Kyrenia Society Library to celebrate its 50th anniversary year

Introduction by Chris Elliott….

Way back in June 2015, I visited the Kyrenia Society Library and published an article click here and was delighted to receive the following news from Chairman, Sheila Mawhinney which shows just how this wonderful asset in the community has developed.

Readers mail….
Sheila Mawhinney, Chairman, Kyrenia Society Library….

Over the last 50 years the Kyrenia Society has evolved from its initial roots of being a cultural organisation founded in 1971 to organise social meetings and trips to Turkey into what today the people of Girne refer to as ‘The British Library’.

Located behind Girne Law Courts and Post Office the library boasts an impressive collection of over 20,000 books covering all genera from Fiction to Non-Fiction, Autobiographies to Hobbies such as Gardening or Cookery, Reference books to Children’s books, plus many more and in numerous languages both in the written word and audio.

Run by a team of volunteers, who over the years have coped with numerous erroneous tasks; such as in 2013 replacing the entire roof and floor of the building (not a mean feat considering all its books had to be removed by hand to suitable storage and then returned likewise upon completion of the building renovation works) or in later times the computerisation of the library’s stock of books and customer details, this dedicated team of volunteers have built the library into what today can be considered a little gem open to all to use. A quiet corner in a bustling town where you can browse away to your heart’s content until you find the perfect book for you to borrow. – With library membership at only 50TL per year, why buy a book when you can borrow?

To celebrate its 50th anniversary year; the Kyrenia Society Library is undertaking the next phase in its development by its Chairman, Sheila Mawhinney says ‘Embracing the 21st Century and what it has to offer; such as using social media in order to take the library onwards towards its next 50 years. Follow the library on Facebook or better still come along to the library and see for yourself the treasures it holds’. During 2021 the Library will be hosting a number of events throughout the year which is hoped to appeal to residents of Girne irrespective of age or nationality, commencing with a Photo Shoot with leading local author Namik Chavush whose recent book “Playing in Paradise” has topped the Amazon UK book charts for a number of weeks (details to be announced) to something special planned for November when the Kyrenia Society actually becomes 50 years old!