Corbett Community Library September newsletter

Our lovely team of volunteers at a social afternoon

As the summer holidays draw to an end, we’re delighted to have 137 young readers already completing the Reading Challenge! There’s still time to take part, with the challenge until 20th September — so let’s see if we can take that number beyond 200!

We’ve had a lovely summer at the library, including a special Volunteer Celebration event, where we had the opportunity to thank our wonderful volunteers for their time, enthusiasm and dedication.

The next couple of months are going to be incredibly busy, with a real hive of activity planned at the library. There’s lots to look forward to, so please read on for all the details.

And have I mentioned that it’s our 10th Anniversary in October?! 🎂🎉 We can’t wait to celebrate this very special milestone with you.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER, WHATS HAPPENING AT A GLANCE…

5 Sept: Saturday Extended Opening times

10am – 3pm every Saturday until Christmas (trial)

5 Sept: The Corbett Corner mini market starts

9-3pm Mont58 hot drinks, cakes and pastries as well as additional savory snacks.

10-1pm Sourdough Bakery – every other week

11-3pm Last Outpost ‘Gourmet Exchange’ with Caribbean hot food

12 – 20 Sept: Open House Festival 2026

Visit the library and have an informal tour including information about the architecture, points of interest and how we started our journey on 24 October 2016 as a Community Library.

20 Sept: Summer Reading Challenge 2026 ends

Make sure you’ve visited us and told us all about your 6th and final book to receive your medal, prize and invite to the Broadway Theatre celebration!

1-31 Oct: Give £10 for the Next 10 Years

For the past ten years, Corbett Community Library has been powered by its community. As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we're inviting everyone who loves the library to donate £10 to help secure the next TEN years. Click here for more details.

3 Oct: Fun Palace and Community Mosaic Unveiling

10-5pm Join in this free, family friendly, activity packed event enjoying the creativity of our community.

3pm Be part of the excitement as we unveil our wonderful new community mosaic installation.

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

21 Oct: Artists Pecha Kucha Event
A fast-paced visual platform for artists to share their work, connect, and network. If you’re an an artist and want to join this, get in touch. Free

24 Oct: Disco Under the Dome 7-11pm

It’s our birthday, come join us for a boogie! Fully licensed bar & DJ. £5, free to volunteers.

25 Oct: K&F Craft Fair

Arts and craft fair with a variety of traders celebrating black history month. Free

28 Oct: The Public Good, Heritage Talk 6.30 – 8pm

Free, delivered by local historian Jon Wright

30 Oct: Charity Art Auction

A chance to pick up a piece of art, support local artists and enjoy an auction experience on your own doorstep. Book your early bird tickets now £5

31 Oct: 10-5pm Pressure Drop Project

Free, organised by Joanne Bailey for Black History Month.

31 Oct: Halloween Activities 5-7pm

Experience the library after dark, with spooky activities and treats!

More info and tickets here

Calling Musicians and Singers

Human Jukebox, Fun Palace 3 October 10-5pm

Artists Emily Brand and Kate Emblem, the creative duo behind our exhibition space, Gallery SE6, have created something wonderful for our inaugural Fun Palace – a Human Jukebox!

We are looking for local musicians, singers, and performers to volunteer (in return for tea and cake) to be part of the Human Jukebox on the day. The idea is simple: you choose a 30min slot on the day, step inside the jukebox, then visitors can choose a song from your repertoire, and you play it live.

Interested

One Sponsor, One Special Anniversary

To mark this important milestone we are seeking one exclusive sponsor to support our celebrations.

This is an opportunity for one organisation to be associated with a month of community events celebrating 10 years of Corbett Community Library, while gaining prominent visibility across our event marketing, website, newsletter, social media and and anniversary programme. For a full sponsorship details please get in touch.

Get in touch

Voxblocks in the Library!

We’re pleased to announce we now have Voxblocks! These are screen-free audiobook players for children, with a long battery life and headphone socket. Simply press the book into the front and press play! We have both audio players and books to borrow from the library. They can be found by the grey armchairs – why not try one out?

More information

NEW SEPTEMBER ACTIVITIES

Book Here

Katriona and Hessie

Interview with Katriona Ismail

What activity do you run? Under 5’s singing activity on Monday morning 9:30-10:00,10:15-10:45.

Can you tell us a little about it? The singing group is so much more than singing. It’s a beautiful kind space where families come to sing,hop,jump and dance. We have four amazing regular volunteers – Brian, Rob, Joel and myself. Joel and Rob play guitar, Brian sets up, packs away and helps with the singing, I sing and as we all believe it’s the fun that matters most, we are not expecting any golden buzzers 🤣.

What do you like about running your activity? It’s pure joy to start the week watching all the adults and children joining in the singing. We have newborns right through to children who came as babies now revisiting in school holidays. I get to do a mini work out each session and I’m reminded how important connection and community is to young families. We have lots of grandparents and carers who attend as well. It’s lovely to support the local coffee hut as the volunteers treat themselves to a coffee between sessions. Lots of families make connections, use the library for other activities and meet up during the week. Any donations go towards amazing things to support the library, such as a comfy sofa in the children’s section.

You’ve been visiting the library for years and been a constant support and advocate, what motivates you? My motivation is to give back to my community. My children loved the library growing up, it has always been a safe, kind space for me as a childminder with hours of stories, craft clubs, singing and an amazing place to meet new people. I love supporting the library and get so much positivity from volunteering.