Skipton Library

01/06/2026

We had a fantastic day on Saturday and really enjoyed being part of Skipton Eco Day, organised by .
Colin from PhysioNet came to collect unwanted mobility aids and spectacles.
Ria and George from Village Green came along to do some seed planting. Families could choose to plant, sunflower, cornflower, pepper or basil seeds.
Our young volunteers were on hand to help children make some spinners out of old scratched CD's.
We also had a stall in the town hall highlighting all the ways in which libraries can help the environment. Of course, one of them being borrowing books!

Thank you to everyone who came along and everyone who helped out.

01/06/2026

It's Volunteer's Week!

We love Volunteers Week as it gives us an opportunity to express our thanks to all the volunteers who help to run our library. Volunteering is key to the way our libraries are run and it's wonderful that we have so many members of the community that are prepared to give up their free time to help us.

Please join us in saying a huge thank you to all the volunteers who help us. We see you, appreciate you and gratefully acknowledge everything you do.

Throughout this week, we'll be sharing volunteer profiles of some of our wonderful volunteers. If you feel inspired to volunteer with us, all the information can be found here:
https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/leisure-tourism-and-culture/libraries/library-volunteering

01/06/2026

Today we say 'hello' to June. We're hoping for some lovely warm weather this month so we can enjoy nature and the outdoors.

The World Cup starts this month, with Wimbledon also starting at the end of the month. In Library Land, we're celebrating Volunteers Week and supporting Refugee Week. Whatever you are doing this month, we hope we will see lots of you in the library.

31/05/2026

It's the end of the month; a good opportunity to review the books we have read and enjoyed this month.

Amongst library staff, we have enjoyed:

📖The Barbeque at No 9 by Jennie Godfrey,
📖No Nonsense Nutrition by Dominique Ludwig
📖 The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary
📖 Loki by Melvin Burgess

Tell us what books you enjoyed this month (or what books you didn't).

31/05/2026

Local History Month may be coming to an end, but your Local and Family History research doesn’t have to! As a member of North Yorkshire Libraries, you have free access to:

-Find My Past and Ancestry.com – These websites hold treasure troves of items for local as well as family history. You can trace the history of your local high street by looking through census records, trade directories and electoral registers. If you are looking for recent history, both have access to the 1921 census and the 1939 register. (Available in the library only)

-The British Newspaper Archive – This archive holds newspapers going back to 1700s and the articles and adverts in them are goldmines of fun facts and local intrigues. (Available in the library only)

-NewsBank – This is an excellent resource that has been archiving local and national newspapers since the 1990s and can be searched easily. If something happened locally, there might be an article in here about it. NewsBank also has access to the text of the Times newspaper for free

-The BFI collection – find films and videos on your locality and explore sharing these or demonstrating how to use this as a themed event. (Available in the library only)

-The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – Who is your local hero, the most famous person of your town? Look at the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography or online newspaper archives and see if anything has written about them.

-Online magazines (for example: BBC History/ History Today / Family Tree/Family History etc are available for download via Press Reader

Curious about your family history? You’ve come to the right place. You’ve got questions. We’ve got ancestors.

30/05/2026

If something is serialised for TV, do you watch the TV programme first, or must you absolutely read the book first?

The Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson is back with series 2 on BBC. But if you wanted to read the books first, of course we have it to borrow from North Yorkshire Libraries. It's also available as an ebook and an eaudiobook, if that suits you.

30/05/2026

It's Skipton Rotary's Eco Day today, and we're delighted to be involved once again.

The library is open today as part of Eco Day. We will have a seed planting activity with NY Village Green plus a craft activity for the kids. And we are collecting various items for recycling or reusing - bras, spectacles, hearing aids and hand or electric tools. Drop in any time between 11am and 3pm.

And don't forget, borrowing books and using the library is a very eco friendly - saving money, reducing carbon footprint and consumption.

Happy Eco Day!

29/05/2026

Tomorrow at Skipton library we have free children's craft activities for Eco Day!

Pop in between 10am and 3pm make your own Eco Spinner and do some seed planting🪴🪴🪴

29/05/2026

Would you like to meet some famous faces?
Well, with your library card you can do just that!

North Yorkshire Libraries offers all library members access to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography via the computers in the library.

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford DNB) is the national record of men and women who have shaped British history and culture, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century. This Dictionary offers concise, up-to-date biographies written by named, specialist authors. It is overseen by academic editors at Oxford University, UK, and published by Oxford University Press.

So whether you want to find out a specific person in British history, or just enjoy reading biographies, this is the perfect resource, and it's available free from the library.

29/05/2026

Swapping screens for shared activities - like reading together at bedtime - is one of the simplest ways to support your child's development and help them establish healthy screen habits right from the start. Visit Best Start in Life for more.
https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/screen-time-under-5s/