LONDON BRIDGE CENTRE

The LBC library has over 1000 bridge books by 171 authors and continues to grow. Initially, books were purchased from either Bridge Fokes or from a Bridge Club in the USA. But since our club opened, over half of our books have been donated by local players. 

Many thanks to all donors for their generosity and please keep the donations coming!

And a special thanks to our original librarians, Roger and Judy Jolliffe, who organized and catalogued our library. Our new librarians, Fiona Woytowicz and Marion Gamble will be maintaining the library to ensure books are returned and kept in order. Please help them and other members by following our sign-out and sign-in procedures.  

Inventory

As at July 2019, your Library has increased to 1,000 books with over 500 titles, more than double the amount from when the club was first formed in late 2015.  Unfortunately, 99 books are currently missing. 

Finding Books

Books are organized in the Library in alphabetical order starting with the first listed author’s last name and then the book title.  Note also, that all Library books are listed on the website in the same order.  If you are looking for a particular topic, and can’t seem to find it, let us know and we can do a search of the inventory file to see what we can locate for you. 

Withdrawing Books

If you’d like to take a book home, please complete the “Sign-Out Sheet” on the nearby table. It’s crucial that this information is complete and legible.  This data is added to our tracking system, and, if not accurate, causes a significant amount of extra work and complications for your Librarians.

When you return a book, please complete the “Return Date” on the “Sign-Out Sheet”. It is very easy to misfile the books, so please DO NOT FILE books but simply place them in the “Returned Books” bucket on the table. We will do the filing. 

We’d very much appreciate any book being returned within 30 days.  Overdue book notices will be sent to individuals at regular intervals.  We appreciate that on occasion a member may wish to keep a book longer.  If so, we request that you insert the current date in the “Returned Date” column of your original sign-out location, then, simply sign out the book a second time in the first available spot. 

 Donations

Again, thanks to all who continue to donate books and have been the reason for the amazing growth in the Library.  We continue to welcome donations, and request that any donated book be placed in the “Donated Books” bucket on the table. 

 Missing Books 

Missing books are a continuing problem for LBC.  Please follow the procedures so we can keep track of this valuable club asset.  Many of these books have been missing for an extended period so we would very much appreciate you taking a moment to ensure that you do not inadvertently have any “unsigned-out” bridge books in your possession.  Library books will have a stamp or sticker with the club logo on the inside cover or front page. If you do find a book, it would be greatly appreciated if you could return it to the “Returned Books” bucket on the table near the Library. 

 Non-LBC Members 

The Library is available to all, including non-LBC members.  However, if you are not a member, we ask that you provide us with your contact information, either an email address or phone number.  When signing out your book, simply take a second line on the sign-out sheet to provide this information.  Thanks very much for your co-operation.

Your LBC Librarians

During 2019, 20% of LBC members made use of the library over the past year compared to 15% of members in 2018. Also, the number of books in the library has increased by over 70 to 1,042 including 607 titles by 184 authors. This growth is again thanks to both donations and 10 LBC purchases.

Missing books remain a significant concern to both the Librarians and the Board. Sadly, this number has dramatically increased over 2019 by 24 to a total of 116 missing books.

Once again, we strongly urge you to legibly sign-out the books you wish to read. Feel free to browse, but help us by returning the book to the exact same spot. And, please, have a look around your home to see if you have any books with the LBC logo that should be returned.

Thanks so much.

Your LBC Librarians

We are pleased to announce a major addition to the LBC library. Al and Sue Edwards have kindly donated their collection of the Audrey Grant Periodical "Better Bridge".

This periodical is published every two months, and the donated collection includes most issues from 2004 to the present. These are excellent magazines, enjoyable at any level, but particularly beneficial for developing players.

Leading bridge experts consistently produce highly readable articles on bidding, play of the hand and defense. Bridge puzzles also complement the articles by testing the concepts presented.

The Bridge Bulletin magazines are located on a coffee table beside the main library, and have their own sign-out sheets.

We are extremely pleased to see that the library is being well utilized. And thanks to most of you for being diligent in fully completing the sign-out and return information. We note however, that occasionally a phone number or other detail is not recorded. It would be quite helpful and greatly appreciated if everyone could take a little extra time to complete the information fully.

And thanks very much to Audrey Devries for her recent donation of 6 great bridge books to our library.

Happy reading.

Your LBC Librarians 

The Book Exchange

Many LBC members asked for a general book exchange area to be set up at the club. 

Two book cases have been placed in the northwest corner of the bridge hall for members to exchange books. Please feel free to bring books or to borrow books from the book exchange.

Please, do not place donated books in the bridge library! The bridge library is only for bridge related books.