Councillors will hear Devon County Council’s vision for Exeter’s libraries next week in a report to the Exeter Board.
The County Council has been reviewing library provision in the city to ensure a coordinated and strategic approach to the city’s network of four libraries, Central, St Thomas, Pinhoe and Topsham.
Councillor Roger Croad, the Council’s Cabinet Member responsible for the library service says:
“We are investing a huge amount of money in transforming Exeter Central Library into a new multi-million pound resource for information, learning and culture at...
A new cookbook by TV chef and entrepreneur Jamie Oliver is being donated free to all 50 Devon County Council libraries in a move by publishers to make it available and accessible to everyone.
Jamie's new book, 'Save With Jamie', launched today, is in response to public demand for a cookbook about exciting food that doesn't 'break the bank'.
It includes recipes, advice and techniques to teach people recession-busting cooking skills, to help families under financial pressure to shop carefully, cook cleverly and to eat well with less waste.
A national scheme offering ‘books on prescription' to people with mental health problems is to be rolled out across Devon.
Devon County Council has teamed up with leading independent charity The Reading Agency and the Society of Chief Librarians to help launch the Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme, which aims to use reading as a tool to help those who suffer from conditions such as depression, anxiety, stress, phobias and some eating disorders.
The new initiative, which is the first national books on prescription scheme for England, provides self-help reading as an...
Devon County Council has teamed up with BBC Radio Devon to help make it easier for residents to take part in the station’s big ‘Test the County’ quiz and raise money for BBC Children in Need.
This year quiz packs, which cost just £6, are available to purchase from all 50 of Devon County Council’s Libraries, as well as by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope and a cheque to Radio Devon.
Test the County will start at 7pm on Thursday 17th January 2013 with the questions asked live on the radio by Judi Spiers.
Those taking part will be playing against teams all...
A record number of children in Devon returned to school this year as better readers thanks to their local library. Over 8,000 children participated in the Summer Reading Challenge, which is a massive 30% more than took part last year and a new record for the County.
Councillor Andrea Davis, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Health and Wellbeing, said: “Reading is a vital part of a child’s development and improving literacy levels amongst our children is a top priority so I'm delighted that schemes like this are encouraging more children to read.
Devon author Hilary Mantel recently became the first British writer to win the Man Booker Prize for Fiction twice, after her novel Bring up the Bodies was named the best book of the year.
To celebrate her success Devon County Council’s Library Service is ordering additional copies of her books, and offering free reservations on all her titles until Christmas.
Devon’s full library catalogue can also be accessed online at www.devon.gov.uk/libraries . The website offers full search facilities to help people find and reserve books, films, music, audio books...
