Summer is in full swing, the school holidays have begun, and our sunflowers are looking absolutely spectacular! If you haven’t had the chance to see them yet, do pop by the library – they’re well worth a visit.

With no major events scheduled for August, now is the perfect time to slow down, soak up the sunshine, and lose yourself in a great book. While our younger readers are busy taking part in the Summer Reading Challenge, we’re inviting adults to join in too with our Read Ten for 10 challenge. As we look ahead to celebrating the library’s 10th anniversary this October, we’re encouraging everyone to read ten books and help us mark this special milestone. Collect a challenge bookmark in the library.

Please note that we will be closed on Monday 31 August for the bank holiday.

There’s still plenty happening at the library over the coming months, so read on. We look forward to seeing you soon!

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The Summer Reading Challenge is in full swing, with lots of children enjoying their reading (and some having even finished already!) Sign up to read six books over the summer (any books, including comics and audiobooks) and receive a prize for each book. In October Lewisham are hosting a very special ceremony for completers at the Broadway Theatre, so make sure you complete to receive your golden ticket!

This year’s theme is Read to the Beat, so be on the lookout for music-themed activities too! If you can offer anything please let us know.

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We're delighted to announce that, from Saturday 5th September, we'll be trialing extended Saturday opening hours, staying open until 3pm instead of 1pm.

The change comes in response to growing customer demand.

The trial will run until Christmas, with visitor numbers monitored throughout. At the end of the trial, we'll review how successful the extended hours have been before deciding on future arrangements.

As always, this relies on the dedication and generosity of our wonderful volunteers. We're also keen to welcome new volunteers who might be interested in joining our Saturday team. If interested please get in touch.

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Last month, we were delighted to celebrate the 78th anniversary of Windrush with a fantastic community event.

More than 70 guests joined us for an afternoon of delicious food, live music, inspiring speeches from our local councilors, and, of course, plenty of dancing! It was a wonderful opportunity to come together to celebrate the lasting contributions and rich cultural heritage of the Windrush generation.

One of the highlights of the day was a guest who came dressed in clothing inspired by the original Windrush journey. Their outfit was a wonderful tribute and added something truly special to the celebrations.

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Back in April, we invited local children to plant sunflower seeds, and what a difference a few months can make! These wonderful photos show just how something so small can grow into something truly stunning.

We’re absolutely delighted with the results. The sunflowers have transformed the side of our library building into a vibrant display of colour, bringing smiles to everyone who passes by.

Why not pop along this weekend to admire them for yourself and see whose sunflower has grown the tallest? Could it be yours?

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This October we’re incredibly proud to be celebrating 10 years as a volunteer-powered community hub. We will celebrate a decade of learning, creativity, and connection with a vibrant programme of activities running from 1–30 October 2026. Everyone is invited and welcome to take part.

Since opening as a community-run library in 2016, we’ve grown into a welcoming space where people come not only to read and learn, but also to meet others, find support and feel part of the neighbourhood.

The anniversary month will include an inaugural Fun Palace a deep dive into The Public Good – A Contextual History of the Catford Community Library, an Artist PechaKucha and a Disco Under the Dome. Plus, our legendary Art Auction, the unveiling of our new community mosaic and the Catford Arts Trail.

All celebrations will be open to everyone with many events free or low-cost, reflecting the library’s commitment to accessibility and community wellbeing.

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FREE

A Fun Palace is a FREE event made by local people for their own community. At Fun Palaces people come together to share their skills, passions and interests, and to show the world just how brilliant and packed full of geniuses their community is!

Our inaugural Fun Palace will be a day celebrating the culture, creativity, and heritage of our library. PLUS, we’ll be unveiling our new community mosaic! If you have a skill you would like to share at the Fun Palace or you would like to demonstrate your musical ability in our Human Jukebox (looking for singers, musicians, entertainers), please drop us a line.

Find out more about this nationwide initiative on the Fun Palace website

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Friday 30 October 6.30 – 10pm

£5

Back by popular demand, our Charity Art Auction returns, raising much-needed funds to support the library.

