South Tyneside Council’s Principal Librarian awarded a BEM in the King’s Birthday Honours list

Julia Robinson, from Hebburn, has recevied the BEM for services to public libraries and to the community in the North East of England.

The 47-year-old has been given the honour for her passion about public libraries and the impact they can have on communities.

She has been an advocate for libraries, arts and culture regionally and nationally, and has had a huge impact on libraries in South Shields, creating welcoming, inclusive places and services.

As part of her role as Principal Librarian, Julia leads the delivery of library services in South Tyneside where she has played a key role in developing new libraries including, The Word, Hebburn Central and Jarrow Focus.

Speaking about how important the libraries are to communities in the borough, she said: “Being awarded for services to public libraries is the best part about all of this because I love public libraries and everything they can do for people.

“They are there for people who are lonely, people who have no money or people who are just looking for education so to shine a light on all of that is great.

“In South Tyneside, we might be a small borough but we’ve got these fantastic libraries that are free for people to come and use.”

Julia has also told the Gazette about the moment that she found out that she had been awarded the BEM.

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She added: “It was all a bit surreal, I never expected it so it was definitely quite a shock especially as it was a letter from the Cabinet Office that told me.

“Obviously I’m not allowed to tell anyone until the deadline passes so a lot of my family are still in the dark about it, even my mam doesn’t know yet.”

Julia has been pivotal in ensuring that The Word, in South Shields, can provide a friendly space for people of all ages and backgrounds since it opened in October 2016.

Her success in creating an inclusive space has seen her speak at conferences in the UK and Netherlands.