Henry Bloom Noble Library in Douglas is urging the public to take advantage of its warm space initiative through the winter months.

The weekly Friday coffee mornings, which take place from 9am to 12pm, offer members of the public an opportunity to socialise over a hot drink, snack and board game.

The venue is also acting as a donation point for the Isle of Man Foodbank and will play host to several other community initiatives.

These include the Lloyds Bank fortnightly ‘financial wellbeing sessions’, which offer advice on managing debt and bills and money saving tips. In addition, the library is also accommodating Manx Utilities’ monthly smarter living and smart metering drop-in sessions.

Librarian Jan Macartney said: ‘We want to make sure that no one is left alone and cold during this difficult period and so we have developed a number of free community activities over the winter period too, such as the weekly coffee morning, a pre-school story time group and a range of financial and personal wellbeing sessions.’

‘During this period of financial instability, we wanted to remind residents that HBN Library is a warm, safe haven – free to every member of our community. Residents can access an extensive catalogue of electronic titles and digital facilities and still enjoy their favourite reads for free over a hot cup of coffee – all in the comfort of a warm, bright and welcoming space.’

Alongside its core offering of book lending, the library also provides complimentary Wi-Fi, phone and laptop charging, access to a suite of PCs, daily newspapers, board games and a jigsaw collection.

Where numbers have been slow to pick up, due to a particularly mild November, the library has seen a steady increase in individuals attending the warm space in recent weeks as temperatures drop.

Ms Macartney said: ‘There have been more people coming in, but we have really pushed that after Christmas time, January and February can be the worst months, as it is often colder and, after all of the fun that is the festive period, there is less to look forward to.’

She added: ‘We are trying to address the loneliness aspect as well, so have lots of two player games, we have all sorts of word searches, and crosswords.

‘The other day, a woman came in and asked around if anyone would play Scrabble with her, in the end one of our regulars agreed, and they were playing for hours.

‘We think they might have another Scrabble date coming up, but it shows that the library is a lovely place to meet people.

‘Whilst it has a quiet zone, the library isn’t a silent space – it is a community hub.

‘We are hoping to extend the coffee morning through March.

‘If we do see a definite increase, we would consider it as a regular thing past the grant and would turn it into a social thing, addressing loneliness with older people.’

l To find out more information about the library’s initiatives, you can call 696461.