The Library is Haddenham in no longer part of Bucks County Council services, but is managed and operated as a company limited by guarantee – effectively, a local not-for-profit organisation with a board of trustees. Its Chairman is Steve Sharp. This new arrangement came into being in November 2012, and the Library now depends on a large group of volunteers to help support the manager, Emma Barrett, and her one full-time member of staff.
The continuing availability of library services in the village is therefore utterly dependent on fundraising as, even with generous volunteer help, the financial needs are considerable. In order to achieve independent status, a number of local organisations and businesses rallied round (their names are shown on the library's honours board in the entrance). They include Rectory Homes and McCormicks, and a number of other local organisations, namely: Community Leadership Fund, Haddenham Book Sale, Haddenham Fete, Haddenham Garden Centre, Haddenham Mummers, Haddenham Parish Council, Haddenham Village Society, Lloyds Bank plc, Local Area Forum,Paul Wilkinson Photography, PurpleFrog, the Rotary Club of Haddenham, Systech Illinois, and a number of other anonymous donors.
One of the most significant grants for the library (alongside those from Rectory Homes and the Parish Council) has come from the Haddenham Beer Festival. The grant has enabled the library to increase its facilities and resources for greater community use with:
- portable tables for events
- refurbishment of the children's library area
- stacking chairs to enable bigger meetings to be held
- gadgets to go with a new Wi-fi system for the public
- computer upgrades for the public
- more greetings cards, including some locally sourced from Paul Wilkinson, and reading glasses
- the honours board referred to above
The grant has also supported the purchase of extra non-fiction books.
Haddenham Community Library, as the name suggests, is very much part of the community. Its AGM is being held this coming Friday, 30th August, beginning at 7.30pm. Why not come along and hear more about the way the Library operates, and show your support for this wonderful village resource?
