 finalists will be announced on Tuesday 29 May.  The final will be held in the brand new Strawberry Slam stage at the Fair on Saturday 2 June, 7 - 10pm.  The Slam will be hosted by the formidable Hollie McNish (a former UK Slam Poetry Champion) and emcee Inja, with guest performances from renowned spoken word artists Bridget Minamore, Sabrina Mahfouz, Dean Atta and Deanna Rodger.

Competition Rules:    

• Entrants must be aged 13 – 25 years
• Poems must be your own work.
• Poems must be no longer than 2 minutes in length when read aloud
• You can enter in groups / crews as well as on your own (up to five people allowed in a group)
• You can use beatbox, rap, mc-ing, polyvocal and acapella, as well as poetry and spoken word
• You can read your poetry from the page or recite it from heart
• You must be available on 2 June 2010, 7 – 8.30pm to compete in the final Strawberry Slam.

To find out more visit www.strawberry-slam.org.uk or get in touch with amy@strawberry-fair.org.uk

Public meeting & AGM: Wed 29 Feb

Users of Arbury Court Library are invited to attend a public meeting to discuss the library’s future next week.

The meeting – titled ‘What next for our Library?’ – will take place at Arbury Community Centre on Wednesday, 29 February at 7pm.

Speakers include Christine May, Head of Cambridgeshire Libraries, and Ben Slade, Principal of the Manor School.

The public meeting will be followed by FOAL’s annual general meeting, and anyone who wishes to join the group will be able to sign up on the night.

National Libraries Day, 4 February 2012

Friends of Arbury Library is backing a county-wide library membership drive to coincide with National Libraries Day this weekend.

Cambridgeshire County Council is asking existing borrowers to bring a friend to their local library branch on Saturday 4 February, to show them what they are missing out on and encourage them to join.

FOAL supports this initiative and would encourage anyone to drop into Arbury Court Library on Saturday, to see for themselves why its users love it so much. The library is open on Saturday from 10am to 3pm.

National Libraries Day is devoted to celebrating all types of libraries, library users, staff and supporters across the UK. For more  information on the nationwide event, visit http://nationallibrariesday.org.uk

• All users of Arbury Court Library are invited FOAL’s Public Meeting & AGM, which takes place at Arbury Community Centre on Wednesday February 29 at 7pm. Speakers will include Christine May, Head of Cambridgeshire Libraries and Ben Slade, Principal of The Manor School

Winner Gets A Bit Lost In Doddington

Thousands of children voted in a close run competition to name the winner of the Read it Again! Cambridgeshire Children's Picture Book Award.

A special presentation was held at Doddington, yesterday, to announce author Chris Haughton (Walker Books) winner of the award for his book 'A Bit Lost' - a delightful and witty story about a little owl who falls out of a nest and is just "a bit lost".

Chris received the award from last year's winner, Amy Husband at the special presentation event held at Doddington Village Hall and attended by nearly 200 children from local schools.

"Read it Again!" is a unique award for a first time picture book where the words and pictures are the work of one individual. It is run by Cambridgeshire County Council and judged solely by children who live or go to school in Cambridgeshire

This year, over 5,600 children from 48 local schools and 8 children's reading groups took part in the voting and it was the closest finish ever.

Cambridgeshire County Councillor David Harty, Cabinet Member for Learning, said; "This was the sixth year we have hosted "Read it Again!" and it was probably our strongest shortlist ever. This was borne out by the fact that all eight titles on the shortlist received hundreds of votes with the top three titles each exceeding 1,000 votes. "Read it Again! encourages children to read, explore and discuss picture books and promotes exciting new talent in the world of children's books."

Authors and books shortlisted:

"Magpie's Treasure" by Kate Slater [Andersen]
"The Wychwood Fairies" by Faye Durston [Macmillan]
"Not Me!" by Nicola Killen [Egmont]
"Birdsong" by Ellie Sandall [Egmont]
"The Talent Show" by Jo Hodgkinson [Andersen]
"Immi" by Karin Littlewood [Gullane]
"Annie Hoot and the Knitting Extravaganza" [Andersen]