This is a fantastic opportunity to purchase original artwork by local artists, as well as beautiful pre-loved pieces generously donated by members of the community – all at affordable prices. Whether you're an experienced collector or simply looking for something special for your home, you're sure to find a unique treasure while enjoying an exciting evening of live bidding right on your doorstep.

We're currently curating around 40 pieces for the auction, and we'd love to hear from you if you have artwork you'd like to donate. Every contribution helps support the library and the services we provide.

Book your early bird tickets today and join us for a fun-filled evening of art, community and fundraising. Every ticket purchased helps make a difference to your local library.

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What activity do you run? ESOL beginners class (E1) on Tuesdays 1-3pm and ESOL advanced class (E2, E3, and L1) on Thursdays 10-12.

Can you tell us a little about it? ESOL beginners class is for students who mainly have no literacy in their own language. It’s the most difficult class, especially if we don’t have an interpreter! This class involves mostly speaking and listening. Many of these students have been prevented from studying before coming to the UK, and it’s very hard to learn English if you can’t read your first language. We started running a Pashto class off the back of the ESOL classes for this reason, and students are thriving in it (including children, who I don’t teach in my ESOL classes). There’s roughly six to seven students in this class, most of which require one-to-one tuition.

The ESOL advanced class is for more advanced students. They work grouped by level, which includes speaking, listening and reading. When new students join, I give them a placement test to determine their level and which class they should join.

I have a method I developed following training courses that works, but the classes would be impossible without assistants, including Yana, Mahil and Zeba.

What countries do your students mainly come from? They come from all over! We have a lot from Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and Sri Lanka, as well as some from Uzbekistan, India, France and more.

What do you like about running your activity? I’ve been teaching ESOL classes for 20 years and I’ve never had a really rude student. They’re great people, great to work with, and it’s amazing to see them progress – for example, one of my students has become an interpreter for the library’s Online Support Services.

Is anything else you’d like to tell us? This programme would never happen without the library allowing us the use of its spaces for free. It’s an amazing space, the best we could imagine, and I’m extremely grateful.

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Little Exploradores Hub runs bilingual Spanish-English sensory play sessions for young children, where little ones explore messy play, themed tuff tray stations, and songs – with Spanish vocabulary woven naturally into the fun, no formal language lessons required. Our mascot, Lucas the astronaut bear, guides children through each session’s adventure.

Starting Monday 7th September.

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They’ll also be joined every other Saturday by Dora’s Sourdough Bakery, offering a tempting selection of freshly baked sourdough breads and other treats alongside Mont58 and their fresh coffee.

If you're interested in hosting a food or drinks stall outside the library on a Saturday, we'd love to hear from you.

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Would you like to help ensure that future generations can enjoy everything the Corbett Community Library has to offer?

The Corbett Community Library gives so much to our community – a welcoming space to learn, connect, discover and belong. By leaving a gift to the library in your Will, you can help secure its future and ensure that these vital services continue for years to come.

One of our Trustees and volunteers, Jacky Berry, has chosen to do just that. She says: "Our much-loved community library is always looking for ways to secure the funding needed to keep it open, vibrant and relevant to the community. Without continued support, future generations may not have the opportunity to enjoy everything it offers. I have left a gift in my Will to help safeguard the future of this wonderful community service."

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Small meeting room £10 per hour

Great for small meetings, interviews, one-2-one sessions, treatments or a change from working from home.

Large meeting room £25 per hour

Suitable to deliver a club, class, lesson or workshop or talk, meeting or mini conference.

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• 1 August 11:15-12:15pm Sunflower Planting Competition Prizegiving Ceremony!

• 26 Aug 7-8pm Midweek Me-time

• 3 October 10-5pm Fun Palace

• 10 & 11 Oct 11-5pm Catford Arts Trail

• 21 Oct 6.30-8pm Pecha Kucha Artist Event

• 24 Oct 7-11pm Disco Under the Dome

• 28 Oct 6.30-8pm Heritage Talk – The Public Good

• 30 Oct 6.30-10pm Corbett Art Auction

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Corbett Community Library 103 Torridon Road London SE6 1RQ info@corbettcommunity.org.uk 020 8378 5358

Corbett Community Library (@corbettcommunitylibrary) • Instagram photos and videos