For the Love of Books

Our podcast is back with a round-up of some exciting opportunities for our library members to get involved in. Our E-Services Librarian, Chris Wilson, chats through a host of chances to see some top authors in our libraries in the next few weeks and he catches up with our Librarian at Coatbridge Library, Thomas Clark, to find out a little more about great activities happening there. Listen to the...

In our finale of season 6, we get in the Christmas spirit with our For the Love of Books podcast and find out how our libraries are getting in the Christmas mood. Chris, our E-Services Librarian also challenged some of our staff to write their letter to Santa and him decide if they have been naughty or nice. Susan, Alison, Hilary, Jean and Thomas took up the challenge. So listen to find out what t...

With yesterday being St. Andrew's Day, we decided to make our latest episode of our For the Love of Books podcast all about Scottish writers. Our E-Services Librarian Chris Wilson has collated a list of favourite Scottish authors from fellow library staff Alison, Hilary, Phyllis, Thomas and Letty to help you find your next Scottish read. We also reveal our Book of the Year shortlist containing ano...

It's Book Week Scotland, which this year has the theme of Scotland's Stories. Our E-Services Librarian, Chris Wilson, had the chance to chat with Storyteller and Author, Allison Galbraith, about her book Lanarkshire Folk Tales which is full of great stories from the local area. We also get the chance to find out more about her Folk Tales of Lanarkshire project that she's been involved...

Book Week Scotland is almost upon us with a national celebration of books and reading happening from November 14-20. We have lots of great special events happening in our libraries - and in person too for what seems like the first time in a long time.  Our E-Services Librarian, Chris Wilson, managed to catch up with Drew Feeney, our Librarian from Airdrie Library, and Thomas Clark, our Librarian a...

It was Libraries Week recently and we had loads of great events. Our E-Services Librarian, Chris Wilson, managed to track down some of the staff involved to get a little overview of what happened and how, in some cases, these events lead to future plans. Hilary Petrie gives us an insight into the Philosophy Cafe event at Motherwell Library which focussed on VR and AR technologies and how they coul...

In the lead-up to National Poetry Day 2022, North Lanarkshire Libraries held a poetry competition. The prize for the winning poems was to have them published in a collection on BorrowBox - the library eBook service. We decided to go one step further and create this special podcast episode featuring readings of all of the poems selected for the eBook. Join us and listen in on a great way to celebra...

September ends with our partner organisation Macmillan Cancer Support celebrating the World's Biggest Coffee Morning. Our libraries have always enjoyed getting involved and raising money for such a great cause. In our new podcast episode, Chris Wilson - our E-Services Librarian is joined by Craig Tobin - our Macmillan Project Manager. Hear firsthand some of Craig's experiences, why he thin...

In today's podcast, our E-Services Librarian is joined by children's author Hannah Peckham. Hannah is the award-winning author of the Conker series - featuring a loveable chameleon discovering how to deal with emotions and friendships. Find out more about Hannah's inspiration, hear about her own captive audience for her stories and why stories on children's mental health and well-b...

Our summer activities programme this year had a big digital element. Our LogintoLearn team toured our libraries with various coding activities and digital experiences for kids to get involved in. With digital technology playing a bigger part in everyone's life, Chris Wilson - our E-Services Librarian, is joined by Hilary Petrie and Phyllis Canavan to find out what experiences the kids had duri...

We decided for our episode back with the new season to let you guys know what we have been reading in the summer months.  Our E-Services Librarian, Chris Wilson, searched out a few friends from across our libraries to give you the details and hopefully inspire you to find a new read that you've not heard of yet.  Don't forget you can leave us feedback on our podcast using #FLBpodcast or by...

It's always an exciting time when we get new Librarians joining our team, and we're excited to give you the chance to find out more about them too. Chris Wilson, our E-Services Librarian, is joined on this episode by Thomas Clark and Joanne McKeown, our latest Librarians to become part of North Lanarkshire Libraries. Thomas is our Librarian at Coatbridge Library and Joanne is based in Moth...

