Join us in Belfast central Library for our free after school club in the children’s library.  There will be activities, colouring pages and puzzles available daily.
 

t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

Board games available for children aged 8+ every Thursday afternoon from 3:30pm – 4:30pm.

t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

Join us for a tour of one of Belfast’s most iconic buildings. Find out the history (and the secrets!) of Northern Ireland’s oldest public library.

Monthly on the last Friday of every month.
 

Everyone welcome.  
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

First Thursday of the month from 1:00pm - 2:00pm.

Chat about classic titles from a wide range of genres in a relaxed and informal setting. Free tea and coffee will be provided – feel free to bring a packed lunch.

Classic Book Group is fully booked at present, if you wish to be on the waiting list, please contact the Belfast Information and Business Library.

t: 028 9050 9150

Are you a curious reader aged 8 – 10? If you love reading why not join our new monthly reading group. First Thursday of every month from 3:30pm – 4:30pm.

t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

Black Heritage in NI: Hidden History project is a travelling exhibition designed to explore and celebrate the often-overlooked stories of Black heritage in Northern Ireland. Through carefully researched content and engaging visual displays, the exhibition highlights the vital contributions, lived experiences, and cultural narratives that have helped shape communities across the region.

An audio-visual exhibition from the British Library on Tour programme is coming to Belfast Central Library this October and November. This unique, custom-built interactive display features digitised archives of Jonathan Swift’s classic masterpiece, Gulliver’s Travels, directly from the British Library collections.
‘Gullivers Travels’ celebrates 300 years since its publication in 1726 and was written by Irish writer Jonathan Swift. A book that is read by children and adults alike, this exhibition can be enjoyed by everybody.

The exhibition features:
First edition
Chapbook edition
Letters between Swift and admirer
Letter criticising the novel

Call in to Belfast Central Library during opening hours to see the archives of this iconic masterpiece.

No booking required. 
 

Family History - Irish 1901 and 1911 Census for Beginners. Learn how to use the 1901/1911 census of Ireland for your family history research, as well as tips and tricks for how to search when you can’t find someone on the census.

Booking essential.
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

Family History: Irish birth, death and marriage civil records for beginners. Learn how to use the free website Irish Genealogy to research your family history.

Booking essential.
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

FGB is a self-taught street artist currently based in Belfast, where he's been redecorating the city—legally and otherwise—for over two decades. His work transforms walls into bold, thought-provoking canvases, offering up social commentary with a side of wit. Starting out in the early days of the street art movement, FGB cut his teeth on group shows and city walls, helping shape a scene that now spans continents. In 2020, he took the plunge, leaving the 9-to-5 world behind to fully commit to a life of spray paint, scaffolding, and questionable ladder choices. FGB’s style is a visual mash-up of urban life, political edge, and whatever weird ideas kept him awake the night before. Drawing from pop art and city life, his work invites viewers to pause and reflect on the world around them. Whether on a wall or in a gallery, FGB continues to blur the line between public space and personal expression.

Drop in to see the exhibition in Belfast Central Library throughout October and the first two weeks of November.
 

A collection of works by the artist Francois Got Buffed (FGB).
FGB is a self-taught street artist currently based in Belfast, where he's been redecorating the city for over two decades. His work transforms walls into bold, thought-provoking canvases, offering up social commentary with a side of wit. Starting out in the early days of the street art movement, FGB cut his teeth on group shows and city walls, helping shape a scene that now spans continents. In 2020, he took the plunge, leaving the 9-to-5 world behind to fully commit to a life of spray paint, scaffolding, and questionable ladder choices. FGB’s style is a visual mash-up of urban life, political edge, and whatever weird ideas kept him awake the night before. Drawing from pop art and city life, his work invites viewers to pause and reflect on the world around them. Whether on a wall or in a gallery, FGB continues to blur the line between public space and personal expression.

The artist will be at the exhibition from 5:30pm - 6:20pm

Drop in. Tea and coffee available 5:30pm - 7:30pm

t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast_central_library@librariesni.org.uk

Join us for an insightful talk exploring the devastating impact of four Luftwaffe air raids carried out on Northern Ireland in Spring 1941. The talk, delivered by Mark Wigton, Outreach Officer at the Northern Ireland War Memorial, will highlight why Belfast in particular was targeted, and will feature first hand accounts describing four nights that would change the face of the city forever.
Booking advisable
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk

'Our Freedom: Then and Now' is a national photography exhibition that features 60 communities across the UK - including Strand Arts Centre, East Belfast - marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War. This exhibition brings together images from 60 locally led projects spanning towns, cities and rural communities across the UK, offering a nationwide portrait of people, place and belonging. Developed by Future Arts Centres and Open Eye Gallery, the exhibition forms part of the national 'Our Freedom: Then and Now' programme. Communities of all ages and backgrounds were invited to reflect on their own histories,experiences and identities, considering what freedom meant in their place in1945, and how those ideas resonate today.

eMagazines and eBooks - Find out how to access free eBooks and eMagazines on your mobile device.
Booking essential.
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

1-2-1 eClinic - IT help for beginners: help with your mobile device, general IT assistance, information about library e-services
Booking essential.
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

Perhaps reading isn't as easy as it once was.
Maybe your eyesight has changed.
Perhaps you find it easier to listen than to read.
Or maybe you'd simply enjoy sharing stories with others. 
Whatever your reason, you'll find a warm welcome at The Shared Page. 

