Northfields Community Library was established in 2020 to provide library and community services to residents in this area of Ealing. Despite the challenges of the last year, we have established a vibrant online and face to face offer, which we are now focused upon expanding. We are close to achieving our target of opening for 30 hours a week and we are now aiming to develop more onsite activities and become more financially sustainable. We have an enthusiastic volunteer base in place to support this and the support of our partners, Ealing Council.
Vision
Our vision is to create a vibrant and welcoming library that provides place for everyone, recognising the diversity of the local community, particularly in terms of age and ethnicity. We aim to help children and young people achieve, support economic opportunities, facilitate better mental and physical health for all residents, and encourage independent and active lives amongst older residents.
Our priorities will be to train and support volunteers to run a high quality library service from April 2020; increase active use of the library; and to be creative and entrepreneurial in growing our income streams. We will develop our full offer through a phased build up over three years.
By doing so we will achieve our mission to create more reasons for residents to visit the library regularly – for reading, for study, as social space, and to learn new skills. As a result we expect to deliver: improvements to literacy and learning; greater opportunities for social interaction countering social isolation and loneliness; greater support to individuals into the labour market; a space for different sections of the community to become more cohesive; and a vibrant hub adding to the vitality of the high street.
Values
Northfields Community Library will:
Offer and Impact
Our offer will consist of services and activities designed around a core set of objectives and marketed through different platforms to reach everyone in the community. The offer includes:
