THE WORK OF THE FRIENDS
The Friends of Summertown Library raise funds to upgrade Summertown Library and broaden its appeal to our community.
We have now met our initial goal of £93,000, which - with additional funds made available by OCC Library Services - means that the transformation has taken place in Summer 2018.
The project, devised with the help of a specialised library design company, makes the Library more user-friendly and adapts it to modern needs.
The re-modelling …
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introduces new bookcases, which display books more effectively and attractively
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creates space for events for up to 100 people
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expands and relocates the Children’s section to a safer and more attractive position overlooking the Turrill Sculpture Garden at the rear of the building
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upgrades electrical fittings and computers
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delivers new carpeting and decoratation
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creates a brighter and more welcoming frontage with reserved Disabled parking.
Now this first goal of the Friends has been met, we will continue to actively support the Library through continued fund-raising and an expanded range of events in the Library.
Our latest additions are blinds for the high windows and colourful subject dividers for the children's book shelves.
CONTACT US to join the Friends' email circulation list, and please give what you can by pressing the Donate button at the top of this page.
Thank you !
Marcus Ferrar,
Chairman
The Friends of Summertown Library
7 Capel Close, Oxford OX2 7LA
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 554381
Mob: +44 (0) 7584 19948
If you would like to be put on the emailing list please contact
Michael Garton here.
STAY TUNED!
Think what Summertown Library means to you .....
LATEST NEWS
Please check the Summertown Library website for opening hours.
The popular series of talks organised by the Friends of Summertown Library by local writers and speakers on topical topics has now returned to the Library on Thursdays at 6pm and notices about future lectures are below:
FORTHCOMING TALKS:
12th December 2024:
MARCUS FERRAR -will talk about
"50 years on: The Revolution in Portugal"
MARCUS FERRAR was Reuters' correspondent in Portugal from 1974 to 1977 and has written books on Germany, Eastern Europe and freedom.
He is also Chairman of The Friends of Summertown Library.
He will talk of the thrills of reporting a revolution which went on for 18 months. The overthrow of the right-wing dictatorship in April 1974 was followed by mayhem which changed the country forever. He describes the challenges of reporting turmoil and confusion to the world – and how it all worked out.
Our talk on 14 Nov sadly POSTPONED due to illness. Now
Thursday 20th January 2025
KATE KENNEDY talk about
"Cello - The Lives of Four Cellists and their Instruments"
Kate is a writer, Radio 3 broadcaster and cellist. She studied at Cambridge and the Royal College of Music. She has played with period instruments throughout the UK and has held fellowships in Music and English Literature at both Cambridge and Oxford, where she is a Research Fellow at Wolfson College. Her most recent book Cello – A Journey Through Silence to Sound was published by Bloomsbury in August to international acclaim.
Based on her recent book, Kate recounts her love of the cello through moving accounts of cellos and cellists, including life-saving stories and those of instruments lost and found. Drawing on her adventures across Europe with her own cello, Kate extols a player’s intense and personal relationship with their instrument.
Copies of her book will be on sale after the talk.
Further talks for the New Year will be announced in due course.
Previous Talks:
Thursday 10th October
WILL HUTTON British journalist, author and academic talked about
"How to Remake Britain"
Thursday 16 May
PAUL FLATHER former chair of the Oxford Adam von Trott Memorial Committee,journalist and human rights activist talked about
"Adam von Trott"
Thursday 22 February
TOM FLETCHER
principle of Hertford College, Oxford and a former UK ambassador in Lebanon talked about "The Middle East - What can we hope for"
Thursday 11th January
TIMOTHY GARTON ASH, writer and historian talked about "Homelands - a Personal History of Europe".
Thursday 14th December
MARTIN WAINWRIGHT, retired reporter on the Guardian and Northern Editor in Manchester
talked about fake news in"What is Truth? - The Challenge of Providing Context to News"
Thursday 9th November
VIVIAN SIEBER
told her family story in "Kino and Kinder" about her Grandmother's cinema in Vienna before the Anschluss and subsequent life in Britain.
