Fantastic first week as custodians of Cobbett Road Hub and Library

SCA Group, along with Unexpected Places (UP) has now officially been running Cobbett Hub and Library for a week and what a week it’s been!

Many staff from SCA Group and Rosanna from UP along with several volunteers received training from Southampton City Council library staff in the final two weeks of May.

Then came our launch day on Wednesday 1 June, the day was a real success, involving some drama booked by Rosanna, a chance to meet the SCA team and understand our vision for the library, along with how we hope to create a real community hub.

Monday 6 June was a bright, sunny day, perfect for our first full day as new custodians of the library. As we opened the doors we didn’t really have any idea of how many people to expect, although the bookshelf containing books awaiting collection was packed.

All week we’ve had a steady stream of people through the doors, for many different reasons. Most of the reserved books have been collected and the book group have been steadily coming in to collect their next book to read. We’ve had lots of books returned and have got to grips with the system for sharing books around the Southampton Library network.

We’ve met several of the groups that regularly use the library space, from the toddler group to the home education group. SCA’s Advocacy Manager, Alison Noel, even stepped in to lead the singing for the library rhyme time!

Thank you to all the members of the Friends of Cobbett Road Library who have come to the hub and library to share their support for us in keeping the Cobbett Hub and Library a vibrant community library and space for the future.

We also need to give special thanks to Bob, Yan and Carolyn from Southampton Library Service who have been with us for the past three weeks, doing our training and helping us with the varied enquiries from members of the public – along with how to use the computer system and tips for hunting down hard to find books.

Fiona Price
SCA Group