The Cornerstone Library in Churchtown in Southport is celebrating its first birthday with cake and bubbly this weekend.
The library’s first anniversary is on Monday 28th October but the librarians have decided to throw a party this Saturday (26th October 2024).
From 10am – 1pm regular customers and volunteers are invited to the celebration, looking at all the achievements over the past year.
The library, which is located at The Cornerstone Methodist Church on Marshside Road, is run entirely by volunteers and operated by the North Meols Library Association.
It was opened following a 10-year campaign to reopen a library in the northern half of Southport after Churchtown Library was among seven in Sefton which were closed during council cuts in 2013.
The official opening last year was carried out by Heartbeat TV star David Lonsdale.
Gillian Vaughan, Chair of the Trustees said: “It’s an amazing achievement to be celebrating our first birthday.
“It’s really a tribute to our 30-plus volunteers and trustees who have worked together to overcome obstacles and make this happen!
“After opening in October last year we saw our 2,000th customer in August. We have sent invitations to our 95 regular users and hope they can celebrate with us.
“I would like to say a big thanks to The Cornerstone Methodist Church which provides our accommodation.”
The library has two computers for public use, with printing available at a small fee. It is also home to over 2,000 books. The community can sign up for a free membership, meaning they can take up to six books home.
It has also recently added a jigsaw loan service and its new story time and rhyme session for children of pre-school age will launch on 7th November.
Trustee Kim Ardron said: “It has been a very long road.
“It took 10 years to get to the opening, it’s a bit of a surprise to get here.
“As we grow, I know we can go from strength to strength.”
Cornerstone predominately sees customers aged 59 and over and young children, they are trying to expand their service to reach all ages.
The group is looking for a communications volunteer to help manage their social media pages, promoting events and the library.
Anyone who is interested can email admin@cornerstonelibrary.org
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