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In a new collaboration between the University’s Staff Wellbeing Champions and the University Library Service team, we are pleased to announce today on World Book Day the launch of the Staff Wellbeing Book Club.

This online group will meet every six weeks on Teams, and this will be a great opportunity for colleagues from across all sites and teams to meet and chat as we share our thoughts on a range of wellbeing-focused books.

Sessions will be informal and accessible, with some time spent in breakout rooms (these will be optionally in English or Welsh) so that everyone can have the chance to contribute if they like, though with no pressure to do so.

The first book has been chosen by the Wellbeing Champions and our Library colleagues: A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled, by Ruby Wax, who has spoken at the University several times and who received an honorary degree from the University last summer. The subsequent books will be chosen by the group during each meeting.

There are several digital copies available in English and Welsh through the University Library Service, and paper copies are available for loan from both Bangor and Wrexham campus libraries. Some local high street bookshops have the Welsh translation for sale in paperback. The book is also available on Audible, Kindle and through your local public library. There are second-hand copies for sale online, but if you are having difficulty finding a copy and would like to join the discussion, please contact the Staff Wellbeing Team staffhealthandwellbeing@bangor.ac.uk and we will see if we can help!

Library Collections Manager, Tracey Middleton, says the Library team is pleased to be supporting the University’s wellbeing agenda with this new initiative: “This is a brilliant opportunity for colleagues to come together to explore their shared experience of reading. We are looking forward to seeing what aspect of wellbeing the group members will choose to explore next, and we’ll build a collection on the Library website dedicated to the Staff Wellbeing Book Club, giving links to further reading and a range of resources. We will be happy to provide support to any colleague wanting to use the Library to borrow this, or any future book club books – you’re welcome to come into Bangor or Wrexham library, or to email us on library@bangor.ac.uk.”

The first meeting will take place at 1:00pm-2:00pm on Wednesday, 22 March – as just one of the activities taking place on our Staff Wellbeing Afternoon. If you are unable to finish reading the book before the 22nd, you are still more than welcome to come along.

This is an online session colleagues can join from a phone or laptop. For Wrexham colleagues with no Teams access, feel free to come to the Library Seminar Room to join on a shared screen. For Bangor colleagues who may not have access to Teams, you're welcome to join the call in the Stephen Colclough Room in the Main Library.

Please join the for access to meeting links, future meeting dates and opportunities to connect.

Anna Quinn, Health and Wellbeing Project Manager