Shetland Library

Their card must still be in the post 🙄

Big yellow road sign saying ‘Attention, UP HELLY AA, Roads closed 4pm-9pm, No parking from 2pm.’

This is your annual reminder to shift your car off the Up Helly Aa route by 2pm lest it be towed away for ceremonial burning. 🙂🔥

Annually, on the last Tuesday in January- if you’re late for work and use the excuse “a bunch of Vikings & a longship were holding up traffic” it is perfectly acceptable. 😉
🔥 Wishing Guizer Jarl Lynden Nicolson, his squad and all a brilliant Up Helly Aa 2026! 🔥
#uphellyaa #vikings #lerwick

News and Events – Shetland Islands Council school libraries

We’ve totted up our ‘most borrowed’ lists for 2025 and guess what, local favourite Jen Hadfield out-loaned @richardosman1.bsky.social for top book! Great loans for Malachy Tallack and Marianne Brown too. We love Richard too of course! Read more on our website:
www.shetland.gov.uk/libraries/ne...

Harriet Tyce- contestant on BBC’s The Traitors and the books she’s written.

WELL! This series of #TheTraitors has certainly got us on the edge of our seats (and often arguing with the TV screen!) No spoilers here, but if you would like to read Harriet’s published work- they are available to request from the Library!

More snow! It’s been quite a week of it, but the Library as always is a warm cosy haven 🙂❤️❄️☃️

We are open today until 8pm but our Reminiscing session and Lego hour are cancelled. we’re sorry for the inconvenience as weather disruptions continue.

Five smiling people in a library, holding books.

📖Staff Top Reads 2025 - the managers
Marghie - That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz, Malachy Tallack
Chloe - Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder
Nicola - The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt
Catherine - The Let Them Theory, Mel Robbins
Karen - Lee Child's One Shot on audio
Not a Christmassy bunch, are they? 🙂

...One Night in the Zoo - Judith Kerr
🦈Shark in the Park on a Windy Day - Nick Sharratt
🔵The Button Book - Sally Nicholls and Bethan Woollvin
The Whales on the bus - Katrin Charman, Nick Sharratt
🦕There's a dinosaur in your book - Tom Fletcher
🧸Where’s My Teddy - Jez Alborough
So cosy - Lerryn Korda

...My Pet Star - Corrinne Averiss
This Rock is Mine! - Kaye Umansky
Gigantic- Rob Biddulph
Gustavo the Shy Ghost - Flavia Z. Drago
🤖No Bot the Robot with no Bottom - Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet
One Fox: A counting book thriller - Kate Read
🚜Goodnight Tractor - Michelle Robinson and Nick East ...

Four smiling people holding books and yellow Bookbug dolls with a capiton of 'Shetland Library Staff - top reads 2025'

📖Shetland Library Staff Top Reads 2025 - BOOKBUG EDITION! @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social
Our Bookbug Leaders picked favourite books they read at sessions this year. There's LOTs of them!
🚘Car, Car, Truck, Jeep - Katrina Charman and Nick Sharratt
🌜Let's go into Space - Petr Horacek...

and…
Frankenstein / Mary Shelley
The Godfather / Mario Puzo
Siddhartha / Herman Hesse
All the Colours of the Dark / Chris Whitaker
The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill / Craig Robertson
Finding Hildasay / Christian Lewis
The Boy on the Bridge / M R Carey

Four smiling people holding a variety of books

📖 Top Reads 2025📚
MOBILE & HOME DELIVERY TEAM
Our van services bring the library to customers the length and breadth of Shetland. Their own favourites are *quite* varied and include …
Tell Me Everything/ Elizabeth Strout
The Pumpkin Spice Café/ Laurie Gilmore
The Colour of Money/ Terry Pratchett…

And...
The Gates of Gaza, by Amir Tibbon
The Golden Mole by Katharine Rundell
The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen
The Peepshow: Murder at 10 Rillington Place by Kate Summerscale
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

And...
From Scenes Like These by Gordon Williams
Her One Moment by Lianne Moriarty
Ootlin: A memoir by Jenni Fagan
Prey by Yrsa Sugurdardottir
Rejection by Tony Tulathimute
Shy Creatures by Claire Chambers
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
The Beautiful Atlantic Waltz by Malachy Tallack...

Four people in a library holding up books.

📚Staff Top Reads of 2025📖
First up it's the Processing team who have the best job - being the first to see the new books that come in!
They had a long list...
Blurb Your Enthusiasm by Louise Willder
Breakfast of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut
Butter by Asako Yuzuki
Catch 22, by Joseph Heller...

Language is indeed a rich and complex thing! ‘Incomers’ welcome - even Orcadians 🙂😉

It's Mobile Libraries Day! #MobileLibrariesDay2025
Today we celebrate the vital library services on wheels throughout Scotland.
Sadly today's weather means Leona can't get out west, but we will have the big van outside HQ this morning, if anyone would like to take a look inside!

two lego figures stand on a green baseboard in front on one another holding hands Beside them is a pink heart and a huge flame.

Also, this was the quickest finished build we had. Made by one of our younger members about 4 minutes into the session! And a very lovely interpretation of Friendship it is too.

two lego figures stand on a green baseboard in front on one another holding hands Beside them is a pink heart and a huge glame.

many mini figures stand on a green and grey baseboard. The 6 figures in the foreground are in pairs and appear to be dancing. watching them is a line of mini-figures hand in and two skeleton horses

A lego room for friends. a green base board with multicoloured brick walls. Several mini figs are enjoying games including building a minecraft tree

Another special building for making friends in. There is an escape room with treasure, a zip wire and horse rides in the garden

Our Lego Club took the theme of Friendship for @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social #BookWeekScotland and did an absolutely sterling job. Thanks for all the ways you built and represented friendship, gang!

Two storey building with many windows lit up against a twilight sky.

4pm today. What we love about the new dark afternoons is how the Library is a shining beacon of welcome on Lower Hillhead 🙂❤️

a blurry picture of a woman blowing a kiss . Alt: Wagner, former X Factor contestant, now removing wallpaper in Orkney.

When you say Wagner Wallpaper Strippers… has he gone into the Orkney interior decorating business since the X Factor? What a spectacular fall from grace.

Where better! We've been basking in your reflected glory ever since 🙂

BBC One - Shetland, Series 10, Episode 1 The body of an elderly woman is found in the remote village of Lunniswick.

Mark Steel last night and 'Shetland' tonight.
We love it when the media revolves around us and we are looking forward to stepping into the village of Lunniswick.
@anncleeves.bsky.social really started something when she launched 'Raven Black' here almost 20 years ago.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Ha ha, the Library got a few mentions as in fact did @orkneylibrary.bsky.social
If you missed it you can now listen again at the link below.

BBC Radio 4 - Mark Steel's in Town, Series 14, 5. Lerwick (Shetland part 1) Mark discovers how life in Lerwick is shaped by sea, storms and Shetland spirit.

Oh yes, Mark Steel's in toon da night - be sure to tune in and hear what he makes of the good folk of Lerwick!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Please do ask your local library to get in all the books you love. If you’re a writer to, remember to register for PLR.

OH!!! that’s so sweet!

a plastic punnet of home grown tomatoes of all sizes and autumnal colours

These are as tasty as they look!

This is the second time in a week our staff have received beautiful homegrown tomatoes from a cusomer. How lucky are we?

Library folks, what’s the nicest thing a kind customer has brought for your staff?

You are dead to us Jimmy Perez, you traitor. And sassermaet rules!