A plea has been made for Budleigh Salterton residents to share their memories of the town’s library.

People are being asked to come forward with their stories and anecdotes of the library, in Station Road, which opened in 1968.

The memories will be collated into a book which will then be sold to raise funds for Libraries Unlimited – the charity which manages libraries across the county.

Laura Killington, first assistant at Budleigh Library, said: “We have had our ups and downs, but we have always been here for you.

“This last year in particular has highlighted what an important part we play in so many of your lives.

“We have been thinking about this a lot and have decided that we are going to put together a Budleigh Library book of memories.

“It is really important that these memories don’t get lost as time goes on.”

People who want to make a contribution can write or email the library with their stories.

Some suggested subjects for book include:

  • Memories of staff past and present
  • Funny stories
  • Competitions won
  • Events attended
  • Friendships made within the library
  • Characters remembered from the library (real life)
  • Old newspaper articles about the library

Laura added: “These are just a few suggestions. You might be five years old and want to say a few words about a book that we recommended that you enjoyed.

“You might have been using the library for 40 years and want to write about what it has meant to you during this time.”

Subject to spelling/grammar checks, the pieces will be included as they are written with a suggested maximum word length on 1,000 words.

Contributors are asked to include their name as they would like it to be printed in the book as well as a contact telephone number - which won’t be printed in the book - if you submit a handwritten entry.

Email your entries to budleigh.library@librariesunlimited.org.uk, using the term ’library memories’ in the subject line. Handwritten contributions can be put through the letterbox of the library.

The deadline for entries in March 31.

For more information email the library, or ring 01395 443245 (library staff are currently on site two hours a day)