Peasedown St John Community Library is continuing to ‘punch above its weight’ according to Councillor Karen Walker.

Peasedown St John’s Community Library, which opened in October 2019, is part of B&NES Council’s network of community services.

Run by the Peasedown Community Trust, the library saw a huge growth in its number of users in 2023, compared to the previous year.

Cllr Karen Walker is the Operations Manager at the Library. She said: “For a small community library with just 700 books we’re definitely punching above our weight!

“Over 200 people used our services last month. Not only is reading enjoyable, but it’s also good for our mental health too. It reduces stress, is therapeutic and keeps our brains active.”

The library’s stats show that up to 300 books a month are now being issued to members of the public, compared to 150 books a month during the year before.

“This growth is due to a number of factors,” added Karen, “more people are using community facilities again after the covid pandemic, people recognise that reading is good for our mental health, plus we have a dedicated team of volunteers who make people feel welcome whenever they visit!”

Peasedown Community Library is located at The Hive Community Centre, Bath Road, Peasedown St John, BA2 8DH.

Opening days are:

• Mondays:

11am – 3pm

• Wednesdays:

2pm – 4pm

• Saturdays:

10am – 1pm

Peasedown Community Library is part of the Peasedown Community Trust, which runs several projects in the village. Trust Chairman, Cllr Gavin Heathcote, added: “Peasedown Library is part of the Libraries West consortium, which means that if you take a book out from us you can return it to any library across the South West of England, and vice versa.”