ABERGAVENNY Library held a retirement party for valued staff member Vivienne Thomas recently.

Born in Manchester, Viv has spent all her working life in libraries, as Children’s Librarian in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Gloucestershire and for the last 13 years in Monmouthshire, a role that also brought in its time responsibility for the Reaching Out mobile service, overall management of Abergavenny Library and, most recently, running Monmouthshire’s Shared Reading project.

During the course of a very enjoyable evening, over 50 guests, including customers and front-line library staff, were treated to drinks and nibbles, a presentation of photographs from the whole of Viv’s career (and before!), a performance by poet Stewart Henderson and a presentation, followed by an emotional farewell speech in which she paid tribute to the power of libraries to enhance and influence lives and as a force for promoting literacy and well-being.

Libraries have always been spaces where all ages and abilities can find acceptance, friendship, information and educational support and Vivienne urged the audience to continue to support the work of the library during the current era of financial cuts.

She paid tribute to the warmth and commitment of her colleagues but stressed that they will need the active help and encouragement of library members to ensure that the social and educational benefits enshrined in Abergavenny Library are maintained for future generations.

At the end of the evening, Stewart Henderson also drew the lucky winners of the children’s Summer Reading Challenge, an annual event that was always very close to Viv’s heart.

Of course, like all good retirements, it was not so much a matter of “Farewell for Ever” as “See you on Monday”, since Viv will continue to be involved in the Shared Reading project and carry on running her Abergavenny groups.