Wokingham library felt a little dated, particularly compared to The Curve (Slough), which I had seen earlier that day. The building looks lovely and inviting from the outside particularly with the flowers. It’s sited on a roundabout but has two entrances/exits, level access and a car park next door. Although the building has two floors, the book stock is all on the upper floor while downstairs is for computers, local history and Learning Direct.

I noticed quite quickly that the shelves were a bit higher here than in more modern libraries. This means you can’t see across the library. Although it makes it a little more private when you’re browsing the books and you have a sense of being cocooned in your own world of books – it does change the environment.

The children’s library was largely just a corner but I love the book rugs which I’ve never seen before. There were staff helping the children join up to the summer reading scheme and I saw two posters encourage reading and creative writing for teens, who I feel are a slightly neglected group.

This was the first time I’d seen a period poverty donation/pick-up box in a library. This was simply a plastic box left by the door but means no-one needs to ask if they need a packet.

There was a cafe at one end of the room taking up quite a lot of space but there was still a fair amount of book stock. I loved the origami butterflies left out with instructions.

I know there are discussions to build a new improved library within a new leisure centre but I’m not sure where those plans stand now.