Monday 12th September: 2pm at the PPL.

Free for members and non-members.

Join us for a talk by Fr. Gregory Carpenter, the president of the PPL, who has explored former railway routes on bicycle and on foot. This illustrated talk covers Plymouth, Tavistock, Yealmpton and Barnstaple.

This talk is a Heritage Open Days event. 

On Saturday 25th July and Saturday 1st August at around 11.30 Fr Gregory will be giving a 'Reading in the Tent' in the newly opened Secret Garden.

These will be low key events open to all Members for which there will be no charge. You are welcome to bring your own food and drink as sadly we are still not able to provide this service to our Members. The toilet within the library will be open for the use of Members.

The readings should be no more than 45 mins in length and will be socially distanced. Detials of the readings are still to be finalised and will be put on the website nearer the time.

The Secret Garden at the rear of the PPL is now all up and running for the use of members and their guests.

This south facing space will be open during normal library opening hours. Whilst he library is still not providing refreshments you are welcome to bring your own drinks & snacks to enjoy in the garden.

Access is via a small gate to the right of the main entrance. Over the coming weeks we shall be looking to add container plants and shrubs, and we would welcome any donations to make it look more homely.

There is enough space to ensure social distancing for groups of up to about 10 (on dry days!) to meet up and we are looking to provide some events over the coming weeks like book readings etc.

Great News
Now that the government has eased the restrictions on the opening of libraries the Trustees of the PPL have taken the decision to re-open the library for the issue and return of books to our members.
 
Initially we shall be opening the library on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays between the hours of 10.30 and 12.30. During those times we will be answering the phone although you can leave an answerphone message at any time. Email and online requests will also be dealt with. At the moment we will not be providing any drinks or food but you are welcome to bring your own. The toilet will be available if required during opening hours.

Secret Garden
At the rear of the PPL is our 'Secret Garden' where at the earliest opportunity we are looking to provide a private covered outdoor space with limited seating and tables for the use of members who would prefer to be outside.

Book Delivery Service
For those members for whom travel is still difficult we will be providing a book delivery / collection service (subject to some geographical exclusions). All returned books will be quarantined for at least 48 hours before becoming available again. Books can be requested either by phone / email. In the next few weeks we will be updating the website online book catalogue to reflect the changes that have been made to our inventory this year. Many thanks to Sue and Fr G for their efforts in this area. There will be no charge for this service but any donations to the new book trolley appeal would always be welcome. READ MORE HERE
 
The wearing of face coverings will be optional but we request that members observe the current government social distancing advice at all times whilst on the premises. Only one member will be allowed in each of our two small rooms at any one time and two in the other larger rooms.
 
Sadly we shall still not be holding any events or groups inside the building until restrictions are further eased, but it may be possible to do something in the garden. The Trustees are currently meeting every two weeks (via Zoom) to review our services in the light of government advice. Updates on this will be available on the website..

PPL Community Pages
We are still continuing with our community page where you can submit / comment on articles and stories from other members. READ MORE HERE

Members Feedback
Over the coming weeks we will be phoning some of our members to get a clearer understanding of your expectations from the PPL in this the 'New Normal', so that we can better service our members' requirements in the future. If we have not got to you yet, please feel free to email or leave your thoughts on the answerphone: admin@theppl.org.uk Tel 01752 659907

We look forward to welcoming you to the PPL again soon but above all Stay Safe

Trustees PPL July 2020

Try something new! Come and relax in our quiet, peaceful library and enjoy some creative colouring.

Join us on the Second Wednesday of every month from 11am to 12.30pm.

All welcome. FREE to members, non-members £3 to include tea, coffee and biscuits. Come along and bring a friend.

Middle Ground Theatre Company Ltd is delighted to present their acclaimed production of a classic Miss Marple mystery at the Theatre Royal Plymouth 23rd to 28th September

The residents of Chipping Cleghorn are astonished to read an advert in the local newspaper that a murder will take place this coming Friday at Little Paddocks, the home of Letitia Blacklock.

Unable to resist, the group gather at the house at the appointed time, when the lights go out and a gun is fired. Enter Miss Marple, who must unravel a complex series of relationships and events to solve the mystery of the killer…

Now in its fourth year of touring, this lavish production has delighted packed audiences across the UK and Ireland and is brought to you by the company who produced the critically acclaimed courtroom thriller The Verdict.

Starring Sarah Thomas (Last Of The Summer Wine), Kazia Pelka(Heartbeat/World’s End/Family Affairs), Tom Butcher (The Bill/Doctors), Jenny Funnell (As Time Goes By), Lucy Evans (Coronation Street) and Tom Gibbons(Johnny Phillips in The Archers).

A Must for all Christie fans!

It has been decided to defer our Open Week until early 2019 so as to give us more time to prepare some really special events to fill the whole week. This will give us more time to complete the installation of all the new bookcases and to complete the book cataloging. We shall however be restarting the Thursday Lunchtime lectures from October (see dates below). Also from October we shall be actively promoting the library to the local community with a leaflet drop and encouraging new members.

Elaine Henderson has very kindly put together an exhibition about the history of Valentine's Day and some of its traditions especially for The PPL. This display will be available to view up until the end of February.

Work continues on our project to produce an online catalogue of all the books in the library using 'The Library Thing'. With the help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, students from Plymouth University are working at the library now to catalogue our books. Click Here to see the progress we have made so far. We are also looking at increasing the number of different way that books can be searched for but more on this soon.

The Proteus project, funded by the Heritage lottery Fund, has reached the end of its funding period. The project originally set up by Ruth Muttlebury had a number of objectives, so how have we done?

Dr John Day, formerly of Exeter University and Father Gregory Carpenter of the Greek Orthodox church have been commissioned to write dissertations on the 18th century collection of naval papers by Commodore Windham and Essex M.P. and the prayer manual authorised by James III better known as "The Old Pretender." We have contracted a print run of 200 for each of these academic papers and these will be distributed to naval establishments, selected parishes in Devon and Cornwall, to other independent libraries, and the City library. PPL Members will receive a copy on request and they will be available to the general public to view also on request.

Every month the book selection group meets to choose new books to add to our collection.

March

Over the last few months the PPL has undergone a refurbishment to many of its rooms. Electrical contractors have rewired the whole building from top to bottom and updated our fire protection systems. So if you have not been to see us recently why not pop along and see the changes for yourself.

You may have also noticed that we have given our website a bit of a makeover as well including a new website address www.thePPL.org.uk a lot shorter to type than the Plymouth Proprietary Library and easier to remember!!