Glasgow Women’s Library’s popular Story Café has been shortlisted for the CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award, alongside libraries in Suffolk, Kirklees and Norfolk. The award honours excellence and innovation in the UK library sector and all shortlisted libraries provide services that run successful initiatives around the wellbeing, diversity and inclusion agendas.
Story Café is a women-only shared reading group which brings women from different backgrounds together to connect over literature, with a particular emphasis on diversity and equality and awareness of the voices of BME authors. The sessions welcome women from all walks of life, bringing them together with tea, cake and stories. The equalities agenda is central to the aims of Story Café which explores themes around diversity and culture in a safe and supportive space.
The other shortlisted libraries and projects are Ipswich Library’s Chat and Chill, Kirklees Libraries’ Storywalks and HMP Norfolk’s prison library. The winner will be announced on 12 October during the first ever Libraries Week and will receive a £4,000 investment from CILIP, the library and information association.
