Carnegie Libraries Exhibition for Birmingham Heritage Week

October 1, 2025

As part of Birmingham Heritage Week 2025, Stirchley Library hosted a special exhibition celebrating the city’s Carnegie libraries.

The display explored the history, architecture, and community role of Birmingham’s Carnegie buildings, which were funded in the early 20th century by Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Through research, photographs, and interpretation boards, visitors could learn about the enduring features of these much-loved libraries – from their light-filled reading rooms and junior sections to their distinctive architectural details.

Highlights included the story of Northfield Library, rebuilt after an arson attack in 1914, and boards focusing on how design choices – skylights, windows, …

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More Tales from Stirchley Story Garden

August 21, 2025

As part of this year’s Story Garden summer reading challenge, children at Stirchley Library stepped outside into the garden behind the library and turned plants, trees, and wildlife into inspiration for new tales.

Armed with pencils, paper, and plenty of imagination, they gave the garden voices, secrets, and adventures – from magical nests and hidden treasures to talking plants and mysterious pathways. Some chose to write stories, while others sketched and coloured their ideas, filling the garden with characters and colour.

Before we finished, everyone painted stones with garden characters and story sparks. Some of these have now been hidden …

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The Secret(ish) Garden Behind the Library

June 17, 2025

Tucked behind the library, past the last row of books and beyond the back wall, is a quiet garden. It might seem small at first glance, but a few of weekends ago, it opened into something much bigger — a world of whispered secrets, talking plants, buried treasure, and magical names like Moonlit Hollow and Caterpillar Bloom.

As part of our storytelling activity for families and children, we invited library visitors to step into this space, slow down, and really look at what was growing. Lavender, brambles, elder, strawberries, and more — each plant had a story to tell, …

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Stitch It In Time: The First Mending Café at Stirchley Library

June 13, 2025

Last Saturday, 6th June, was the very first Mending Café at Stirchley Library – and what a lovely way to spend the afternoon. There was a great turnout, with people bringing along all sorts of items in need of care and attention: a jumper with a hole (or two in it), a t-shirt which was mainly holes!, a torn dress, fraying oven gloves, and other well-loved garments waiting for a new lease of life.

For some, it was a chance to reconnect with old skills; for others, it was their very first time trying something like darning – and they …

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New revised proposal from Birmingham City Council

November 3, 2024

Birmingham City Council has recently published a revised proposal following the final phase of consultation that took place between 23rd August and 27th September. In their revised proposal,Stirchley Library hours will remain open for 21 hours a week! This is fantastic news for our community, as it represents a return to a 3 day a week professionally staffed library service. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Save Stirchley Librarycampaign and made sure that the Council has been aware just how important the library is to us all.

Whilst this is good news for Stirchley …

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