Daniel, one of the managers here at Beards & Books, was interviewed on two separate occasions by BBC Radio Sheffield presenters Toby Foster and Gul Hussain. Daniel discussed some of the ways in which our organisation is unique and explained our commitment to creating a holistic educational programme that supports children in the wider Sheffield community with their studies and enables them to develop positive life skills. Our range of services now includes tuition, mentoring, online educational content, storytelling events, and subscription boxes. This expanded range of services reflects the growth of Beards & Books since our humble beginnings as a mobile library just over two years ago.

During the interview series, topical issues such as the “controversial” Sainbury’s Christmas advert were raised, which served as a reminder to listeners that organisations such as Beards & Books are important in promoting multiculturality, cultural awareness, and increasing the representation of the BAME community in educational resources. We do this by making our large collection of books, written by authors from diverse backgrounds, available to the public as a popup service which we hope to resume once public spaces such as libraries and museums are reopened.

The interview with Gul Hussain concluded with the million-dollar question “How has the pandemic affected Beards & Books?”. Luckily, we have been proactive throughout this very challenging year by growing our volunteer base, improving our online presence, and running a number of projects in association with our sister organisation “The Library of Life”. The hard work and dedication of our 50+ team of volunteers mean that we will be in a strong position next year to establish closer links with our community and, hopefully, expand our range of services further. 

If you would like to check out the full interviews, please follow the links:  Evenings on BBC Radio Sheffield – With Gul Nawaz Hussain – BBC Soundshttps://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08x4hsw