Thursday19th October
RAYMOND PIERREHUMBERT
a Professor of Physics at Oxford University and a member of the Royal Society talked about "Planetary Systems - A Beginner's Guide"
Thursday18th May
ROSAMUND BARTLETT
- a writer and translator talked about
"Chekhov and Tolstoy - and why we need to keep reading Russian literature."
Thursday 23rd March
ANGELA FINDLAY
- an Anglo-German artist and public speaker who has spent much of her career teaching art in prisons.
talked about "In My Grandfather’s Shadow: a story of war, trauma and the legacy of silence"
Thursday 2nd March
MARCUS FERRAR
- a former Reuters correspondent who reported from behind the Iron Curtain in the Cold War. He is the author of books on Germany, Eastern Europe and freedom.He is also Chairman of the Friends of Summertown Library. He talked about "Russia's Disaster"
- a talk on Russia and the Russians in the light of the war against Ukraine
Thursday 26th January
PAUL BALLARD-WHYTE -
Head of History and rugby coach at an Oxfordshire prep school, a successful businessman, parliamentary candidate, Formula 2000 racing driver, Scottish Superkart champion and an epée bronze medallist. He talked about l "Lucky Hitler's Big Mistakes"
- an exposé of Hitler’s true strengths and secret weaknesses
Thursday 8th December 2022
MARGARET BULLARD - Diplomatic wife
talked about,
"Endangered Species: Diplomacy from the Passenger Seat"
Thursday 17th November,
GARETH WINROW - Gareth lived and worked in Turkey for 20 years where he was a Professor of International Relations. More recently he has focused on local, family and social history. He talked about 'The Butcher, The Tailor, The Picture-Frame Maker - Stories of Middle Way"dle W
Thursday 27th October 2022
REBECCA ABRAMS - award-winning author and journalist. She is a regular literary critic for the Financial Times and teaches creative writing at Oxford University talked about
"Licoricia of Winchester - Power and Prejudice in Medieval England"
Wednesday 1st June 2022
CHRISTOPHER DANZIGER - former Head of History at St Edward’s School, a lecturer at the universities of Durham and Cape Town a tutor in the O.U. Department of Continuing Education talked about
"882 A.D. - the Origin of Putin's Ukrainian War?"
Thursday 4th November 2021
MARCUS FERRAR - former Reuters correspondent and author
talked about "Half a Century in Tuscany:
the lure of adventure, the colourful characters, the wild nature, his vineyard – and why he put an end to it.
Thursday 13th May 2021
MAJOR NICOLA WETHERILL- expedition leader for 'Ice Maiden' talked about "Expedition Ice Maiden: The First All-Female Team to cross Antarctica"
Thursday 15th April 2021
LORD JAY of EWELME- a career Diplomat talked about "The House of Lords: Past, Present and...Future?"
Thursday 18th March 2021
PAUL CRAIG - Emeritus Professor of English Law talked about "UK - EU Relations post-Brexit".
Thursday 18th February 2021
PAUL NURSE - world-renowned geneticist and cell biologist and Director of the Francis Crick Institute who has served as President of the Royal Society talked about "What is Life?"
Thursday 14th January 2021
ARCHIE BROWN - Oxford Emeritus Professor of Politics, and advisor on the Soviet Union to Margaret Thatcher talked about "Gorbachev, Reagan, and Thatcher, and the End of the Cold War"
Thursday 10th December 2020
SINCLAIR MACKAY - a features writer for The Spectator and The Telegraph. talked about "Bletchley Park - A Hothouse of Talents. What happened to those Codebreakers after the War?"
Thursday 13th February 2020
ROBIN WILSON - Emeritus Professor of Pure Mathematics at the Open University talked about "Sir Isaac Newton - his life, labours and legacy".
Thursday 23rd January 2020
DAVID ROONEY - an award-winning museum curator, writer and historian of time, cities, technology and engineering talked about "The History of Time".
