Totnes Library

23/06/2026

The Summer Book Quest: Mission to Wayfarer Island! 🏝️📜
Get ready to set sail on a transport-themed adventure this summer and collect stickers for reading and taking part in fun activities along the way!
Join Pip, Zena and Libro in the latest story as they embark on an exciting expedition to help a friend — featuring a tuk-tuk, a narrowboat, a pigeon named Pixie, and plenty more surprises.
There’s even more to look forward to, with exciting events and activities coming soon… so keep your eyes peeled for updates!
The adventure is coming to Totnes Library from Saturday, 11th July — don’t miss out!

23/06/2026

We understand that many of our customers may need to stay indoors over the next few days to stay safe, If you do have books due back this week, you can renew them online or by calling us on 01803 659945, but if you are able to venture out, we are lovely and cool in the library. Feel free to pop in and recover from the heat! 🫠

22/06/2026

Thank-you, Caroline Voaden for highlighting this treasure of a book shop in Totnes.

Big love Castle Books, Totnes !

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤, 𝐈’𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Of course, that’s Castle Books, Totnes

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟗 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝟒 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭.

Collards, as it was named then, was Totnes’s first vegetarian and wholefood café.

It wasn’t until three years after opening, in 1972, that Belle put a shelf of books in the upstairs dining area for customers to enjoy.

Quickly, the books began to take over and in 1975, Collards was transformed into Collards Books, which fast established itself as a hub for crime fiction and early illustrated books.

In 2011, another name change came; this time to ‘Belle, Book and Castle’. As Belle became older, more volunteers joined the team to keep the store open. Sadly, Belle passed away two years later, leaving a legacy that is still going strong today.

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝟓𝟕 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝟒 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭, 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝟐𝟎-𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬.

I could wax lyrical about how special Castle Books is, but I’ll leave you all to do that in the comments! So let me say a massive thank you to Castle Books for everything they do for our community.

𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐧!

Please note every independent bookshop in South Devon was invited to be part of this series.

22/06/2026

Free speech and language drop-in support session for preschool children this Wednesday 24th June 9:30am-11:30am at Totnes Library.
Speech and Language Therapists will be joining us this Wednesday from 9:30am in the children's library. Pop in for advice, support and strategies from the team for your preschool aged children.

19/06/2026

Advance Notice: Stay and Play will not be running over the school summer holidays so the last Stay and Play will be on Friday 17th July and it will resume on Friday 4th September. Please keep an eye on this page as we will be having lots of other exciting events over the holidays.

17/06/2026

When you come into the library you might notice it's a bit different... We have had a lovely upgrade to our staff enquiries desk. With huge thanks to Castle Books, Totnes for their generous donation and with support from Totnes Library Friends group we have a lovely accessible and streamlined entrance.

09/06/2026

Creative Writing Workshops at Totnes Library with Harula Ladd

Six Friday afternoons, from Friday 19th June to 24th July inclusive
2pm - 3.30pm at Totnes Library

All welcome, no previous experience necessary! Come to one or all. We will write three or four pieces per session. I will offer prompts and allocate a time – short bursts of writing help bypass the inner critic. It’s not about ‘writing well’ it’s about writing freely, bravely, exploring and surprising oneself. After each piece of writing, everyone has a chance to read aloud what they’ve just written, if they wish.
Donations are welcome, and will be split evenly between the Library and the facilitator.

05/06/2026

Come and drop in to our friendly book chat group :
Share what you're currently reading, recommend your favourite titles, and let us know what's on your to-be-read list.
Connect with fellow book lovers and discover new titles to explore. Run by Friends of Totnes Library

04/06/2026

Today is Discover your library day! Libraries are so much more than just books (although we have lots of those too!) they are places to study, learn, connect with others, get online, create and discover. Why not pop into a library soon and discover what we have to offer. 😀

03/06/2026

Can you help us share the books everyone wants to read this month? 📚

There’s high demand for our 10 most wanted titles, and many eager customers are waiting to borrow them. We’ve purchased as many copies as our budget allows, but if you’re able to help, we’d be truly grateful.

If you have a pristine copy, you’ve finished reading - whether it’s one you bought yourself or received as a gift - you can donate it at any library in Devon or Torbay. We’ll add it to our collection to help reduce the waiting list.

Thank you so much for your support! 💚

Our 10 most popular titles this month are:

1. The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
2. Land by Maggie O'Farrell
3. Ironwood by Michael Connelly
4. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
5. The Midnight Train by Matt Haig
6. Whistler by Ann Patchett
7. The Names by Florence Knapp
8. The Final Target by Nora Roberts
9. London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
10. Enough by Dawn French