Comedia Jon Richardson has opened a new pop-up shop which aims to support the community and Totley Library.

The Totley Library Book Shop was officially launched on 3 March

It will serve as a vital fundraising effort to improve the library’s facilities and ensure it continues to meet the needs of the local community.

Events Coordinator Collette Duke said: “ The shop aims to raise £50,000 for the community library.

“The funds will help make the library a more accessible and usable space, including mobile bookshelves and different seating areas for both the adult and children’s sections.”

Collette Duke and Gail Skilington pictured with Jon Richardson at the opening

Collette added: “It’s been a very exciting week since opening the Totley Library pop-up book shop, we have loved meeting many new people who have called in to buy books and jigsaws.”

“We sold all our children’s books on the first day of opening and have put an appeal for more. The response from the community has been fantastic, with many people saying they’ve always wanted a book shop in the village.”

“We have to give fundraising a big push to achieve this goal alongside keeping the library running,”

The library hopes the shop will help raise its profile and promote the wide range of services it offers to the community and aims to reach pre-pandemic levels.

Gail Skillington and Sue Meaker, members of the book sale team, will be sorting and selling book donations for the charity. The shop will also sell hamper raffle tickets and concert tickets to help raise funds.

In addition, the library offers a cinema experience with Friday film nights, family film screenings on Sundays, and free films for over-60s on Thursdays.

The pop-up shop was opened by the Totley CRIC – Community Resource and Information Centre – charity, an organization formed to manage the library following the council’s plans to close it in 2014. Since then, a team of over 100 volunteers has worked tirelessly to keep the library services running.

There will be an upcoming book sale on March 15th from 2-4 pm and a plant sale on May 11th from 10 am to 12:30 pm at the library.

The charity is also looking for new fundraising ideas, and anyone interested in organizing an event can contact Totley CRIC through their website at https://www.totleycric.org.uk/contact-us/.