THE Manchester City of Literature’s inaugural Festival of Libraries is holding a range of events for Oldham residents this weekend.

The festival, supported by Arts Council England, is offering a full programme of events to celebrate Greater Manchester’s 133 libraries, including the 12 in Oldham.

On Saturday, June 12 Make. Play. Code. a hands-on session for families who love exploring creative science and coding, will be held at Oldham Library from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.

There are also a variety of online events planned, including workshops on writing, comic illustrations, publishing and poetry.

Throughout the pandemic Oldham libraries have engaged with residents with weekly Facebook live Rhymetime sessions for parents with young children, Facebook live author events and online learning circles to teach people conversational English.

Meanwhile the monthly digital newsletter, ‘Love Libraries’ has continued to provide activities, entertainment and vital information regarding Coronavirus to ensure residents continue to keep safe.

The amount of digital ebooks and magazines available to residents has also been massively extended with 53,060 ebooks and 31,954 magazines downloaded.

Councillor Shaid Mushtaq, cabinet member for education and skills, said: “The work libraries have done throughout the pandemic has been invaluable to Oldham residents.

“They have shown great versatility in these circumstances and it’s right that we should take the time to celebrate them and all that they have achieved during the challenging time we have all faced.”

For more information and to book event tickets visit: www.manchestercityofliterature.com/event/festival-of-libraries