Roehampton Library is a public library nestled in the local communities and caters to a wide
and diverse range of customers from Putney , Roehampton and Barnes.
The library welcomes toddlers, little children , school and college goers , students from the
University of Roehampton, adults and older residents in the true spirit of equality and
diversity. We also welcome the physically and mentally challenged and strive to make their
visits comfortable, fruitful ad satisfactory.
Various events and activities carefully planned and implemented by Roehampton Library all
through the year both in the physical space as well as in the digital environment are focussed
on community participation, skill building, leisure and entertainment and knowledge growth
and sharing.
Below is a brief overview of the events and activities undertaken at Roehampton Library -
1. The need and importance of sing and reading to children and with children can never be
over emphasised. The correct tone, pronunciation, phonetics and intonation helps them
build a rich vocabulary and develop a love of reading. To this end the library has weekly
Rhyme Time and Story Time sessions. Additional assistance is provided through after
school Reading Support Club.
2. Saturday clubs, Colouring and craft activities and Dad’s story time attract a lot of
participants. Board games like chess, scrabble, word building etc provide intellectual
stimulus.
3. Summer Reading Challenge is initiated every year at the beginning of the summer
holidays. Every attendee has to read 6 books and talk about them. Stickers, prizes and
medals are awarded.
4. Various schools and nurseries in the surrounding area bring children to the library for
Class visits, story telling, curriculum support and book selection. This is implemented
with the school literacy co-ordinator so that a properly structured timetable is in place.
5. Various after school club activities like Coding Club, Science Club, Homework Club
etc. are in place during term time.
6. The library successfully organises ESOL classes (English for Speakers of Other
Languages) The duration of the courses is generally 72-84 hours with examinations and
certification at the end. English conversation classes also take place on a weekly basis.
7. Two hour public computer use is offered to library members every day. To support this
I.T. training classes and held on general as well as specific topics for the adults and
older residents.
8. Book Clubs, Reading Groups, Poetry Groups and Knit and Natter Clubs are held
fortnightly. It gives the local community and opportunity to gather together, participate
and learn new ideas.
9. Exhibitions, Workshops, Talks, Oral History projects, Good health and Well being
lectures are held on different occasions throughout the year.
10. The month of October is celebrated as Black History Month. Various artists, authors
and organizations visit the library though pre-planned projects, workshops and
interactive sessions.
11. Special events are organised for special days like Holocaust Memorial Day, Poppy Day,
Library Week, Term Breaks and Festival days.
12. The library offers its space, furniture, computers and resources to any organization or
individual who might want to run an event for the good of the community.
13. Local councillors and MPs use the library space to interact with residents every Saturday.
Dr. Janice Fernandes is a Librarian with Roehampton Library, London for the past three years. She has been proactive in Information Literacy sessions as she feels customer service is the core of any library. She is gifted with excellent communication and presentation skills. As such she is constantly upskilling herself and her library users with team building activities.
Cite as:
Bhange, C. (2021). Get to Know a Library: Roehampton Public Library [Blog]. Retrieved from https://chinmayeebhange.blogspot.com/2021/03/get-to-know-library-meet-dr-janice.html
