After eighteen months of preparation and planning, Peasedown St John’s new community library opened on Monday this week, with special guest – New York Times Bestselling Author, Adrian Tinniswood OBE.

The library will be run by more than twenty volunteers at St John’s Community Hall, and will be open for twelve hours a week, stocked with 700 books for residents to enjoy.

Also available will be access to the ‘Click and Collect’ service, which means that residents will be able to order and return books available from the LibrariesWest catalogue, as well as return books borrowed from other libraries. New library members can also be enrolled.

Cllr Karen Walker, Operations Manager for Peasedown St John Community Library, said: “After lots of preparation, consultation and hard work, our new Peasedown St John Community Library is open.

"I’m grateful to everyone to help us get where we are today. I would particularly like to thank Cllr Sarah Bevan and Nathan Hartley, who have done a phenomenal amount of work behind the scenes to prepare for this new service to be launched for our residents.

“I would also like to thank Cllr Karen Warrington, the former Cabinet Member for Libraries, who helped instigate the project in February 2018, our sponsors – B&NES Council and Curo, and staff from the local authority who have been with us every step of the way, in particular, Helen Beckwith and Sara Dixon.

“Peasedown St John’s new library wouldn’t be opening without our fantastic volunteers. Over twenty people have joined the team, enabling us to open our doors for twelve hours a week, providing a range of information and resources for the public to enjoy.”

The library, located at St John’s Community Hall, 33a St John’s Close, Peasedown St John (BA2 8JG) is part of the B&NES Council network of libraries, meaning any user can take out a book locally and return it to Bath library, or vice versa. Or they can take home a book from Midsomer Norton library and return it to Peasedown St John.

At the official opening was Adrian Tinniswood OBE. As well as winning international awards for his book, The Long Weekend: Life in the English Country House between the Wars, he is also a visiting Fellow in Heritage and History at Bath Spa University. He said: “Every home should have books in it. Every community should have its own library. And everyone involved in this marvellous new initiative should be very proud indeed.”

The library will be open on Mondays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Other services include free access to the internet, tea and coffee making facilities, and A4 photocopying/scanning services.

If you can help the project, please email: [email protected] or visit: www.facebook.com/PSJcommunitylibrary.