LIBRARY staff are throwing a party to celebrate the centre’s 50th anniversary.

The building in Market Road will be 50 years old on Wednesday, September 18, with staff organising a day of activities to take a trip down memory lane.

Staff have been encouraging residents to bring in memorabilia and photos of years gone by, and these will be put up on display throughout the week, starting September 16.

But it is on the Wednesday when the real celebrations will begin, with a tea party taking place between 2pm to 3.30pm, and a talk by local history enthusiasts, the Wickford Archive Group.

It will be free to attend.

During the evening, local writing group The Ladygate Scribblers will host an event where they share stories about the library and tales of celebrations in general.

That takes place from 7.30pm 9pm.

It is a ticketed event, but tickets are free and available from the library now.

The library’s deputy supervisor, Julia Peggs, said that the event had taken a while to organise but she was looking forward to the celebrations.