Brighton & Hove Libraries

The library is your place and your space to be you. Study, work or just relax in libraries across the city 7 days a week. 🎧🧑‍💻👩🏽‍💻😌 Discover what the library can mean for you. 🔗 Join now via link in bio #EveryonesLibrary #LibraryOn #JoinYourLibrary

Go all in and borrow a staff pick 📚 To celebrate the #NationalYearofReading2026 our library staff are sharing their book recommendations every month! 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐲 This book considers the happenings of the last 30 years and explores what it means to be English. Do we have a collective purpose, shared beliefs, a common culture? I found this book interesting and thought provoking. Cowley’s writing is reflective and humane, interweaving both the personal and the political. He explores how major global influences: Covid, the Internet, financial markets, freedom of movement and climate change, and significant national or local changes: the decline of high streets, lack of affordable housing, reduction in social mobility and the move to a service economy have affected our national mood and psyche? Cowley identifies and shares some positive stories from people living in England during a period of rapid cultural, social and political change. Recommendation by Julie. #NYOR2026 #GoAllIn

11-17 May is #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek. Take Action and choose a book to boost your mental health from the #ReadingWell collection in #bhlibraries Reading Well titles have been selected by health professionals and people with lived experience of mental health struggles. Download the booklist from readingagency.org.uk/resources/9477 #TheReadingAgency #uokbrightonhove

Go all in and borrow a staff pick 📚 To celebrate the #NationalYearofReading2026 our library staff are sharing their book recommendations every month! 𝐀 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐲 𝐎𝐰𝐧 𝐛𝐲 @kathy_burke_ If you adore Kathy Burke, this memoir is a total treat. It’s funny, blunt, heartbreaking, and full of the grit and humour she’s carried since childhood - even when someone called her “ugly” as a kid, she turned it into a joke and never looked back. Her early life was tough: a mother lost too soon, a father battling alcoholism, and two older brothers doing their best. Yet she grew into a powerhouse - Cannes Best Actress, acclaimed playwright, director - all the while hating the nonsense that comes with fame. No wonder she stepped out of the spotlight twenty years ago, which is exactly where the book leaves her. Bold, honest, and full of heart. Classic Kathy. Recommended by Frances. #NYOR2026 #GoAllIn @readingagency

Families enjoying a fun time at Patcham Library, creating Spring flowers and minibeasts and enjoying stories and rhymes. Patcham Library holds a regular storytime at 10.15 on Tuesdays for under 5s and their parents and carers (term time only) 😍📖🌺🐭🦋🌼🌸📖🤩📖🌺🦋🌸😍📖🌺🐭🦋🌼🌸📖🤩

Go all in and borrow a staff pick 📚 To celebrate the #NationalYearofReading2026 our library staff are sharing their book recommendations every month! 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐩𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬 "One of my favourite writer’s with a loyal following, @davidsedarisbooks has become increasingly established, especially after his radio 4 series. Calypso is written with a funny, whimsical, relatable, honest and moving way. These true stories in David’s life are at times cynical, however the warmth within his style of writing makes this read packed with awesome humour, with laugh out loud moments!” Recommendation by Mark #GoAllIn2026 #NYOR #TBR @readingagency

🌟幸福是……能夠在外地圖書館把繁體中文書上架，供大眾借閱 Happiness is…you can borrow the books in your home language(traditional Chinese) from local library🥹 @bhlibraries @word_.not_.found #cantonese #traditionalchinese #reading #brighton #hongkong

🏙📚A City of Stories: Opportunities within reach Over the past three years, we’ve focused on removing barriers so that more people can feel confident using their library, whether it's their first visit or their fiftieth. We’ve added books in multiple languages, increased our dyslexia-friendly collections, and provided BSL-signed Storytimes, virtual tours, and support with digital skills. Each April, #WorldBookNight brings reading into the heart of the city. By gifting Quick Read books through community partners, we’ve helped more adults discover (or rediscover) the joy of reading for pleasure, sometimes finishing a book for the very first time. Through reading initiatives like World Book Night, community partnerships, and volunteer run IT support sessions, libraries are helping people build confidence, stay connected and discover new opportunities at their own pace. #EveryonesLibrary #NationalYearOfReading2026 #ACityOfStories @brightonhovecc

Now available on Flickr - highlights from @bhlibraries ' archive of Viscountess Frances Garnet Wolseley, pioneering horticultural educator and feminist icon. Explore photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings and more via the link in bio. What might you uncover in your library's archive? [Media description: Screen recording of a Flickr album of archival material from the Brighton & Hove Libraries collection, featuring historic photographs, handwritten scrapbook pages, newspaper clippings and documents relating to Viscountess Frances Garnet Wolseley (1872–1936).]

🏙📚A City of Stories: Practical Help and Welcoming Spaces Our libraries have been at the heart of community wellbeing, offering welcoming spaces, practical support, and enjoyable experiences. We’ve been providing warm spaces with board games and jigsaws across all our libraries during the cost-of-living challenges and gifted 1,295 SIM cards to residents experiencing data poverty, helping people in our city stay connected and supported. We’ve hosted healthcare and Citizen Advice drop-ins, expanded our Reading Well collections, and welcomed 40+ regular community groups across our libraries every month. Creative partnerships like @musicforconnection 's dementia-friendly sessions have brought joy, music, and shared moments across generations. Through our Home Delivery Service, volunteers contributed 4,980 hours since 2022, ensuring everyone can still access books, resources, and companionship if they cannot make it into a library. To find our more about any of our services, tap the link to our website in our bio! 💛 @goodthingsfdn @readingagency @citizensadvicebrightonhove #EveryonesLibrary #LibrariesFromHome #NationalYearofReading2026

We are super excited that @paul_linnet , co-creator of Supertato, the Fish with Fingers and No-Bot the Robot, will be joining us for Storytime at Jubilee Library on #worldbookday2026. Thursday 5 March at 10.15am. Storytimes for under 5s take place in many Brighton & Hove Libraries. Find out more at /libraries-leisure-and-arts/events-libraries 📖 #NationalYearOfReading2026 #GoAllIn2026

🏙📚A City of Stories: Nurturing Curious, Creative Minds Our libraries are the perfect place to spark curiosity and creativity in young readers. Since 2022, 6,729 children in Brighton & Hove have joined the Summer Reading Challenge with us, with 61 young volunteers helping to bring the fun to life while gaining valuable skills. Last year we celebrated The Big Read with local primary school students and author Alex Falase-Koya. Each participating child received their own copy of Alex’s latest Marv book. Over several months, they read, explored, and connected with the story before meeting Alex in person at Jubilee Library. The project, funded by your kind donations to our Libraries Legacy Fund, helped children see themselves reflected in books, and to experience the library as a place where stories and identity truly belong. We have supported poetry workshops, hosted children’s street parties and musicals, and worked in partnership with local schools and organisations to make sure our libraries continue to be spaces where confidence grows and young minds are inspired. Visit us at the library and discover your next adventure waiting on our shelves! ✨📖 #NationalYearOfReading2026 #SummerReadingChallenge #GoAllIn2026