THREE Island authors will be guests on board the Department of Education and Children’s mobile library at St John’s on Tynwald Day, July 5.
The mobile library has a few Manx authors among its members and it is this connection which has brought about the ‘Meet the Authors’ event as Sue King, John Qualtrough and Stan Basnett are all library members.
Mrs King, of Laxey, has written a new book about the history of the village’s woollen industry. Historian Mr Qualtrough, of Port St Mary, is an expert in local history and industrial archaeology and he shares author credits on two titles and has published books in his own right.
Mr Basnett is the author of books on the Island’s transport system and popular walks around the Island. His most recent publication is a revision of an earlier title, Mann Ablaze, a history of the Island’s fire service.
All three authors will be available between 2pm and 4pm to discuss their publications and talk about how they became authors.
Their titles have been added to the Manx collection of the mobile library.
There will be an opportunity for the public to learn about collection which includes more than 1,130 items including some very old Manx books.
All new books of Manx interest are purchased for stock and are available on board the mobile library.
It is now possible for members to view the complete collection via a computer database while on board the mobile library and make requests for any items required.
Many items in the collection were donated to the library by previous customers who wanted their books to be available to the general public and by having them on the catalogue this is a great way to achieve this.
Librarian Sandra Henderson said the public visiting the fair field for Tynwald Day could not only chat to three interesting and diverse authors but also view the facilities on board the library, which will be situated on the Tynwald Inn car park from 10am to 4pm, and find out how easy and cheap it is for anyone living in the Island to join.
Annual membership of the mobile library costs ?15 for adults and ?2 for juniors. For more information, email Mrs Henderson on s.henderson@doe.sch.im, ring 673123 or visit http://www.gov.im/education/support/external/external_library.xml
