Celebrating 10 Years of Sully Community Library

13 July 2026

A decade ago, communities across the Vale worked with the Council to explore new ways of supporting local libraries.

In Sully, volunteers stepped forward to take on the day to day running of the library, creating a partnership that has gone from strength to strength over the past 10 years.

Sully Library is a great example of what can be achieved when communities, volunteers and the Council work together. What started as a new approach to supporting local library services has grown into a thriving community hub that
offers so much more than books. Volunteers were once told that the typical life expectancy of a community library was around three years.Ten years later, Sully Library and everyother community library in the Vale are still going strong.

The library has become a place where people come together – with art,craft and Welsh-language groups taking place alongside the usual library services.
Books can be ordered from across the Vale and Wales, and it’also a place
where residents can access other community services,including collecting
recycling food bags.

While volunteers run the day-to-day service, the Council also still continues to play an important role behind the scenes by supplying books and providing librarian provision as the library has also increased its operational hours due to the support
it has received from the community.

A Community Success Story

Rhian Thomas, one of the volunteers who runs the library in Sully and a trustee for the last four years, shares how the community came together to support its local library: 

“When it was announced that a certain number of libraries within the Vale would have to close unless they adopted the volunteering model, people in the village were passionate about keeping the library open. I was only one of many people at the time.

We took over the running of the library from the Vale of Glamorgan Council. We still get support from the Council and there's a peripatetic librarian who comes in to support us as well. But the day-to-day running of the library is now down to a team of volunteers, and they're a great team. Absolutely wonderful. Over the last 10 years, our user numbers have increased by 29%, from 2016 to 2025.

One of the librarians did tell me that the life expectancy of a community library was three years. Not only have we been here for 10 years, but all the other community libraries in the Vale have been here for 10 years as well. So, well done to the Vale and its residents.”

More than just a Library

• One resident said: “It's enhanced my social life, but also given me
   the chance to practice Welsh, make new friends and appreciate
  how nice it is to have a library like this and how important it
  is for the community.”

• Another resident added: “It has totally changed my life and my
  experience of living in Sully. “I've made friends through the medium
  of Welsh who are very important to me. We meet here weekly, and
  i've also been able to borrow Welsh books thatweren't available to buy.”
  
  Ten years on, Sully Library is a testament to what can be achieved
  when communities and the Council work together, even in what
  was a challenging situation. From lending books to bringing
  people together, the library continues to play a vital role at
  the heart of village life – and thanks to the dedication of its
  volunteers, looks set to continue doing so for many years to come.