How the library in the Doddridge Centre helps the local community of St James

On July 25th, 2022, the Doddridge Centre in St James opened its doors to the library.

The County Council previously wanted to close numerous libraries in Northamptonshire.

Libraries are a vital part to any community as they provide services to everyone of any age which will help them learn and thrive.

It took many years of fighting to keep a library in the local area of St James and there was an attempt to keep the library that was already in St James open in its original place, but it wasn’t feasible.

This then led to the library remaining closed for several years.

The fight to keep a library in St James became so necessary to the local society that they also joined in to protect this facility.

When the community eventually succeeded with the battle for a library to stay in the area, work then began to open it in the Doddridge Centre, a key building in St James End.

Putting the library in the Doddridge Centre was a great fit as the centre already supports community groups which is what the library aims to do.

It was a year long process to have the IT equipment and systems put in place for the library to be effective to its users.

The library will be able to provide valuable services as well as being essential to a thriving community in St James End.

Local councillors shared the vision of those at the Doddridge Centre to help with keeping a library facility in the area and having it in the centre. They also had support from 21 Group Libraries Network, and the library service, as well as the entire team at Doddridge.

Rachel Bott, the Centre Director, said: “We’re very lucky to have been able to bring this inhouse as it means that we are able to provide the facility to St James within our current offerings.”

There aren’t many users for the library, but this also stems from not many people knowing that there is a library in the Doddridge Centre.

Bott said the lack of people using the library is: “Not through lack of advertising and press…the library is one of those places which people don’t necessarily want to use but they also don’t want to lose.”

The Doddridge Centre tries to offer many different events and activities within the library and all the staff are always happy to listen to the community concerning what they would like to see.

Bott also said: “The library is in its early stages, but we are hopeful it will continue to grow and thrive.”

The opening times for the library are:

-          Monday 9:30am - 12:30pm

-          Wednesday 3:00pm – 6:00pm

-          Friday 12:00pm – 3:00pm

-          Saturday 9:30am – 12:30pm