Summertime is always an exciting time in libraries and for the first time in a few years, we can do events in person. So listen up, find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge, Let's Go Summer and get a little look at what we're reading this summer. Chris Wilson, our E-Services Librarian, talks you through some of the Let's Go Summer events that stood out to him. We get a highligh...

Newmains Library is turning the grand old age of 60 this year. To celebrate, our staff at the library have been hard at work putting together a fantastic fun day which will be on Saturday 18 June. To give us a hint at what to expect, and to share a few memories of Newmains Library, Chris Wilson - our E-Services Librarian is joined in this episode by Susan Wilson and Christine Ramage - Library Assi...

To celebrate Local History Month, we invited members of the Archives and Local History teams on our podcast to tell us about the fantastic resources and services they have to offer. Chris Wilson, our E-Services Librarian was joined by Archivist, Wiebke McGhee, and Local Studies Officer, Margaret McGinty. During their chat, you'll find out more about how they can help with family history resear...

Yesterday was Keep the Heid, Scotland's Reading Moment - organised by the Scottish Library & Information Council and promoted in public libraries across Scotland. After the hugely successful day, where the target pledge was smashed by readers signing up to dedicate 6 minutes to reading and enjoy the health and well-being benefits of that time spent between the pages of a good book, our E-S...

For World Book Night our Librarian from Coatbridge Library, Thomas Clark, created a quiz for an event. We decided to bring a shortened version to our podcast and have Thomas challenge our E-Service Librarian, Chris Wilson and Librarian at Airdrie Library, Drew Feeney to test their literary knowledge. It gives you the chance to take them on too. So feel free to try and answer the questions as you l...

For our new episode of the For the Love of Books podcast, our host and E-Services Librarian, Chris Wilson, is joined by a very special guest - Scottish crime author Emma Christie. Emma exploded onto the scene with her debut novel The Silent Daughter which was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize and the Bloody Scotland Debut of the Year. A major feature of the book is a fantastic twist in the tale...

Other than Librarians, Book Bloggers are probably the next closest group of people to so publicly display their love of books. We decided to invite two of the best local Book Bloggers onto our podcast to get their experience in the blogging world. Chris Wilson, our E-Services Librarian is joined in this episode by Gordon from Grab This Book and Sharon from Chapter In My Life. Both have great exper...

Our podcast this week takes a little step away from books (although there is still a mention in there) to have a look at some of the recent work from our LogintoLearn team with raising awareness to scams and staying safe online. The E-Services Librarian, Chris Wilson, is joined in this episode by Ekaterine Tsurtsumia, our Digital Assistant at Cumbernauld Library and Phyllis Canavan, our Digital Le...

To celebrate World Book Day, our E-Services Librarian - Chris Wilson challenged some of our staff to tell us about their favourite children's books. There turned out to be a great spread of books with their own childhood classics, ones they've enjoyed reading time and time again, new picture books to check out and even a top YA title. Listen in to find out more. Don't forget you can le...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Which everyone knows is the perfect time for reading. In this episode of our podcast - the final in this series (don't worry, we'll be back!), Chris Wilson - our E-Services Librarian catches up with Judy McGuire and Drew Feeney from Airdrie Library. Winter is in the air, everyone can feel the Christmas spirit rising and Judy and Drew recentl...

Did you know that inside Airdrie Library there is an Observatory? Our friends at the Airdrie Astronomical Association help to run the Observatory and two of their members, William Tennant and Richard Shaw join Chris, our E-Services Librarian on this episode to tell us more. The pair discuss what is happening with the Observatory and the club in the current Covid-19 climate and also chat about some...

It's Book Week Scotland! To celebrate, Chris - our E-Services Librarian is joined on our podcast by Carole Johnstone, author of Mirrorland - a smash hit new debut novel. Carole tells us all about her start in creative writing with short stories, her love for all things Stephen King, the fantastic psychological thriller she has written, and how exciting it was for Stephen King to be one of its...

We're very excited about our new For the Love of Books podcast episode. There is sometimes a book that comes out that book lovers everywhere start to have a buzz about. It wins awards, it's reviewed everywhere and everyone who has read it recommends it. Last year, that book was Scabby Queen by the fantastic Kirstin Innes. Our E-Services Librarian, Chris, was lucky enough to catch up with K...