With the nationwide lockdown period coming to an end and West Yorkshire being placed into Tier 3 shortly and for the foreseeable future, we thought it would be timely to give you 4 pieces of positive news from the Library in what has been a difficult year.
Library Reopening
Firstly, we are pleased to confirm that the Library will re-open on Thursday 3rd December from 12 noon to 6pm. Opening hours will then be:
Monday – Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, 10am to 4pm.
Thursdays, 12- 6pm. Closed on Sundays.
Christmas Eve, 10-4pm.
Closed Christmas Day to 28th inclusive.
Reopening Tuesday 29th to Thursday 31st December, 10-4pm.
Closed for New Year, reopening on Monday 4th January, 10-4pm.
The Library will continue to operate with Covid secure measures in place, these will include:
• Library Members being required to sign in on arrival to support the Government’s Track and Trace initiative which is a legal requirement that the Library must follow.
• All returned items and all items handled in the Library by Members will be quarantined for a period of 72 hours.
• A one-way system will be in operation around the Library.
• Anti-bacterial hand sanitiser stations will be located in each room of the Library for Members to use.
• Face coverings/visors will need to be worn in the Library at all times by everyone.
• To assist with social distancing the seating arrangement in the Library has been modified so that no chairs are positioned too closely together.
We appreciate that these measures are not ideal but we are grateful for the way Members have followed them during the time when we have been open for business.
Drama Online
Secondly, we are able to confirm that we have taken out an annual subscription for the Library to Drama Online allowing all Library Members access to over 80 streamed productions from the National Theatre, The Globe Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company as well as a number of live audio recordings from LA Theatre Works. We are providing this service for Members at no additional cost and we hope that it will provide you all with hours of theatrical entertainment at a time when some Members are restricted in visiting the Library to access our audio-visual collections.
To access Drama Online please follow the following instructions:
1) Go to the www.dramaonlinelibrary.com website.
2) Click on the login button at the top of the screen.
3) Scroll down to the Library Card Number box (ignore the Username/ Password boxes) and type in TheLeedsLibraryxxxx. Where the xxxx is shown here, replace it with your 4 digit membership number, ignore any “A” letters. This is unique to your membership and cannot be used by anyone else.
4) When you have accessed the Leeds Library sponsored page, clicking on the Video link will provide access to the theatre performances, whilst clicking on Audio will give access to the LA Theatre works plays.
The National Theatre collection of performances alone are stunning to watch and we are really pleased that we have been able to extend the benefits of your Library membership in this way.
Library Events
Thirdly, there will be a series of events in December which we are programming for your entertainment. The first of these is the online launch on Tuesday 1st December of Christmas Presents: Ten Poems to Give and Receive from Candlestick Press, a mini-anthology of new festive poems by leading contemporary poets. There will be readings from a starry host of contributors in the UK and overseas. For details of this event and how to register and for our other events please visit our website events page.
Library Works
Finally, we have really missed having Members in the Library and are really looking forward to seeing many familiar faces again in the coming weeks. To try and make the best use of the period of closure we have taken the opportunity to undertake several pieces of work in the Library that would have otherwise caused significant disruption had we been open. This has included the installation of a new fire alarm system and the repair and painting of the ceilings in the Library Office (Smoke Room) and gents’ toilet. We have had the boiler fixed, our electrical appliances have been PAT tested and checked and one of the map cabinets has been repaired. We have invested in some new furniture that we hope will provide greater comfort for Members. We have also had our ground floor windows painted with festive artwork and Christmas decorations have been put up in all the rooms. We hope as many of you as possible get the chance to see the Library in the next few weeks.
For those of you who are unable to visit the Library please enjoy using our eBooks Library, PressReader service (contact us for access details) and new Drama Online service. We will also continue with our postal and delivery and collection services.
If we can help in any way, please contact us during our opening hours and we’ll do our best to assist you.
