The new Winnersh microlibrary at Rainbow Park is now fully up and running, with longer opening hours. This is thanks to creative thinking and collaboration between the council and the wider community, who worked together to improve services to residents.
A couple of years ago, we recognised that the longstanding arrangement where Winnersh library was based at Forest School no longer worked. The public can’t share buildings with pupils during the school day, which meant that Winnersh library was only able to open for 11 hours a week during term time. And the increase in pupil numbers at Forest meant that the school needed more space.
We set up a working group which included Wokingham Borough Council, the Forest School and Winnersh Parish Council. We consultated with residents, who told us that they wanted to be able to access library services in Winnersh.
After looking at the options, everyone agreed that replacing the old library with a self-service library based in Winnersh Community Centre would be a good way forward. Unfortunately the Community Centre isn’t currently accessible for all users, and changes to the building would be needed.
So the working group revisited its options. Rainbow Park Community Centre was an accessible building with enough underused space to host a temporary microlibrary. We consulted with the Rainbow Park users, and were able to reassure that the library would be an addition to existing services and other activities at the Community Centre would continue undisturbed.
The microlibrary at Rainbow Park opened in May. Winnersh now has a library which is open 35 hours a week, instead of just 11. Rainbow Park Community Centre is used by many families with small children, which is bringing better access to books and learning to these families.
The cost of installing and running a self-serve microlibrary of this kind is very low, and the possible benefits for these families are huge. We believe that this microlibrary will directly support children’s development and help to narrow inequalities within this community. At the same time, the increased space at Forest School will help older children to learn and succeed.
This is the result of work by Council staff and community partners, with valuable input from the residents. We would like to thank all those involved.
If you would like to join the library, you can sign up online (just search for ‘join Wokingham Library’ or join in person at Winnersh on Thursdays between 3:30 to 6:30pm.
Extra note – Wokingham Libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge for children launches on the 29th of June and runs through to the 13th of September. This year’s theme is Read to the Beat. Please visit the Council website or your local library to find out more.
By Cllr Rachel Bishop-Firth
