Back in September 2020, Siop Cwlwm were delighted to donate over 100 Welsh language books to Oswestry Library to help increase their collection of Welsh titles, that are available for the Welsh-speaking community in Oswestry and the surrounding areas.
Due to Oswestry’s unique situation being geographically in England but home, and the local town, for a substantial Welsh-speaking population; initiatives and funding that are available to libraries in Wales to increase their Welsh language titles, unfortunately aren’t available to Oswestry Library.
Therefore, Siop Cwlwm, the only Welsh book shop outside Wales, based in Oswestry Market, recently donated over 100 more Welsh language books to the local library. This donation of unsold books enables the family-run bookshop to increase display space for brand new books and contribute to this valuable community benefit.
Siobhan Shaw, branch manager of Oswestry Library, said “We are enormously grateful for this generous donation from Siop Cwlwm to enrich the Welsh language provision at the library and to support the local community. It has been wonderful to see the books enjoyed by our Welsh-speaking patrons, and even by those who are learning the language and want to practice. The whole collection is available for free loan to anyone with a Shropshire Library card.”
Lowri Roberts, co-proprietor of Siop Cwlwm said “We’ll continue to work with Oswestry Library and other local companies to develop this project which will benefit the local Welsh community and promote the language for our future generations, celebrating and strengthening the unique bilingual culture that exists in Oswestry.”
Pictured: Meleri Evans from Siop Cwlwm donates Welsh books to Niki Scott and Rachel Sadler from Oswestry Market.
