Sapcote Community Library

04/09/2026

Children's reading for pleasure is at its lowest level in 20 years, according to the National Literacy Trust - just 33% of 8 to 18 year olds say they enjoy reading in their free time now, down from 51% two decades ago.

The steepest declines in children and young people’s reading occurs during early adolescence. While 1 in 2 (46.9%) children aged 8 to 11 enjoy reading, this decreases to 3 in 10 (29.5%) of those aged 11 to 14, while daily reading more than halves over the same period.

By the age of 14 to 16, just 1 in 5 (18.8%) boys say they enjoy reading, compared with 2 in 5 (37.7%) girls.

The Reading Agency's research backs this up: reading for pleasure predicts a child's life outcomes more reliably than their parents' education or socioeconomic background.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻?

Books. A good range of teen fiction, plus an ever-growing graphic novel selection - our supply grows with demand, so more teens through the door means more stock.

Snacks. Pop and chocolate, now in stock. A small thing, but pairing a book with a chocolate bar turns a visit into a treat.

Free wifi, free computer access, cheap printing. Available whenever we're open.

Books and Brews - many preloved books, most are 50p but some are for donation (you choose the price). Tomorrow we'll also have a few retro aircraft books - collectable and technical.

All reading counts. Graphic novels, football scores online, technical manuals - if it's processed and understood, it's reading. But being surrounded by books gives that extra nudge toward reading for pleasure.

As we move towards the winter please consider how you could encourage your teen to visit the library. If there's something more we can do let us know. And if you'd like to volunteer to run an occasional board games night for teens please do reach out. As a community lets get these teens through the doors.

03/09/2026

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻

12th September is the last day of the challenge.
If your children have been completing the book challenge, pop in and collect their certificates, medals and goodies.

And remember - all completed challenges go towards winning the school trophies for number of books read.

02/09/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 - 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Hello everyone,

As we move into early autumn, I’ve been looking back on a very dry August and all the changes happening in the garden. We’re certainly hoping September brings us some much-needed rain! Despite the lack of rainfall, I’ve spent lots of time out in the garden, laying new stones and planting new plants to help the space continue to develop.

What’s Looking Good This Month?

Our lavender has now started to go over as we move into late summer, but it has given us a wonderful display and has been a favourite with the bees throughout the season. I’ve also already planted some new curry plants in our sensory garden, adding another interesting scent and texture for visitors to enjoy. There are more herbs and grasses to come too, which I’ll be planting throughout September.

Garden Tip of the Month

September is a great time to get stuck into the garden. It’s a good month for planting new perennials, herbs and grasses, cutting back plants that have finished flowering, collecting seeds, tidying borders and keeping an eye out for fallen leaves. If we do finally get some rain, it’s also a great opportunity to get planting while the soil is naturally moist!

See You in the Garden!

I’ve really enjoyed spending so much time in the library garden over the past month, and it’s been lovely watching the space slowly take shape. Thank you for continuing to support the garden and for taking the time to have a look around.

If you see me outside, please do say hello—I’m always happy to chat about gardening!

Happy gardening,

Alfie
Head Gardener, Sapcote Community Library

01/09/2026

As we come to the end of our 10 for 10 campaign, it feels right to look back to where it all started. Back in June, Councillors Mike Shirley and Ben Taylor visited to celebrate our 10 years and see our brand new garden bench, funded by the Blaby District Council Ward Improvement Grant.

A huge thank you to the councillors and to all our local residents for your continued support and investment in the library - none of this would be possible without you.

Do come by and enjoy the last of the summer sunshine on our new bench. If we're open, we'll even put the kettle on! ☕

31/08/2026

We made a video (and yes, I'm definitely not a natural in front of a camera 😅) but the message in it matters far more than my on-screen awkwardness ever could.

It's about why Sapcote Community Library exists, and why it's so important.

We're so proud of this little library and everything it's become for our community. Thank you for 10 years of support - and especially the last 10 weeks, during our 10 for 10 campaign, when you showed up in a way that genuinely moved us.

This place is here because of you. 💛

30/08/2026

𝟭𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟭𝟬: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗿

What ten weeks of community support has done for Sapcote Community Library:

📈 Donations up nearly 3x since launch
🚪 Footfall up over 20%
🎯 £894 raised through 10 for 10 - so close to our £1,500 goal!
📱 Facebook views up an incredible 2,677% (over 40,000 views)
📰 We've been in the papers - for the first time in years
🧒 Children are engaging with the library (over 100 per month)

None of this happens without you - showing up, sharing, donating, and just being part of our library community.

Our 10 for 10 campaign is due to close tomorrow night.
Every penny makes a direct difference - we have no staff costs.

Can you help us close the gap to our £1500 goal? 💜

For more info see here: https://gofund.me/8cd436e24

28/08/2026

Fancy winning a £2,000 holiday? ☀️

The chance of a holiday would be a fine thing indeed, and the Blaby Lottery could help make that happen!

🎟️ Tickets are just £1 each
🏖️ You could win a holiday worth £2,000
⏰ Enter before midnight today to be included in the holiday as well as the lottery draw.
❤️ Choose Sapcote Community Library as your charity of choice - by doing this 50% of the funds from your tickets will go to the library.
📷Send us a holiday snap if you're a lucky winner

👉 Enter here: https://www.blabylottery.co.uk/

⏲️Last chance to get in on the Love Blaby Lottery summer super draw. It’s a scorcher with a £2,000 luxury holiday up for grabs, along with our usual weekly cash prizes up to £25,000🏖️

60p from every £1 ticket goes to help local good causes❤️ If you’re an existing ticket holder, you can top up with extra tickets just for the Super Draw for more chances to win🍀

Buy your tickets by midnight today (Friday 28 August) to be in the draw. For full details of the promotion and to buy tickets follow the link in the first comment.

28/08/2026

𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴

What weather we're having! Looks like the Bank Holiday weekend is set to keep serving up a huge mix - more storms, more sun, sometimes both in the same hour.

We're closed Bank Holiday Monday, but open today 2pm–5pm and tomorrow 10am–1pm.

Why not dodge the storms and pop by for a cuppa and a good book? ☕📚

27/08/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐚𝐩: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝

Sapcote Community Library is a registered charity, self-funded and 100% volunteer run. We keep the doors open through donations, grant applications and a lot of determination. No fundraising department, no corporate partnerships manager, no marketing budget, no paid staff.

Corporate funding overwhelmingly goes national. It's not that businesses don't want to help closer to home, it's that national charities have the visibility, the dedicated staff and the polished pitches to get noticed. A small volunteer-run library in a rural village doesn't cross a manager's desk the same way.

Community libraries fall into an odd gap. We're not a national institution with a comms team, and we're not a niche cause with an obvious "ask" that fits a single CSR box. We're infrastructure - quiet, ongoing, possibly viewed as unglamorous - and unglamorous rarely wins a fundraising pitch.

But we offer something important: a direct, visible, local connection. A donation to SCL isn't a drop in a national fund, it's a warmer room this winter, a reading challenge for the children, one less family cut off by digital exclusion.

If you run a local business, or know someone in a community giving role, we'd love to talk. Funding, resources, skills and community cohesion are all areas we're keen to develop.

And if you don't have business strings to pull, visibility itself is support. Sharing our page, telling a neighbour, making a small donation all chip away at the same problem: being seen.

Community libraries don't need to be the biggest name in the room. We just need someone to notice we're in it.


To donate directly see here - https://gofund.me/4d7306415

22/08/2026