Inspire Nottinghamshire Libraries

Calling all Little Creatives – this is your reminder to book your July workshops! 📢 🎨

Come and share in the active, playful, and sometimes messy fun as you explore fascinating materials and take part in stimulating creative activities! Perfect for little artists aged 2 - 5.💡

Spaces remain at:
Mansfield Central Library – Friday 3 July
Retford Library – Saturday 4 July
Bingham Library – Thursday 9 July
Southwell Library – Thursday 9 July
Sutton-in-Ashfield Library – Friday 10 July
Worksop Library – Saturday 11 July
Kirkby-in-Ashfield Library – Thursday 16 July

🕐 Sessions run at 10am and 11:15am at each library.

🎟️ Tickets are FREE!
Book your place NOW at inspireculture.org.uk/LittleCreatives

There's just one week left until voting closes for this year's InspiREAD Book Awards! 🤩

Head to our website now so you don't miss out on the chance to vote for your favourites ✨

If you have several children who want to cast a vote, or a whole classroom full of little voters, you can refresh the web page for each child to cast their vote.

Children can vote in one, two, or all three of our categories 📚

👉 inspireculture.org.uk/InspiRead2026/Vote

Who are you rooting for? 🤔

Football fans, this one’s for you! ⚽📚

What if your Saturday ritual ended up in a novel? Join author George Harrison at Arnold Library as he talks football, fandom and his prize-listed debut novel Season - a story told across 38 chapters, one for every game of a Premier League campaign. Set in the stands of a struggling club, it’s about matchdays, loyalty, hope, heartbreak and the unexpected connections football creates.

You don’t need to be a big reader to enjoy this one. If you’ve ever stood in the cold, celebrated a last-minute winner or wondered why we keep coming back every week, there’ll be something here for you 🤝

📅 Saturday 4 July, 2pm
📍 Arnold Library
🎟️ £3 per ticket

Come along, hear the story behind the book, and see why football might just make for the perfect read 👉 https://bit.ly/4vngnt3

Author Event: George Harrison - Arnold Library | Inspire - Culture, Learning, Libraries Did you know ? We've been bringing you culture, learning and libraries since 2016. Find out more about 10 years of Inspire.

There’s still time to discover the books everyone’s been talking about… 📚✨

Before the Inspire’s Favourite Reads shortlist is unveiled this Saturday (just in time for Lowdham Book Festival!) why not explore the longlist and see how many you’ve read? 👀

Created from titles recommended by our staff and books that have been especially loved by readers across our libraries, the longlist is packed with favourites across every genre. From modern classics like The Midnight Library and Girl, Woman, Other, to gripping crime with The Thursday Murder Club, sweeping historical fiction including Hamnet, imaginative escapes like Project Hail Mary, and unforgettable non-fiction such as Becoming – there’s something for every kind of reader.

Will your favourites make the shortlist? 👀
Browse the longlist, borrow a title and join the conversation before the big reveal this Saturday! Head to inspireculture.org.uk/favouritereads now to see the list 📖

Summer Reading Challenge 2026: Read to the Beat is landing in Nottinghamshire libraries very soon! 🤩📖

From Saturday 4 July, children aged 4–11 can join the challenge for FREE at their local Inspire library and set off on a summer filled with stories, surprises and fun.

Here’s how the challenge works:
🎟️ Sign up for FREE and collect your starter pack
⭐ Help your little one set their own reading goals
📚 Help choose books they actually want to read (stories, comics, facts, jokes, poetry - it all counts!)
🎉 Collect stickers and rewards along the way
🏅 Complete 6 reading goals to earn a medal and certificate!

This year's theme Read to the Beat encourages readers to explore music and sound too - which means our talking books and eAudio could be the perfect playlist to your summer adventures. Whether your child already loves books or just needs a little summer motivation, the Summer Reading Challenge 2026: Read to the Beat is all about making reading fun, building confidence and keeping young minds inspired over the holidays.

Find out more about the challenge at inspireculture.org.uk/summerreadingchallenge ☀️
Nottinghamshire County Council The Reading Agency

Have you picked up a programme yet for Newark Book Festival? 🤩 With events taking place at our very own Inspire Newark Library and Buttermarket there's a great time to be had as we celebrate the world of words this summer.

Find events taking place at Newark Library 👉 https://bit.ly/4fTtLjQ

Don't forget to pick up your Newark Book Festival booklet from Newark Library. With something for everyone and so many brilliant events you really are spoilt for choice. 😀📚

For more information on events and tickets follow the link below. 👇
https://www.newarkbookfestival.org.uk

Calling all book lovers and history buffs 📢📚

We'll be selling our local history publications at HALF PRICE at Lowdham Book Festival this weekend! 🤯

Find us amongst the other wonderfully bookish stalls at Lowdham Village Hall this Saturday 20 June, 10:30am - 4:30pm, free entry!

Please note, our stall will NOT be able to take cash payments - we are card-only for the day - sorry for any inconvenience caused by this. 💳✅

Come along for a fun-filled day of stalls and ticketed talks, activities for children, plus a café and licensed bar, with many local literary charities and organisations represented.

For more information about the event, you can head to: www.thebookcase.co.uk.

We can't wait to see you there! 🤩

If you're interested in local history, make sure to follow Inspire Nottinghamshire Archives to stay up-to-date with all things history and heritage, including escape room events, talks, tours and so much more, plus our regular services!

The Bookcase Lowdham ✨

We kicked off the Summer of Sport early at Inspire College 16-24 , with a football match between our College bases - Hucknall vs HP! ⚽☀️

We're confident that this will stand out as the biggest sporting event of 2026 - we can't think of anything else that could compete 😅

The Sports students from Inspire College Hucknall and the Construction students from Inspire College at High Pavement (Sutton-in-Ashfield) faced off against each other at the Jamie Brough Pavilion last month.

The spectators included various students and staff from across the Inspire College community, and the referee was a tutor from our Eastwood base, so the match was practically as international as that other, less exciting football thing that's happening this summer...

Here's what some of our tutors had to say:

"A group of well-behaved students from across Nottingham came together to take part in a football match. They were enthusiastic, supportive, and a pleasure to host!"

"It was a pleasure to referee the match, all of the learners were well behaved on and off the pitch."

"All my learners participated, very engaging and they enjoyed it (not quite the result!) but they said they would love to do something similar to that again!"

If you're interested in attending a college with a real community of supportive staff and students, you should definitely consider Inspire College!

We're enrolling now for September 2026! 🤩

Find out more at inspireculture.org.uk/College

Service Disruption: Edgewood Library Closure - Wednesday 17 June📣

Edgewood Primary School have just reported the library shutter is out of order which means the library is inaccessible and will be unable to open this afternoon - Wednesday 17 June (normal opening hours 12.30-4.45pm).

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please visit the service disruption page on our website for updates:

Service Disruptions | Inspire - Culture, Learning, Libraries Did you know ? We've been bringing you culture, learning and libraries since 2016. Find out more about 10 years of Inspire.