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A message from our Librarian to the membership – 

To all our Members,

I am incredibly sad to have to tell you that, based on advice from government authorities overnight, the library will close at 4.00pm on Friday 20th March until further notice.

This is not a decision taken lightly. We all know that Morrab Library is more than just a building in which to work or borrow a book. It is also an important space for our members to meet and spend time with friends and colleagues, be it through a coffee together in the members’ kitchen, or a class or workshop. I am keenly aware that removing this option from so many of your lives, at such an uncertain time anyway, will leave a significant gap.

But it is impossible to ignore the level of risk that remaining open poses to our members, volunteers and staff, and it is a risk the library feels it cannot take.

At this stage, it is not possible to say when we will be able to re-open. As you will be aware, this is an unprecedented time, with circumstances changing daily, and we will be guided by official advice as to when it is considered safe to open our doors again.

In the meantime, staff will be working from home, and be contactable via email and social media. Unfortunately, we cannot forward the library phone number to another number, but we will check for voicemail messages once a week. So please stay in touch, and if we are able to help in any way, we would be delighted to do so.

If you have any library books out on loan, please don’t worry about returning them. As you know, we do not impose fines for overdue books, and rather than try to return them to the library when we’re not here (they won’t fit in our letterbox!), we would rather you held on to them and kept them safe until we are open again.

One last thing – obviously all classes and talks will not be able to take place for some time. For those of you who have booked events with us, we’ll keep your names and let you know when we are able to reschedule. Please note that this week’s Medical Students Display event will not be going ahead. Sadly, the Penzance Orchestral Society concert on Saturday has also been cancelled.

We will miss you, and hope to see you again very soon. Please stay safe and take care.

Lisa and the library team

We’re now offering individual student membership at £20 for the whole year.

Membership means access to over 70,000 books, book-lined Victorian rooms with desks, sockets & often a sea view, the all essential WiFi, tea & coffee & the equally essential biscuit tin, and help navigating our diverse collections from our wonderful staff & volunteers (if we say so ourselves). All for the price of a hardback 📙.