A dementia friendly and welcoming to all shared reading group in Belfast Central Library. 
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast_central_library@librariesni.org.uk

Family History: Tracing the history of your house. Learn how to trace the history of your house and see what stories you’ll uncover.
Booking essential.
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

1-2-1 eClinic - IT help for beginners: help with your mobile device, general IT assistance, information about library e-services
Booking essential.
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

Travel – Use the internet to plan journeys and holidays.
Booking essential.
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

Come celebrate Good Relations Week at Belfast Central Library! We are inviting children to be part of a special community art project centred around this year's theme: “Include”. Attendees will design, colour, and embellish their own paper chain people before using them to decorate the library walls. When we stand alone, we are just one person, but when we link hands, we create something special!
 

Ages 4-8; children under 8 years must be accompanied by an adult.
Booking advisable.

t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk

Call into Belfast Central Library between 10:30am and 4:00pm for some warm drinks, a chat, puzzles or newspapers and pick up a complementary pack on Saturday 17th October, International Day for Eradication of Poverty. 

Join Ulster Wildlife in Belfast Central Library for a talk and interactive workshop all about Northern Ireland's Marine world. Discover the diversity and uniqueness of our marine environment, improve your species identification skills and hear all about exciting citizen science project ShoreNI.
Suitable for adults and children aged 8+ 
Booking advisable
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
t: 028 9050 9150

What makes the library so special? Is it the out-of-print book tucked away on a bottom shelf? The friendly faces at your favourite weekly event? Or maybe the magic of Storytime and Rhythm & Rhyme?
 

Whatever your favourite thing about the library is, Book Week is your chance to shout out your local library. We are launching our Community Board in Belfast Central Library and we want to hear your opinion. Whether you're a new member or you've been coming for fifty years, drop in during Book Week and add your voice to our board.

Join us to hear from historians Leanne McCormick and Elaine Farrell as they discuss their bestselling book Bad Bridget. Exploring the lives of Irish emigrant women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who found themselves in big trouble, this will be a fascinating insight into a rarely discussed aspect of our social history. Bad Bridget has been a celebrated podcast, a best-selling book and is currently being adapted into a film starring Emilia Jones and Colin Farrell amongst others. 
Booking advisable
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk

 

Bring your favourite stuffed animal friend to the library and join us for a magical Teddy Bears' Picnic at Belfast Central Library. Bring your picnic blanket and gather together in our Children's Area for an enchanting afternoon of stories, songs, and play. Afterwards, join us for a picnic between the bookshelves. This is the perfect way to spark a love of reading, so grab your plush pals and come down to the library!

Ages 0-8; children under 8 years must be accompanied by an adult.
Booking advisable.

t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

Join us in Belfast Central Library to meet the authors of two of the most popular types of crime fiction. Linda Hagan's police procedurals are set in Belfast and follow DCI Gawn Girvan as she solves crime in Belfast.  Eirin Thompson focusses on psychological crime with her novels I Know I Saw Her and Closing In. This will be a fascinating chat between the authors about their books, their writing process and their route to publishing.
Booking advisable 
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

Do you know your way around a bookshelf? Prove it at our upcoming Library Quiz!
 

Whether you're a fantasy fanatic, a mystery maestro, or a classics champion, come alone or bring a team to battle it out in our Book Week trivia night. Compete for prizes and bragging rights, meet other book-lovers, and enjoy an evening of head-scratching fun!
 

t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk  

Join us during Book Week NI and get a chance to visit the Fine Book Room of Belfast Central Library to see some of the oldest, rarest, and most beautiful books in our collection.

Booking advisable 
t: 028 9050 9156
e: belfast.heritage@librariesni.org.uk

 

Step into the quiet of a historic building for a new kind of book group at our Silent Reading Club! Whether you're trying to finish a page-turner or just want a peaceful space to relax, bring your current read and settle into uninterrupted reading time surrounded by stunning architecture and great company.
 

After an hour, break out into conversation with your fellow attendees (or just keep reading!). Perfect for introverts and extroverts alike, enjoy the cosy ambiance of solo reading paired with the social aspect of conversation with other readers. You can also enjoy free tea, coffee, and refreshments while you read and chat.

Meet the authors of the Aisling books, an Irish publishing sensation with over 400,000 copies sold. Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen will chat about their fantastic new novel Our Deadly Summer and the beloved Aisling series. 
Booking advisable.
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast.central@librariesni.org.uk
 

A spectacularly spooky storytelling circle this month as we hear from Andrew Johnston fresh from a sold out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  
Storyteller, tour guide and ‘dark historian’ Andrew Johnston is the mastermind behind Alternative Ulstours, Northern Ireland’s haven of horror and true crime tourism. 
Andrew presides over the Black Belfast walking tour series, covering cryptids to cults, disease to disasters, hangings to hauntings, and other grim history.
If you dare, join us to hear about vampires, witchcraft, Burke and Hare, or possibly even Jack the Ripper's links to Belfast. 

Booking advisable. 
t: 028 9050 9150
e: belfast_central_library@librariesni.org.uk 

Bringing the Jungle to Belfast Central Library!

Join us to learn about some Amazon reptiles and creatures, their environment and how to safely and responsibly care for them.  You'll even get to meet some of these beautiful creatures. Featuring snakes, lizards, a chameleon, tortoise and some other surprise guests!

Booking essential. 
Children must be accompanied by an adult.
t:028 9050 9150
e: belfast_central_library@librariesni.org.uk
 

Create your own Hallowe'en paper pumpkins and take part in our haunted Hallowe'en hunt. Children are welcome to take home their creations.

All materials are supplied by the library.

Costumes greatly encouraged!

Event is suitable from age 4.

Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult.

Booking not essential.
Make sure to check out our other Hallowe'en events this week!

t: 028 9050 9150
e: Belfast_Central_Library@librariesni.org.uk