Hooky library gets a triple helping!
Hook Norton residents are being encouraged to get behind a new crowdfunding campaign that aims to raise money for the local library, with Oxfordshire County Council set to add £3 for every £1 raised.
Friends of Hook Norton Community Library and the council are working in partnership with the goal of raising £10,000, which, if successful, will turn into £40,000 to fund the work, by the end of October.
The proposal will see an expansion into the Norman Matthews Hall next door, reconfiguring the existing library to maximise space, and provide a flexible area for more activities.
A new proposed larger space for children’s books will also delight the many young readers who make up 40 per cent of existing users.
Mark McCree, Head of Libraries and Heritage at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The project to expand Hook Norton Library is an exciting opportunity for us to develop and enhance this well used and much loved community asset, responding to changing customer demands and needs.
“It is also a chance for us to pilot a collaborative approach to project delivery, planning and funding by working with the Friends of Hook Norton Community Library.”
Jane Orchard, Chair of the Friends of Hook Norton Community Library, said: “Libraries have never been more vital. We’re launching this crowdfunder campaign to raise the all-important funds so the work can begin early in 2026, ready to celebrate the National Year of Reading.
“While other, libraries around the UK have closed, Oxfordshire County Council is offering us this exciting opportunity to reunite the whole building into a fun social space for reading, learning and community activities."
The library is currently in a small Grade II listed building dating from 1855, which has served the village well as a school, youth club and social space before becoming the library in 1973.
Now it will be re-configured to create a space that inspires the joy of reading for all, with dedicated reading areas for children and adults, and the flexibility to support more fun, social activities.
There will be more room for the many library facilities from books to PCs and a warm, welcoming place for all in the heart of the village.
To support Hook Norton Library with its fundraising, visit its crowdfunder page.
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