‘I
enjoy the fellowship of all the volunteers, pulling together to attract people
to use the facilities’.
Carol
is a retired primary school teacher who has lived in Low Fell all of her life.
She is married, has a son and two grandsons. Carol has a wide range of
interests including; music, bowls, theatre and local history. She has been a
volunteer at the library since it became staffed by volunteers. As Carol has
used the Gateshead libraries since childhood, her main reason for volunteering
is to keep Low Fell Library open. Carol works on the desk at the library, however
one of her main roles, along with fellow volunteer Audrey, is to organise the
library’s Christmas, Easter and Summer Fairs. In addition, Carol and Audrey are
also in charge of catering when the library holds special performances such as
last year’s poetry readings to commemorate the centenary of the start of the
First World War. Carol enjoys the fellowship of all of the volunteers and the
feeling that we all pull together to encourage people to use the library.
Carol’s
favourite book is ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini.
Terry
‘The
library provides a lifeline for so many people, even if it is just somewhere to
come for a chat, which in itself is a source of pleasure.’
Since
graduating with a degree in Metallurgy from Leeds University Terry, now
retired, has worked in a variety of jobs in the wire and cable industry. Terry
is an avid reader and also enjoys walking. He and his wife both like going to
the theatre and to concerts. In his younger days Terry was a keen rugby player
and champion competitive ballroom dancer. Terry has used the public libraries since his
school days and was a library assistant at his secondary school. He decided to
volunteer because he has always valued libraries and did not want to see the
closure of Low Fell Library. Terry has been a volunteer at Low Fell from the
beginning and has found working in the library to be an opportunity to meet new
people, to make new friends and to learn new skills. He has various roles in
the library; in addition to ‘desk duties’, Terry is also our Health and Safety
Officer and has been able to use the skills he developed during his working
life in this position. He is also a Trustee of Low Fell Library Association, advises
on employment skills, such as CV writing, and liaises with local schools who
use the library. We all consider Terry to be our resident expert on ‘Strictly
Come Dancing’!
Terry’s
favourite book is ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak.
Eileen
‘I
volunteered because I used this library and wanted it to continue.’
Eileen
was born in Felling and moved to Low Fell in 1980.Now retired, during her working
life Eileen was employed in various clerical roles within the NHS. These days
Eileen is a Governor for the Gateshead Health Trust. She is married with a
daughter, a son and two grandsons. Eileen enjoys reading, walking and crosswords.
From childhood, starting at the age of seven when she visited the old Felling
Library with her mother, Eileen has been a regular user of the Gateshead libraries.
She remembers the library as being a place where ‘you had to keep quiet’.
Eileen’s son continues in the family tradition and regularly takes his older
son to the library. Eileen, one of the original volunteers at Low Fell,
volunteered to work in the library because she wanted it to continue, seeing it
not only as somewhere to borrow books but also as a meeting place. Volunteering
coincided with Eileen’s retirement and she enjoys the feeling of being part of
a group and being needed when working at the library. Working on the desk at
the library gives Eileen the opportunity to meet other volunteers and library users.
Eileen’s
favourite book is ‘The City of Joy’ by Dominique Lapierre.
Gill
‘I see
libraries as being very important for the local community, not just for books
but also as a social hub and an important support service for adults and
children.’
Gill is
a landscape architect and works in Newcastle for an engineering and
environmental consultancy. She graduated from Newcastle University in 1980,
after completing an undergraduate degree in London, where she grew up. She
moved to Low Fell in 1985 and lives here with her partner and two cats. Gill
enjoys playing golf as well as reading and films. Another of our original
volunteers, Gill began reading at the age of three and has always used the
public libraries, starting with her childhood local library in East Barnet in
North London. She was motivated to volunteer by the threat of closure and
wanted to assist in keeping the local library open for the local people. Gill
does confess however, that volunteering has helped to satisfy a childhood
ambition, which was at one stage, to be a librarian. As Gill still works
full-time she works on the desk at the library on a Saturday morning and finds
that it gives her a break, from her day job, both mentally and physically. She
is also a Trustee of Low Fell Library Association.
Gill’s
favourite series of books are the ‘Dark Tower’ series by Stephen King.
Alison
‘Libraries
are important community buildings with various uses such as; computing,
activity groups like Rhyme Time and events for children in the school holidays.’
Alison
was born in Penrith, Cumbria and moved to Low Fell in 1986. She is married with
two grown up children. Alison has had various jobs and took early retirement in
August 2015, from her job as a pre-school leader in Birtley, in order to pursue
her hobbies and to become involved in voluntary work. She began visiting the
library in Penrith as a child and brought her children to Low Fell Library.
Alison is one of our more recent volunteers and leads Rhymetime on a Thursday
morning. She volunteered to lead Rhymetime as she used to enjoy singing with
the children at the nursery where she worked. She feels that volunteering
allows her to give something back to the local community. Alison will also will
be helping with craft activities at our seasonal fairs. The things Alison likes
best about volunteering are; feeling that she is helping the community, getting
to know the other volunteers and getting to know the adults and children who
attend Rhymetime.
Susan
‘Until
I volunteered I didn’t appreciate that the library is not just about borrowing
books and using the computers, it is also a vital source of social contact for
many people’
Susan
was born in Gateshead but has also lived in Oxford, Australia and the USA,
where she worked as a scientific research technician. She is married to Craig
and has a grown up daughter called Katherine. Susan was taken to Gateshead
Central Library by her father from an early age and these visits helped to
inspire a love of reading which has lasted for all of her life. Susan’s family
have a strong connection with Low Fell Library. She took Katherine to Low Fell
Library throughout her childhood and Susan’s late father, Edward, was a regular
user of the library too. Susan is one of the original volunteers at Low Fell
and volunteered because she was concerned that, without the support of the
volunteers, the library would close. On a personal level she was also looking
for a new challenge. Susan works behind the desk at the library and is a
Trustee of Low Fell Library Association. She also helps at the seasonal fairs
and special events at the library. By working at the library Susan has made
lots of new friends and has acquired new skills. She really enjoys helping to
provide and preserve a valuable service to the public.
Susan’s
favourite series of books is the ‘Big Stone Gap’ series by Adrianna Trigiani.
Elsie
‘I
wanted to do some voluntary work after I retired…when the grandchildren did not
need so much attention I wanted to do something for the community and this opportunity
came up’
Elsie
was born in Rowlands Gill and now lives in Birtley. She is retired, however
during her working life she worked in a number of places including; the DHSS,
various banks and building societies and Thomas De La Rue.
Elsie is married and in her spare time she enjoys sewing, decorating and line
dancing. Although Elsie did not join a library until she was thirty, her
daughter was a member of Low Fell Library and her grandchildren have been members
since they were eighteen months old. Another of our original volunteers at Low
Fell Library, Elsie has recently become a Trustee of Low Fell Library
Association. In addition to working behind the desk, Elsie is also responsible
for ordering the stationery for the library and assists our Treasurer. Recently
Elsie successfully organised a library fund raising book event at ASDA and a
collection for the library in association with the Co-op
on Low Fell. Elsie became a volunteer at
the library because she wanted to do something for the community. She believes
that it is important to keep libraries open because, not only do they provide
access to computers for people who do not have one at home, they are also a
venue for community events for both adults and children. Elsie enjoys being
part of the group of volunteers running the library and likes to provide
assistance with the computers and helping at our events.
Elsie
has too many favourite books to mention, however she would particularly
recommend ‘I Am Pilgrim’ by Terry Hayes, a thriller with lots of twists and
turns
.