The Town That Saved Its Library

 Based on the true story of saving a beloved local library this story has a true community spirit at its heart. Written by locals and illustrated by local school children. The town of Shepton Mallet is super proud of its heritage and its stories but is also proud of its sense of community. The community drives the town and what makes it buzz. In December 2019, Shepton Mallet town saved its beloved library from closure. This was a whole town effort, when discussed at a local council meeting over 100 locals turned up to show their support for keeping the library open. The library reopened, post-pandemic, with a refurbishment and a dedicated fresh-look children’s library – complete with reading nooks and story wall. In a time when local libraries are a dying breed, to be a ray of hope for other libraries that may be facing similar cutbacks and problems we decided to create a picture book to tell the full story, as well as documenting this turning point in our town’s history.