In November the Haddenham Community Library marked its five year anniversary as a collaborative venture between Bucks County Council and the village community, with major public cost savings achieved through the contribution of a dedicated group of volunteers in support of the two paid staff.
Without this volunteer input, it is highly likely that the Haddenham library would have closed. Quite the contrary, Haddenham Community Library has recently been held up as an example of best practice in a local BBC TV news report – see here.
At the library's annual meeting held on Friday evening, 1st December, library trustees presented an overview of the achievements over the first five years and sketched out some of the hopes and challenges facing the community library in the future.
The meeting also provided an opportunity for the newly refurbished children's area to be formally opened, a ceremony enthusiastically conducted by the chairman of the parish council, David Truesdale – see more about the children's area of the library here.
Chairman Steve Sharp warmly acknowledged and paid tribute to all the hard work of the volunteers, without whom the library would not have prospered.
He pointed out that HCL also flourishes through the financial and moral support of local organisations. These include the Parish Council, Rectory Homes, Haddenham Screen, the Haddenham Beer Festival Trust, Rotary, Haddenham Fete, Haddenham Mummers, Haddenham Garden Centre, the Christmas Tree Festival and others.
Honorary Treasurer Tim Mozley provided a brief overview of the library finances, and emphasised the financial challenges in the coming years, reiterating the chairman's concerns that negotiations with Bucks County Council to extend the current agreement are progressing very slowly, not least because the County Council is awaiting the outcome of the proposed Local Government Reorganisation which is likely to lead to one or two unitary authorities.
Library manager Emma Foster thanked all the volunteers for their incredible dedication and commitment shown in providing the highest service levels possible, and Sue Toner highlighted the fact that a total of over four hundred local residents had attended the various events marking the library's five year anniversary celebrations in recent days.
The meeting concluded with a glowing tribute paid by Tim Mozley to the work of the Chairman, Steve Sharp, in steering the library through its first five years with energy, expertise and enthusiasm.
A full copy of the Chairman's report is available by clicking on the PDF below the images on this page.
