Jen joined Friends of Stirchley Library in December 2023 as FOSL’s Volunteer Coordinator. Here she explains more about her role and what Stirchley Library means to her…
How are you involved with Friends of Stirchley Library?
I’m the volunteer and community coordinator appointed in December 2023. My role includes training and supporting the volunteers, and engaging with the broader Stirchley community. I’ll also be chatting to local schools and community groups about what they’d like from their local library, and encouraging some interesting book-related activities.
What does the library mean to you?
Growing up locally, Stirchley Library was somewhere me and my mum would go almost weekly to get books out. I loved fiction but I also loved history, and I would get books out which transported me to strange and wonderful past worlds. Stirchley was also an important part of my children’s reading lives. They loved the separate children’s reading room, and they’d pick up books and find a spot to relax and read them. Every summer holiday they’d also do the reading trails set up by the local libraries. They’d compete with each other, and the challenge made them read more!
Can you recommend a good read?
I’m a member of Stirchley’s dystopian book club, and the libraries serve us well in getting copies for the club. What I love about book clubs is that they get you reading things you may never have read otherwise. My favourite book discovered through book club is This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.