Thursday 5th December 2019
PETER LANTOS - a highly successful neuroscientist and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences talked about "Parallel Lines" - a childhood journey to Belsen and life thereafter.
Thursday 14th November 2019
PROFESSOR SIR ADAM ROBERTS - who holds a number of senior academic posts and whose main interests are in the fields of international security, international organizations, and international law talked about 'Civil Resistance - from Prague to Hong Kong'
17 October 2019
REBECCA ABRAMS - an award-winning author, teacher and literary journalist talked about 'The Jewish Journey' -
told through 22 Objects from the Ashmolean Museum .
16 May 2019
MARCUS FERRAR - a former Reuters correspondent and author of books about Germany, Eastern Europe and freedom talked about 'Dresden: the destruction and renewal of a European jewel.'
4 April 2019
HENRY MACRORY- Deputy and Acting Editor of the Sunday Express talked about ' Rise and Falls of Whitaker Wright, Britain's most shameless swindler.
7 March 2019
ALASTAIR LACK - After 26 years making TV and radio programmes for the BBC, mainly with the World Service, talked about some of its history, his travels and the people he met.
4 February 2019
BART VAN ES -Professor of English Literature at Oxford University and author
talked about his recent book 'The Cut Out Girl' -A Childhood in Hiding
13 December 2018
Futurist SOPHIE HACKFORD looked at the role of Artificial Intelligence and talked about its future.
16 November 2018
In her Talk last night, astronomer REBECCA BOWLER took us back billions of years to the earliest years of the universe. Wonderfully illustrated and delivered, with more questions from the floor than on any previous occasion. Our audience of 50 donated £370 to the Friends' funds. Thank you!
22 October 2018
A large appreciative audience enjoyed a fascinating Talk on 10 October by Deborah Gill. Superb slides (using our new projector and screen) explained the nature of genome research and illustrated the context, and advances being made, in her area of study.
10 October 2018
Library Talk tomorrow at 6 pm: 'Gene Medicine - A Brave New World?' by Professor Deborah Gill. See for details.
28 September 2018
At a reception in the Library last night, a large group of Friends celebrated the completion of the Library's renovation. More than £90,000 has been raised to make this possible, with the active support of Oxford County Council.
16 July 2018
A great day! The Library re-opened today after six weeks of work internally and externally, altogether costing over £100,000.
Substantially funded by the Friends, after several years of fund-raising, our new-look library is more welcoming, has better facilities for work and leisure, and a much improved Children's section overlooking the Turrill Sculpture Garden.
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Very many thanks to all who have contributed to this happy outcome: donors of money and Topical Talks, the Library staff, and OCC Library Services which have contributed both funds and much effort in support of the project.
Do visit Summertown Library to have a look and leave any comment or suggestion in the book at the service desk. We will listen to all you have to say as we continue our work to make the Library even more attractive and useful to our Summertown community.
22 May 2018
In response to an appeal to our supporters, 30 people have so far generously purchased a new chair for Library meetings and other events.
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We want to afford 60 new chairs in all. Please consider purchasing a chair, if you have not already done so.
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A cheque for £60 for a chair, payable to Friends of Summertown Library, may be sent to Mark Holland at the address at the foot of this column.
Thank you!
15 May 2018
The Friends are delighted to have now raised £93,000, enough to pay for the refit of the Library after several years of fund-raising.
With some additional funding from OCC Library Services, work will start on 4 June, taking six weeks to complete. During this period the Library will be closed. The Library will re-open on 16 July.
In addition to the planned internal refit, the Library forecourt will be much improved - with a dedicated Disability parking space, new cycle racks and a new fascia.
A formal re-opening is planned for late September 2018.
'Christmas Quarter Selling Exhibition
16 Nov- 29 March 2025
during Library hours
If you are tempted to buy a Christmas gift from our wide selection of sculpture in stone, ceramic, metal and bronze resin and glass
we will be happy to arrange for you to take it before Christmas.