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Friends of Highgate Library
NEWSLETTER |
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Our AGM on 13 March marked the start of another year of activities and events for the Friends. A large audience turned up to enjoy a talk by Stephen Denford and David Hayes about the Camden History Society’s new publication Streets of Highgate (on sale at the library for £7.50). It includes a lively account of Highgate library’s history, from its opening in 1906, at the heart of Highgate New Town. We are in N19 here, not NW5 or N6, but this book reminds us that our library serves an area of great diversity in Camden’s Highgate Ward.
Camden’s new head of libraries is in post at last, and it’s now time to plan ahead. While money has been spent on other libraries in Camden, Highgate has been rather left out. We have a fine listed building, but it is only open to the public for 32 hours a week. The challenge is to find ways of measuring the value to all the residents in the neighbourhood of having a good public library within convenient walking distance, then seek to release more of this value. Let’s try to extend and diversify the library’s use, but never lose sight of its basic purpose, of providing local users with a wide choice of the books they want to refer to, borrow and read.
HAPPINESS AND SOCIAL PROGRESS. THURSDAY 19 JUNE 7.30 PM
TALK BY RICHARD LAYARD
Professor Layard is director of the Well-Being Programme in the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. His book Happiness: Lessons from a New Science was published 3 years ago. It attracted great attention from the media and general public as well as social scientists and policy makers.
With change in the air and less optimism in the nation’s mood, this seems a good time to reconsider the concept of happiness and its place in our lives and communities. How could public libraries contribute to happiness and social progress?
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Brookfield School Reading Prizes.
For the seventh year running the Friends will be donating prizes to the pupil in each class judged by the teacher to have made the most progress in reading this year. The prizes will be presented near the end of term at a special morning assembly of the whole school. Before then teachers, with Friends in support, take the winners on a visit to the Owl Bookshop in Kentish Town to choose their prizes.
Playing Bach in North London Thursday 11 September, 7.30 pm
Nicolette Moonen
We are fortunate to have Nicolette, who is the artistic director of THE BACH PLAYERS, come to speak to us about the group which was formed in 1996. As she will be telling us, the musicians were drawn together by their passion for the music of J S Bach. The music is played on original Baroque instruments and vocal music sung in its original language.
In 2007 a new series of concerts was launched from St John's Downshire Hill in Hampstead, and since then they have built up a faithful following of music lovers. Their next concert takes place on Monday, 30 June at 8.00 pm. Nicolette, who plays violin and viola, will be showing us the Baroque instruments and will even play some music for us.
Thursday 30 October Ruth Richardson will talk about her latest book Death, Dissection and the Destitute a subject suiting the date and place with Halloween next day, and Highgate Cemetery across the road.
Thursday 11 December Dr. Thomas Dormandy will talk to us about his latest book.
CAMDEN LIBRARIES
In May Mike Clarke finally took up the post vacated by David Jones last autumn, as Camden’s Head of Libraries. He was previously director of the London Libraries Development Agency. FOHL are represented on Camden Public Libraries Users Group (CPLUG), who are especially concerned at present with comparisons of libraries’ performance and evidence of declining book stocks.
HIGHGATE LIBRARY NEWS from Jane Healey, Senior Librarian
The National Year of Reading is now well under way and all libraries have had displays on the topics Read All About It and Mind and Body as well as featuring new books bought especially for the Reading Calendar display so do look out for these in the library!
June is the month that our library group is leading on and the theme for that month is Reading Escapes. We will be featuring a desert island display in Highgate Library and inviting everyone to contribute a list of their five desert island reads. So get thinking of those books that you’ve always meant to read and never had time to, or old favourites that you couldn’t bear to be without and fill in one of the display sheets that will be available in June. Library staff will be contributing as well and I am already trying to reduce my list down to five!
There will be an event on Saturday 28th June for children and families in the Secret Garden (near the Parliament Hill entrance to the heath). Library staff will be providing a morning storytelling and craft session as part of an ‘Insect Day’ which will feature pond dipping and various nature activities led by the staff of the Heath Education Centre. So get ready to escape to a desert island, to a secret garden or just into the many worlds of reading.
LIBRARY RESTORATION Fabian Watkinson tells us of progress
The excellent news is that thanks to work by Cllr Adrian Oliver the council has agreed to replace the two right-hand terracotta urns on the parapet and the elaborate wrought-iron lamp holders flanking the entrance steps which disappeared (presumed stolen) several years ago, and also to repair the fine railings which set the building off so well.
As these were all features detailed as being of special interest and quality when the Library was listed Grade II by English Heritage in November 1995, the council is to be congratulated for abiding by its legal obligation to maintain the building.
A specialist contractor has been found to make replicas of the existing urns
in the next couple of months and the railings are programmed for repair
by September. Making copies of the lamp holders is proving to be more difficult
as there are no photographs or drawings which show them in enough detail.
So if by chance you have a photograph which shows what they looked like
we
would
be very happy to borrow it!
I'm sure we are all looking forward to seeing the facade restored to its
original Edwardian glory.
READING GROUP: Margot Kafno reports
Our reading groups are held in the library every four or five weeks on a Friday afternoon. We are fortunate in being able to choose our books from a long list provided by the library. The books we read and discuss range from the classics, such as The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett - which we are reading at our next meeting - to more contemporary fiction. Occasionally we will consider the merits of a biography; the last book we read was Daughter of the Desert about the extraordinary life of Gertrude Bell, a book we all enjoyed and which elicited a lively discussion.
The meetings are friendly and relaxed and we always wind down with tea and
biscuits. Although we have enough members at present, we are beginning a
waiting list so please get in touch if you think you might
be interested in joining us. For more details contact Margot Kafno (7267
5565) or Ann Lewis (7272 1722).
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL: A big thank you from Enid Evans
Again, thank you to all members who renewed their subscriptions so promptly. Many of you added a donation for which we are very grateful.
We produce our accounts each year. However, balance sheets do not make exciting reading and the subject is quickly dispatched at the AGM. Recently, to my surprise, I found some people did not realise that we pay Camden each time we use the library (to cover insurance costs). We serve wine and many of you make a donation towards this - and we thank you. But, this still means that each meeting costs FOHL, on average, £40. This adds up and explains why we are so grateful for your generosity.
Any outstanding subscriptions (now £5; concessions £1) for this year can still be sent to me, the Hon. Treasurer at 8 Regency Lawn, Croftdown Road, NW5 1HF or left at the library in a sealed, addressed envelope. Cheques payable to FOHL.
Why not tell your neighbours and friends about FOHL? Our library is a unique
public space providing a public service for everyone in the community. As well
as using your library, joining FOHL is another way of supporting it. For very
little cost members receive a quarterly newsletter addressed and delivered
to them individually. This gives news about the library, advance notice of
meetings and other FOHL activities.
HIGHGATE LIBRARY
Group Manager: Katharine Chasey. Senior Librarian: Jane Healey.
Opening hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 10-6, Thursday 10-7, Saturday 10-5
You can renew your books at any Camden Library, or by telephone
(Highgate is on 7974 5752)
HIGHGATE LIBRARY OPENING HOURS
| The Library is open | Tuesday and Wednesday 10-6 |
| Thursday 10-7 | |
| Saturday 10-5 |
Friends of Highgate Library
(affiliated to Camden Public Library Users Group)
c/o Highgate Public Library, Chester Road, London N19 5DH
Patrons: Hunter Davies and June Rose
| President: Roger Lloyd Pack | Chairman: Richard Waddington |
| Vice President: Bert Humberstone | Vice Chairman: Fabian Watkinson |
| HonSec: Margot Kafno | Hon Treasurer: Enid Evans |