Volunteering for North Yorkshire Libraries has been celebrated at an event in Bilton House in Harrogate on 4 June 2019.
Many of the volunteers attended and it was hosted by the Chairman of the North Yorkshire County Council, Jim Clark, who acknowledged and paid thanks to the essential part that volunteering has for the libraries.
Cllr Jim Clark said:
The library was very much a part of the community during my childhood.
While things have now with the internet and the access to information, libraries still remain a valuable part for many, helping have a fuller life.
In North Yorkshire libraries have some impressive statistics with 823,000 per year visits across the county.
But volunteering has become a vital part of running them and I can’t praise enough the work that the many volunteers do.
Without the volunteers, we wouldn’t have the libraries.
Grassington Hub and Community Library was awarded the library of the year with Elshinta Marsden and Ingrid Baggaley attending to receive the certificate
The Library is part of the Grassington Hub and is an important resource for locals and visitors. It has become one-stop-shop providing a tourist centre and outreach to those that can’t get to the library in person. They provide books for people in care homes or those at home that just can’t get out – they are an example of a library doing many more things than they ever used to.
Ingrid Baggaley said:
I moved to the area, one and half years ago, because I enjoy riding bikes and area around Grassington
For me I wanted to be part of the community and to meet new people – volunteering gave me the perfect way of doing that and now it is difficult to walk down the street without knowing people!
The library is also a meeting place for the many people that use it, such as young mums.
Elshinta Marsden said:
I just really enjoy reading and like Ingrid, wanted to meet people in the area – the library was perfect for that.
