The council is housed in the Civic Centre, another monument from the sixties but rather more…read moreattractive than other buidings of that era. The public entrance is at the back, and its all quite swish. The receptionist directs you to where you need to go. The front entrance is for Public Servants but only used for certain occasions. I use it when going for Governance training, or some function. This entrance is grand in a worn out way. There is a one way system around the building which can go quite fast. A number of accidents occurr at the pelican crossing as vehicles are worrying about which lane they need or are just travelling too fast. A lot of kids cross here as it's opposite the park.

As we have Harringey so much in the news, I feel I will give a review of what used to be Chikdrn…read moreand Families in Poole, before and since it became Children's Services. I was involved in an audit of the department. Some Social workers are just not suited to the job they are in. This is a calamity to start with. Some are too timid, some are too callous, some are wanting targets reached. I have rarely read a report by a Social Worker which is accurate. I have been present during their visit and present when the report is presented at case conferences. Usually this is because they do not take notes or visit to many families to remember what goes on at a visit. Case conferences have only just started being Chaired by an Independent person. Very hard to believe and much collusion went on. The Chair would know every Social worker as a colleague but the parents were complete strangers. Lehman's report recommended working with the family, not advocating the child. This made it harder to insist on seeing the child interact with it's carers, so noticing flinching or fear from a child is harder to spot. Some agencies involved on the child's behalf never felt it necessary to see the child!!!!! It is cheaper to leave a child with an abusive parent than to have it fostered. I have read court papers stating that social workers have driven a child to A&E because of injuries caused by a parent and then returned the child to that parent. If the a carer is known to the police for criminal activity, the police will continue surveillance and intelligence gathering in order to arrest a 'ring' rather than intervene earlier to protect a child/children. All this is alarming, indeed it is very frightening. I have not yet recovered from this audit - I still need medical care. God help some of the children out there. Report anything odd that you see.

I have to say I think our library is rather excellent…read more It is over two floors, with the grown up section and reference library on the lower floor. It is roomy and light, with sofas for reading and various chairs scattered around. There is also the audio library, the DVD and CD section. Upstairs is the internet room, next to which is a 'chill zone' - there are magasines here and comfy sofas and seats with a small snack bar. Also here is the childrens library. It's rather noisy! There is a great selection of authors and titles. There are bean bags and small chairs. My daughter knows her way round the library like a pro, and I sometimes lose track of her. But all I have to do is sit down and wait, and I know I'll find her! There is an information point in the far corner of the reference section and in the foyer are various posters giving information about useful clubs, associations, groups and courses.

Poole's central library sits proudly above the bus station and dolphin centre and I the largest in…read morethe area. After recent overhauls and refurbishments the library is now spaciously set out with easy to understand and clearly marked sections. On the first floor is the main library with plenty of room to sit and read for a while as well as the CD and DVD are where for a small charge (and less than video stores) you can borrow movies and music albums. Up stairs is the children's library as well as the internet access room and a small café selling coffees and a few snacks. The staff here are great and always willing to help making visits always pleasurable, with plenty of choices.

This out of town Library was built in the 60s so not that great to look at but to be fair it has…read moremaybe grown in to it's looks. That sort of municipal building from that time to my mind has now got some merit. Inside you will find a functional library that is kept very clean very tidy well stocked with a good number of tables for on site reading ect However the staff in the library are by far the best I have ever encountered, friendly, helpful and just very happy to help.They also have good activites for children. Our daughter attends Wiggle and Rhyme which is lead by a truly wonderful lady called Hillery.

Friendly and helpful, nicely situated. A perfect library with excelent facilities. What more could…read moreyou ask for? I borrowed my first books here in the 1970s. It is still providing the same level of information, advice and service. Hooray!

This is my favourite smallish library. This library has a good selection of everything. It has lots…read moreof large print books and audio books which my partner really appreciates as he has eye problems, alot of the smaller libraries don't have that many. The kids sections is ample and they tend to have reading and events quite often. They also have a few computers you can study at. The staff are friendly and helpful. There is a ramp outside for disabled access and also disabled toilet for all to use. It also has a sweet cat that likes to visit, haha. When i first came here he/she was hanging around outside and when i visited the next time the staff was trying to get him out of the library. I still see him hanging about now, hehe. Rated 5/5 as it is the best smallish library in bournemouth. (Bournemouth's large library is one better for its huge choice)

Most of the staff are very friendly. A wonderful children's section. (cushions, rockers etc)…read more Quite few computers to borrow. Wide selection of infomation leaflets. Also has a toy Library attached to it. In the school holidays they run craft sessions. Toilet facilities available & fully accessible to the disabled.

A big library with lots of books, cds and dvds and some console games. There are newspapers and…read moremagazines that can be read in the library and a reference section. There are lots of computers you can use for up to one hour. There is a childrens section with a few computers for children to use. There are enough tables to sit at and soft chairs to sit on. The staff are very helpful. It is very easy to reserve books and you can issue books yourself. This library gets very busy. There is a big car park around the back that is the Sainsburys car park.

Other than the castle, the village itself has a very inviting feel about it. You enter the castle…read morefrom the little square where there are a few shops and a monument in the middle. The square is very small! I don't know; I just found the place really calm and peaceful - most likely not this way during the tourist season but on a cold wet November late afternoon the atmosphere was at its best. The village isn't very big, so worth a little wander around and perhaps a stop in a pub and some of the shops.

Such a beautiful village - it hasn't changed much since I used to visit it over 40 years ago. The…read moreCastle is always worth a visit - you get in free if you're a National Trust member, and the parking at the visitor centre at the entrance to the village is also free to members. Try getting there early-morning before the crowds. Interesting little shops and the National Trust Tea Rooms does the best cream tea ever - sit in their garden overlooking the Castle. There's also a model village. The steam train runs from the Park & Ride at Norden (just before Corfe Castle village), stops at the village before chugging through the Purbecks onto Swanage. A good day's fun!

Bournemouth Library is the best library in Bournemouth to visit for choice! it has a huge range of…read morebooks on two floors. Upstairs is mostly musical books, good range of cds to hire out, there is even a piano you can play on with headphones. there is a lift for disabled access. Downstairs has a huge film section, along with a really nice kiddies section. There is plenty of books on all topics and plenty of space to study with many computers. It is also good that they have (very clean) toilets - so you can spend quite a while here without leaving. Its a shame they dont have a cafe, the cafe below has now closed which is a shame :( Generally everything is laid outwell and the windows give the place lots of light which is nice. The staff are polite and helpful. Rated 5/5

I love the new library, its very spacious, has so many books and resources and the kids part is…read moremassive and contains toys and things for your kids to do, I used to come for an hour or so and let my son play.