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Central Library

Central Library

Prince Georg Square
South Shields
NE33 2PE

tel. 0191 427 1717
tel. 0191 427 1818 (after 5.00pm)
fax. 0191 455 8085
Community Development Librarian
Jackie Buckley

Book of the month

'A spot of bother' by Mark Haddon

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

Funny, profoundly insightful and deeply poignant. The fictional characters are so well written that you can believe in the world that is built around them.

A worthy successor to “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time”


Our Services

We offer a comprehensive service ranging from traditional books, talking books, study guides, newspapers and periodicals, to DVDs, and CD-ROMs. We also have up-to-date IT services, including free access to the Internet, why not book a session and see what's happening around the world.

 

Talking Books

Over 3000 complete, unabridged books on tape: novels, mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy, romance, biographies, non-fiction, classic novels, plays and poetry


Opening Times:
Monday: 9am - 7pm
Tuesday: 9am - 7pm
Wednesday: 9am - 7pm
Thursday: 9am - 7pm
Friday: 9am - 5pm
Saturday: 9am - 4pm

   

Fax Service:
Within the UK - £1.00 for each sheet
Europe - £2.00 for the first sheet and £1.50 for each subsequent sheet
USA and Canada - £2.50 for the first sheet and £2.00 each subsequent sheet
Worldwide e.g. ships at sea - £3.50 for the first sheet and £3.00 each subsequent sheet
Incoming faxes - 50p for each sheet

 

Photocopier:
We offer photocopying facilities and the cost per sheet is A4 10p and A3 20p

 

Language courses, Music cassettes and Talking Books:
N.B. Talking books are issued free of charge to visually impaired borrowers registered with South Tyneside Social Services as blind or partially sighted

 

Our Lending Library

We have a comprehensive range of books, fiction and non-fiction for both leisure and study purposes covering a variety of interests and levels.

  • Fiction - Half a million books are borrowed each year from the Central Lending Library including novels to suit all tastes, contemporary fiction, romances, mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, westerns, horror and historical fiction.
    Many titles are available in large print format, talking book on both tape and CD.
  • Non Fiction - A wide range of stock is available including general interest and study materials covering GCSE, O and A level, GNVQ, NVQ. We also have a good selection of car and motorcycle manuals.
  • >Other local libraries
Hire Information
Format Charge Loan Period
Premier DVDs and Videos £2.00 1 day
All other DVDs AND Videos £1.50 1 week
Compact Discs £1.00 2 weeks
Talking Books £1.00 4 weeks
Audio Language Courses:
   1-4 cassettes or CDs 85p 4 weeks
   5 or more cassettes or CDs £1.30 4 weeks
Video Language Courses £1.50 1 week
CD ROMs £1.75 2 weeks
Printed Books and Music Scores Free 4 weeks
  

Important information

  • Fine rate on cassettes, CDs and books is 11p per day for each item overdue (Under 14's and Over 60's are exempt from this charge)
  • Overdue videos, DVDs and CD ROMs kept beyond the loan period are regarded as a rehire and are charged accordingly (All ages)
  • Talking books are issued free of charge to visually impaired borrowers registered with South Tyneside Social Services as blind or partially sighted.
  • All items require a valid South Tyneside Library Membership Card

What's On

Age Concern
Providing Health Advice, blood pressure checks on a monthly basis.

Coffee Mornings
Regular coffee mornings take place within the library. Everyone welcome.

Fire Brigade
Regular drop in sessions providing fire safety advice. For further details telephone 0191 424 7864

Boldon Bookworms Readers Group
Introductory meeting Tuesday 5th Oct then meeting the first Tuesday of every month between 10am and 12 noon.

Residential Reading Group
Harton Grange Residential Readers group, introductory meeting on Thursday 21st October, and then meeting once a fortnight, Thursday 2-3pm.
For further details telephone 0191 456 2852

Self Help collection
supporting health and well-being.

Parent Collection
including books for children.

Drop-in sessions with education and employment agencies
contact this library for details

Citizenship on-line Practice Test.
Practice questions help you prepare before taking the Citizenship test.
This is a free service.

Foreign Language Collection

Books in the following languages are available at this library

  • Arabic
  • Bengali
  • Chinese
  • Farsi
  • Hindi
  • Polish
  • Punjabi
  • Turkish
  • Urdu