Tales Without Borders library opens in Blyth to provide access to literature from underrepresented cultures

Tales Without Borders opened earlier this month in Blyth as a community space where people have access to books that are not typically available in their local library.

The initiative is run by social justice community interest company Teakisi and is based at Blyth Community Enterprise Centre.

Salha Kaitesi, artistic director of Teakisi, said: “The reason why we set up Tales Without Borders is because within the Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities we felt that there were usually not enough books that portrayed our stories.

“Whether it was in the schools or even just our normal libraries, at times they were only available during Black History Month, but we wanted to change that because we do not want our kids growing up thinking they are either alone or their stories do not matter.

“At the same time, Teakisi tries to create programs that will bring community cohesion and help organisations or people to get along, to find out about others, so this is not just geared towards Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities.”

Teakisi works by meeting people in local communities, listening to their needs, and then deciding what the organisation can do to help.

Salha said: “This idea came about after we spoke to a group of women who lived in Blyth. The majority of them were asylum seekers and some of them were refugees, but they were trying to integrate into the community.

“They are trying to learn English and some of them, due to their English being quite minimal, are having to read children's books.

“[The books] are talking about things that they do not understand. For them to be able to come to a space where they could see these characters and see themselves in [books], that was the way we thought we could support them.”

The library’s range of books can help people born in the UK to connect with where their parents or grandparents were from, help people new to the area to feel less isolated and connect with their own culture, and help people learn about the experiences of a culture that is new to them.

Salha said: “Your stories are important so that they can teach people about you, but also it is pride. We are proud of our cultures, we are proud of where we come from, and we want the world to know about our cultures, so that too is important.

“Most importantly our stories are never told, and a lot of the times when they are told, they are always told in a negative way.”

According to Salha, Tales Without Borders has had a “really welcoming” response from neighbouring organisations at Blyth Community Enterprise Centre and an “amazing” reception to the project on social media since its launch.

It is currently open from 11am to 4pm and is looking for volunteers to help run the library, which could allow for longer opening hours in future.

The library is also open to other groups arranging to use the space, including school visits.

Salha said: “Hopefully if this is successful, we are able to do similar things around the North East and Cumbria, and that will be even better.”