Trustees and members of Jesmond Library gathered to hear the newly appointed chairman Peter Breakey’s thoughts on the library’s future and ideas to help bring new life into the building last month.

Focusing on a connection between Newcastle’s universities and the library itself, Breakey outlined his vision for 10 years in the future and provided the steps he hopes to take in the coming years though the Jesmond Community Interest Company (CIC), which was incorporated in August 2023.

Breakey’s future for the library centres around a collaboration between Newcastle University, Northumbria University, and the Jesmond Library itself. In this future, the library would become a hub for both residents and students, and all institutions could benefit from the partnership.

Breakey hopes that through collaboration with the CIC, strong relationships can be built with both Newcastle University and Northumbria University, creating a more beneficial community for both students and residents alike. 

The CIC was established by Breakey in 2023, after his time as a North Jesmond councillor had shown him that despite ongoing efforts to foster harmony between Jesmond’s many distinct communities, most of the significant social issues – including the relationship between permanent and student residents – remained unaddressed. 

The objects of the CIC are to continue activities which benefit the community and improve the Jesmond environment by working with existing local community groups, local business, local churches and residents alongside particular local academic institutions and the local legal community. 

While Breakey emphasised that the library is currently financially stable, he reiterated the concern of the age range of most volunteers and trustee members of Jesmond Library.

A lack of younger interest in the library’s wellbeing could cause trouble in the future as current members grow older and decide to retire their duties, Breakey explained. “We need to make students more aware that [the library] is here and that could come from linkups with the university… we need events that will attract students, and we need them to realise what the opportunities are.”

Breakey believes this interest could be found in linking university modules and courses to hands-on experience in Jesmond itself. He describes that this idea fits in with Northumbria University’s current strategy, which is to have impact in the community and to have what they call experiential learning; having their students going out into the real world and learn from hands-on work. 

Connecting the universities with the library could provide a way for the library to stay open later, get necessary IT support, and provide building support that could result in a “long-term relationship,” Breakey said. “We [could] get students and staff working in the community across disciplines trying to produce benefits in the community.”

Concerns about the plan raised at the meeting revolved around the reality of getting both universities to co-operate and whether students would want to use the library as a hub. However, a volunteer of the library explained: “We do have a lot of students using the library now. Just about every shift I’ve done for the past year, these tables have been occupied with students working. They’re glad of the space.”