Home Library Service

The Home Library Service is a free service to deliver books for people with restricted mobility and their carers.

If you enjoy reading but are no longer able to carry your books or have difficulty getting out of your home, then we can bring the library to you!

• What does it provide?
• How does it work?
• Who is eligible for this service?
• Volunteering for the Home Library Service

What does it provide?

The Home Library Service is a free library service for people with restricted mobility, bringing books, including large print, talking books, films and CDs to your door, roughly every 3 weeks. It is delivered by regular friendly staff supported by trained and experienced volunteers who will chat with you about the books you like to read, reserve titles for you and help you with other enquiries.

We offer a service to speakers of languages other than English too – we currently have volunteers who speak Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati and Bengali, but let us know if you have other language needs and we will try to match you up with a volunteer who can speak your language.

All library staff and volunteers have undertaken an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (formerly CRB) and they all carry identification so you can be confident they are genuine.

How does it work?

A friendly member of library staff will visit you to discuss your reading needs. You can request specific items or titles that will be delivered to your home on a pre-arranged regular rota.

Who is eligible for this service?

You may be eligible for this service if you do not have anyone who can visit a library on your behalf and you are unable to get to your local library because of mobility problems, disability, frailty or ill health.  Carers who are unable to use their local library owing to personal circumstances, are also eligible for this service.

If you are interested in receiving the service or know someone who may benefit from it, please contact:

Volunteering for the Home Library Service

We are always interested in recruiting new volunteers to help deliver this service. We need:

• Friendly volunteers who can collect books from the library and deliver to customers' homes
• A minimum commitment of one duty per month
• People who can speak one or more Asian languages (for the Asian Home Library Service)

Full training is provided and travel expenses reimbursed. This is a rewarding and great way to get involved in your community and meet new people.

Find out more about this volunteering opportunity and apply online