No! Babies can join
the library as soon as they are born. Reading
with your child not only gives them a great start in life, it also gives you
some quiet time just for each other.
Don’t worry about running up fines: there are no fines for books taken out on a child’s own library card, and you can sign up for free email reminders. You can renew books online anytime.
You can also phone 0345 60 80 196 from 9am to 7pm weekdays and 9am to 5pm Saturdays.
We know that these things happen occasionally so there is no charge for lost or damaged books if your child is under eight.
There are lots of great things for you to borrow and use, including:
- board books and lots of beautiful picture books to enjoy together
- books for helping your child learn to read
- ‘talking books’ with early stories and rhymes
- children’s DVDs
- singing and story time sessions
- a special Elmer the Elephant library card for young children.
There are lots of things in the library for parents, including:
- the latest bestsellers and all your favourite authors
- books to help you bring up your child with loads of useful information on pretty much everything you need to know
- computers to use free of charge
- information on jobs and things to do.
The e-library is open all the time.
Free books for my baby with Bookstart
You can get free books for your baby through the Bookstart scheme. There are three packs given out as your child grows:
- Bookstart Baby packs are given out by health visitors at around three months old
- Bookstart + packs are also given out by health visitors at around two years old
- Bookstart Treasure Boxes are given out through nurseries and playgroups around three years old.
Packs are available in 26 different languages and there are special packs called ‘Booktouch’ and ‘Bookshine’ for visually impaired or hearing impaired children. If you miss any of the packs at the clinic you can get them from any library.
Libraries also run ‘Bookstart baby book crawl’ so you can collect certificates for your child just for visiting the library.
It’s easy to join and it’s free. Just go along to any library to get a card and PIN and you can use any library in the county.
Standard membership
You’ll need some ID with your name on it like a credit or debit card. You can then borrow up to four items including one DVD, CD or talking book for yourself and four books for your child.
Full membership
You and your child can borrow up to:
• 20 books for three weeks,
• six talking books for three weeks,
• six CDs for one week,
• six DVDs for one week,
• two language courses for six weeks (over 16s).
You can also sign up to use the computers.
You’ll need proof of name and address for full membership.
Do we do enough to
help young parents use the library? Let us know what would make you more likely
to use the library or make it easier for you. Leave a .
