The Powys Community Sector Emergency Response Team (C-SERT) and PAVO have worked together to distribute small grants to help communities respond to the Covid-19 emergency.
The C-SERT Emergency Fund is drawn from the Welsh Government Integrated Care Fund (ICF), allocated by the Powys Regional Partnership Board (RPB).
The funding means that books ordered by residents of Builth and the surrounding area can be dispatched to Builth library, placed in a Cabinet to comply with quarantine rules and then be ready for collection with the help of the Friends of the Library.
A volunteer network, and partner arrangement are in place to deliver bags to anyone unable to collect.
The Treasurer of the Friends group, David Sutherland said:
“It is wonderful to be able to help to extend the library’s Order-and-collect scheme to everyone in the Builth area and we’re very grateful for the grant monies received from the C-SERT Emergency Fund.
Reading is a great way to support everyone’s mental health alongside helping children with their literacy skills, so we believe that everyone should be given the opportunity to access a free book or two using the library service. Our book cabinets extend the opening hours so that many more people can collect library books locally, even while the actual libraries are still closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
We set up the Friends group in August 2019, and we’re working hard to fundraise and look at opportunities to lever in extra funds and grants to help sustain the library’s future. We are registered with the Powys Lottery if anyone would like to support us and prior to lockdown we’d already held a couple of local community events which were well attended.
The grant will now give us more scope to develop the library’s reach, and we are all excited and looking forward to seeing the library reopen as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
Books can be arranged from the Click and Collect Service via the Powys County Council website
www.powys.gov.uk/libraries or by contacting the library service on 01597 827460
or by emailing library(at)powys.gov.uk
All the latest news from The Friends of Builth Library can be found on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/builthlibraryfriends
PHOTO Left to right: Friends of Builth Wells Library will be supporting local residents who wish to collect library books from the Builth branch via the new Order and Collect service. Left to right are: Wendy Evans, Trish Thomas (librarian), Kath Jones, Anna Page – and her dog Bertie – Pam Hibbert and David Sutherland.
