National Storytelling Week

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 social media pages.

As part of our National Storytelling Week celebrations, local storyteller Fiona Collins will be joining us for an extra special Family Storytelling session this Thursday (February 4) 2pm-2.45pm. Fiona has a special interest in the tales of Wales and stories about strong girls and women. The session will take place on Zoom and there are only 20 spaces available: please email Library Manager Susannah Hill to grab one of the last spaces: susannah.hill@aura.wales We hope you can join us!

Fiona has very kindly shared three wonderful videos with us in Welsh and English which we will be sharing throughout this week, along with some of our own Aura Libraries storytime sessions, so be sure to keep an eye out on our social media pages.

Join our National Storytelling Week celebrations by interacting with us on Facebook (@LlyfrgelloeddAuraLibraries), Twitter (@LibFlintshire) and Instagram (@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!

New Instagram page

We have created an Aura Libraries Instagram page to further connect with our library members and community online. We will be sharing lots of images and videos of book reviews, weekly and monthly events, plus lots of information about what your local library can do for you. You can find us at: @llyfrgelloeddauralibraries

Author of the Month

Titles by Ann Patchett

Titles by Ann Patchett

Our February 2021 Author of the Month is Ann Patchett

American author Ann is one of our all time favourite authors here at Aura Libraries. Often her novels have been described as family sagas, sometimes spanning over decades - such as in her most recent novel The Dutch House - and occupied with familial themes including grief and loss: each one moving and powerful in its own way.

Whether you are discovering her books for the very first time, or revisiting some of his best known and loved titles, we have put together a small reading list to set you off on an Ann Patchett adventure! Enjoy!

Where it all began: Patron Saint of Liars (1992) Taft (1994) and The Magician’s Assistant (1997)

The game changers: Bel Canto (2015) Run (2007)

Most recently: Commonwealth (2016) The Dutch House (2019)

Aura Libraries top recommendation: State of Wonder (2011)

What is your favourite Ann Patchett novel? Let us know what you think of our choices or which ones you would have chosen! Leave a comment below or get in touch on Twitter (@LibFlintshire) and Facebook (@LlyfrgelloeddAuraLibraries)

Big Welsh Rhymetime

We are so excited to be taking part in the Big Welsh Rhymetime again this year, which will celebrated between February 8-14. Join us for not one but two extra special live Rhymetime sessions hosted via Zoom: the first session will take place on Thursday, February 11 at 2pm, and the second will take place on Friday, February 12 at 10.30am. Please email Susannah Hill at susannah.hill@aura.wales to receive the meeting ID and passcode.

You can also pick up a Big Welsh Rhymetime pack which includes stickers and a certificate from your local Aura Library when collecting a Select and Collect order. As a reminder, our libraries are currently open for Select and Collect orders only: to make an order please phone us on 01352 703750, or email us at 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.

Join the library online

If you are not already a library member but would like to become one, you can join online via the Aura Wales website for free instant access to hundreds of library resources such as e-books, audiobooks, e-magazines and e-comics. These resources can be downloaded straight from our online providers such as Borrowbox, RBdigital and pressreader to a PC, Laptop or Mac. Alternatively, you can download the apps directly to a smartphone or tablet.

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.