Aura Libraries Flintshire: exclusive National Storytelling Week event

January 30 to February 6 marks this year's National Storytelling Week: a time to celebrate sharing our own stories, and the stories we love most. Whilst we are unable to celebrate in person this year, we will be sharing stories online via our Facebook and YouTube page.

We are delighted to announce local Storyteller Fiona Collins will be joining in with our celebrations by sharing videos with us and taking part in an exclusive event. On Thursda,y February 4, Fiona will be joining Aura Libraries for a magical and interactive Family Storytelling Session, aimed at families and primary aged children. The will take place on Zoom and there are only 20 spaces available: please email library manager Susannah Hill to register for the event: susannah.hill@aura.wales

Join our National Storytelling Week celebrations online: you can find us on Facebook (@LlyfrgelloeddAuraLibraries) and on YouTube by searching for 'Aura Wales'. We hope you enjoy the stories we share and would love to hear about your favourite stories. Send us a message or even a picture of video telling us about your favourite stories!

National Storytelling Week event with Aura Libraries

Aura Library Link - Community Calls

Tackling social isolation and loneliness is something we feel strongly about, and strive for our library service to be a port of call for anyone who may need us. Our 'Aura Library Link - Community Calls' service provides a telephone link for Flintshire residents who are lonely, socially isolated or finding it difficult to get out.

Now more than ever, we hope the community can look to its library service for support and stay connected by making every conversation count. The Community Calls provide library users with a verbal link through conversation and allow them to share their thoughts and enjoy talking with a friendly and familiar voice. We encourage anyone who is feeling lonely or socially isolated to get in touch with us: this service is free of charge and open to all Flintshire residents. We can arrange to phone you at a suitable time, and would suggest that you pop the kettle on and make a 'paned' before we begin! We will do our best to make sure you feel comfortable to share your thoughts with us and chat away.

To register for our Community Calls service, please phone your local library or email libraries@aura.wales and provide us with your contact details so we can arrange a suitable time to get in touch.

Your local library contact is:

• Broughton 01352 703760

• Buckley 01352 703860

• Connah's Quay 01352 703730

• Flint 01352 703737

• Holywell 01352 703850

• Mold 01352 703780

Online events with Aura Libraries

To connect with our library members online, we have put together a schedule of online library events, hosted on Zoom. We also post weekly Rhymetime and Storytime videos on our Facebook and YouTube page.

Our online events are as follows:

• Family History Group: second Tuesday of the month 2pm-3pm

• Reading Friends Shared Reading Group daytime session: second Tuesday of the month 11am-noon

• Reading Friends Shared Reading Group evening session: second Wednesday of the month 7pm-8pm

• Rhymetime: third Thursday of the month 2pm-3pm

• Children's Reading Group: last Thursday of the month 4pm-5pm

To register for any of our online events, please email Susannah Hill at susannah.hill@aura.wales

Select & Collect Service

Aura Library members can 'Select and Collect' books online, phone 01352 703750 or email libraries@aura.wales. You can browse our catalogue at www.aura.wales/flintshire-library-catalogue/ and place a hold on items to collect from the library counter. We will just need to know your library membership number, a contact telephone number and email address, your book requests/preferences, and your preferred collection point.

Loans will be for the usual three week period, however we will automatically renew items if they are not returned after three weeks: no fines will be placed. We do however encourage you to return these items as soon as you can so that they may be re-issued to another borrower.

To keep you and our colleagues safe we are limiting the number of people in the building at any one time and will require you to provide contact details for the Track and Trace system. At the moment, book collections are by appointment only. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like any further information about our Select and Collect service. Further information can be found here: www.aura.wales/select-and-collect-service/

From everyone here at Aura Libraries, thank you for reading, stay safe and we hope to hear from you or see you soon! Whilst we may be facing difficult times, remember: we are always united by books!

• Aura is a charitable, not-for-profit, organisation responsible for managing the majority of leisure, libraries and heritage services in Flintshire. Aura is owned by its employees and operates for the benefit of local communities.