Andrea
Robin
Jacqueline
Christopher
June
Sally
Our lovely volunteers
I moved to Haddenham just as the County Library was being closed down and was overjoyed when it was reborn as a Community Library. I
have been a Library volunteer since 2012.
"Books mean all possibilities. They mean moving out of yourself, losing yourself, dying of thirst and living to your full. They mean everything." - Ali Smith
I moved to Haddenham with my family in 2016. We had carried out a search of all the local villages and discovered friendly Haddenham. It had all we needed, but the icing on the cake was the community library, where we received a very warm welcome and helpful advice.
Previously, we had lived in a small village near Stamford, surrounded by hills. I admit that it took some time to adjust to the flatness of Cambridgeshire. But, David Hockney, the artist, provides a helpful observation: 'The moral is this: it is not the place that is intrinsically interesting, but the person looking at it.'
This and many other thought-provoking comments are recorded in Martin Gayford's book 'Spring Cannot Be Cancelled' - a record of Hockney's two pandemic years living and painting in Normandy. I feel a second read coming on.
Diasporic Northerner, reader of books, collector of glass. Volunteering at Haddenham Library since 2016.
'You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.' - C S Lewis
'Whenever I feel boxed in, I read about trees' - himself.
I have been a library user all my life. On leaving school, I applied for a job in a library, but was unsuccessful. The closure of Haddenham
library in 2003 gave me another chance and I have been a volunteer since the library re-opened as a volunteer run library.
I enjoy my various roles as a desk volunteer, part of the Book Management Team, and Secretary of the Friends.
Hi, I'm June. I translate japanese and I love books, gardening and cats. I have been one of the volunteer librarians helping every other Wednesday afternoon since 2008. On Monday mornings, while the library is closed, I enjoy being part of the team sorting out donations and new books for adding to our collection. I am always happy to talk books, and it is a joy and a privilege to share thoughts with anyone who visits the library.
Haddenham library would not exist today if it wasn't for our dedicated group of wonderful volunteers. We asked our volunteers what they enjoyed about working at the library and here are some of the things they said…
"I'm giving back to the village something that was freely given to myself and my children in all the time we’ve lived here"
"It's a really good way of meeting different sorts of people from our community"
"I've reconnected with people I've not seen since our children were at school together twenty years ago – and that's lovely"
"It was a really good way of finding my feet when we moved into the area"
"When I was little I wanted to be a librarian but was encouraged into a different career – now I’m retired I get to be one"
"I love doing the book stamping – I loved being allowed to do it when I was little"
"It's really satsifying, and you feel appreciated when people come in and tell you how much they love visiting the library because we have people here not machines"
"I enjoy being around other people who love books as much as I do"
"Any sort of volunteering should make you happy and being at the library does that in spades"
"Free books...what's not to like? Libraries are brilliant and I just love being part of a team that keeps this one open so as many people as possible have easy access to a public library"
I enjoy volunteering as part of a team that maintain the library's stature as a growing asset to the village
"I've met people in the library who I don't think I'd have met any other way in the village"
If you would like to volunteer with the library, have a look on our "Support Us" page!