Jen Hillyard

Got there eventually! We’ve always just done the garden centre before so this was a new level of Santa booking stress….

Email Santa on the roof which includes “you will receive your unique access email at 10am on 8th October”

Anyone else still waiting impatiently for the 10am email to book Fenwick Santa on the Roof? Or have they just forgotten me… 🥺

Jennie smiling at camera with oversize books in background on posh wooden shelves to ceiling

More “visiting other people’s libraries on holiday” again - this time at the V&A where part of the “Design 1900-now” galleries are surrounded by beautiful oversize books. Really enjoyed the exhibition - and checking out the book titles….

Lumo train. One door labelled for Newcastle stow your cases on the luggage rack in this carriage, the other labelled for London/Edinburgh stow your cases in this carriage.

I don’t get it… Why is it helpful for all the passengers for one station to use the same luggage rack? Doesn’t that create more congestion at exiting? #Lumo

Sigh. When you’re fighting with sorting a giant table in Word thinking “I wish past me had done this in Excel….” But after ten years, is it worth the effort to move it over?

Up at the other end of town you’ve got the Farrell Centre all about modern architecture and urban design then across the river in Gateshead the fabulous Baltic Centre for modern art.

If you’re looking for independent restaurants I highly recommend Kafe Neon on the Bigg Market if you like Greek food…
Obviously we have a very nice castle… Nearby there is also a beautiful library open to visitors- the Lit and Phil on Westgate Rd.

A tabby cat on a pink harness and lead lies in a flowerpot in the sunshine

Following a procedure, the cat isn’t allowed out freely for another week but she was wailing so pitifully at the door that I relented.
It’s not like walking a dog though!

Twilight Talks: John Keats Encounters the Shakespeare Folio Keats meets Shakespeare: discover how the young poet inscribed his own verse into a facsimile of the 1623 folio between two great plays.

The hottest ticket in Durham this September? Probably not this, but I'm still excited to be giving a talk on Keats's copy of Shakespeare at the Palace Green Library, inspired by the current exhibit of Durham's First Folio📖 @ksaacomm.bsky.social @bars.bsky.social: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/twilight-t...

NAG Webinar Week 17-21 November 2025 Call for submissions Open to all Image of an open laptop with NAG logo on screen https://nag.org.uk/webinar-week-2025/

Got that Friday feeling? Why not take ten minutes out of the day-job to consider NAG Webinar Week 2025!
Have you got a recent library project you could share?
Running 17-21 November; deadline for submissions 10th October.
nag.org.uk/webinar-week...
No NAG membership required - open to everyone.

You know you work in a small team when even the librarian has to do the Barista training….
I am still slightly afraid of the milk frother. Please, no-one ask for cappuccino when I’m covering for a few weeks!

What's On - The Common Room Our programme of events welcomes all audiences to discover our building. We also run special seasonal events and film screenings, as well as gigs.

September at The Common Room.
📖 4th – Book Launch: Tyneside’s Railway Heritage
🎸 6th – Edgar Jones live
📕 11th – NEIMME Book Launch: William Thomas & the S&D Railway
🏛 17th – General Admission Day + Railway 200 archive
🚋 18th – Talk: Newcastle Trams

Full info & tix 👉 thecommonroom.org.uk/whats-on

NAG Webinar Week 17-21 November 2025 Call for submissions Open to all Image of an open laptop with NAG logo on screen https://nag.org.uk/webinar-week-2025/

NAG Webinar Week 2025!
Share your recent library projects with the wider community
Running 17-21 November; deadline for submissions 10th October.
nag.org.uk/webinar-week...
NAG membership not required to present or watch; all sessions will be open to everyone and all recordings open access.

Better than perishable foods…. I would be willing to live with the salad spinner in the bed for a quiet life tbh!

NAG Webinar Week 17-21 November 2025 Call for submissions Open to all Image of an open laptop with NAG logo on screen https://nag.org.uk/webinar-week-2025/

NAG Webinar Week 2025!
Share your recent library projects with the wider community
Running 17-21 November; deadline for submissions 10th October.
nag.org.uk/webinar-week...
NAG membership not required to present or watch; all sessions will be open to everyone and all recordings open access.

The number of my volunteers who are utterly clueless on Roman numerals I wasn’t sure if they were still teaching it… I have to have a chart on the wall!

When planning for next year’s uniform shopping they do PE twice a week in y1! Even less pinafores required… But as our PE is consecutive days we need more joggers/shorts…

Illustration showing the South Yorkshire Miners' Association offices, Barnsley, in c.1874-1881.

Photograph of the Miners' Hall, Barnsley, including trade union banners on display around the edges of the hall.

Looking forward to #HeritageOpenDays later this month!

Join us at the Miners' Hall, Barnsley, on 16-17 September - a fantastic opportunity to see inside the NUM & Yorkshire Miners' Association's historic home & find out more about the union archives

www.heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-e...

Personally I would be MORE suspicious of a birth certificate issued in the last year than an old one… In terms of identity theft/fraud etc…

Our “change in the bag” was school t shirt and shorts/leggings in correct colour rather than full on pinafore etc. She has never worn it once!

Don’t you have to send them in PE kit one day a week?

Ok, it’s reassuring to know other people are struggling with “bound with” in MARC as well. Not sure I’m ready to leap into BIBFRAME but at least I know it’s not just me!
#RBSCG25

Migration Museum Walking Tour Discover 2000 years of migration history, following the stories of generations of migrants that have shaped the City of London.

Join the Migration Museum team for a walking tour exploring the incredible stories of the generations of migrants who’ve lived, worked, and shaped the City of London.

🗓️ Sat 13 Sept 2025
🕜 1.30–3pm
📍 Starts behind the Royal Exchange, London EC3V 3LL
🔗 Book now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/migration-...

Jen (a librarian) in front of a sign saying “library” - not the one she works at. This one is at Ushaw College

Busman’s holiday!
Anyone else spend their days off at other people’s libraries?

Selfie in front of wall of ladybird books

Example exhibit of Learning to Read Peter and Jane with text panel and artwork from the series

Really enjoyed the Ladybird books exhibition today at Ushaw College (nr Durham). Finishes 31st Aug so if you’ve been meaning to go…

Hunt a duck 27th August

Wallace and gromit films 22,26,28 August

She’s also pretty keen to come to work next week…
@thecommonroomgn.bsky.social

Child on bouncy castle

Poster about bounce and play - 18, 19,20 August

Bouncy castle against stained glass window

When you install a bouncy castle in your library so your five year demands to come to work with you that day…
@thecommonroomgn.bsky.social

Next week, as part of our summer events in August, we are transforming our Wood Hall into a play area, including a bouncy castle & giant snakes and ladders - for only £3 per child!

We have other free & affordable events this month - see more information here thecommonroom.org.uk/family-summe...