A book swap library has been built by local young people for Aylesbury residents. The ‘Little Free Library’ has been installed in Walton Court in Aylesbury.
The ‘Little Free Libraries’ project is an international campaign which encourages book swapping within communities. The libraries house books for residents to take home or to drop off unwanted books in exchange for a pre-loved book.
A Little Free Library in Aylesbury was constructed by autistic young people that are supported by the autism and learning disability support charity – Talkback UK. The charity runs a social enterprise called The Accessible Workshop where the cabinets were made from reclaimed materials such as reused pallets and railway sleepers.
The library was delivered to the Mayor of Aylesbury, Cllr Steven Lambert, at Aylesbury’s Town Hall by members of the group who were part of the project that was funded by Aylesbury Town Council.
The little library was unveiled at its new home in Walton Court on Friday 21 July by the Town Mayor. Talkback UK members were in attendance alongside local resident, Amy, who will be looking after the library and Neighbourhood Manager, Luke Thorpe, and Community Engagement Business Partner, Rosie Mowbray from Fairhive Homes.
The Mayor of Aylesbury, Cllr Steven Lambert, said: “Aylesbury Town Council is thrilled to fund another community project like this for members of The Accessible Workshop by Talkback UK. The group also built an impressive duck house for Walton Pond in Aylesbury back in February this year. So, it’s great to be able to have their help again with this project and it was a pleasure to meet some of those who have worked so hard building the little library book cabinets. I am looking forward to seeing Aylesbury residents make use of this book exchange project.”
Neil Sainsbury, Head of Adult Services at Talkback UK, said: “This project has enabled our members to use a range of traditional woodworking techniques such as tenon joints and to work with a range of machines, including the table saw, band saw, planer and chisel morticer.
“As usual, they have tackled this project with huge enthusiasm, and we hope the local community will be as pleased with their libraries as our members have been to make them.”
Neil continued: “We’d like to say a big thank you to the Mayor, Cllr Steven Lambert, for letting our members have a tour of the Mayor’s Parlour and to try on his official robes when we delivered the library to the Town Hall. They had a wonderful time.”
A second Little Free Library, also funded by Aylesbury Town Council, is due to be installed in Quarrendon, Aylesbury in September 2023.
