ABOUT THE LONDON LIBRARY
The Organisation
The London Library is the largest independent lending library in the world and one of the UK’s leading literary institutions. It is a registered charity dedicated to the advancement of education, learning and knowledge, with its own Grade II listed premises in St James’s Square. The Library’s patron is Her Majesty The Queen, and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall GCVO is vice-patron. Sir Tim Rice is the current President.
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Incorporated by Royal Charter, the Library is governed by a Committee of Trustees (up to 16) elected by the members. The Chairman is Sir Howard Davies.
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The Library receives no public funding and relies upon a combination of membership fees, philanthropic support, investment income and other trading revenues to cover annual operating costs of around £4.2 million.
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The organisation employs 67 (FTE) members of staff and has around 7,300 members (including 1,200 life members).
History
The London Library has a long and illustrious history.
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The doors first opened on 3 May 1841 and the Library immediately became a resource not just for serious readers but for writers of all kinds, including some of the most celebrated names of their day - Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, , J S Mill, and later Christobel Pankhurst, Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle, Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca West , T S Eliot, Ian Fleming, Antonia Fraser, Muriel Spark, Tom Stoppard, Angela Carter and Beryl Bainbridge to name but a few!
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By acquiring the most important published works in the arts and humanities in each generation, the Library has amassed an extraordinary collection of over one million volumes dating from the 16th century to the present day, complemented now by a growing collection of electronic resources. In keeping with the Library’s founding principles, a high proportion of the books and periodicals are stored on over 17 miles of open shelves to which members have direct access, with most volumes available for loan, giving the most immediate and liberal access to knowledge.
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All involved with The London Library believe in the intrinsic value of the life of the mind and cultural expression so, in an increasingly crowded and noisy world, the Library offers facilities conducive to thinking, reading, scholarship and creativity. The Library is open 6 days a week with late opening on two evenings. There are four attractive Reading Rooms, free WiFi, and a suite of smaller rooms available for informal working and a place to relax. The Library has introduced a very successful series of speaker events that are open to members and non-members sitting alongside a programme of smaller-scale member only talks.
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Membership is open to all. Full annual membership currently costs £540, with half-price membership available for those under 30 and subsidies (30%-60%) available for others unable to afford the full membership fee. Remote Access and Associate memberships are also available.
As ever, the current membership roll includes some of the most distinguished historians, biographers, novelists, playwrights, screenwriters, academics and actors working today as well as young people studying, aspiring writers, and people of all ages and professions enjoying books that are not widely available elsewhere.
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Fundraising is crucial to the financial health of the Library and the Library has a growing community of regular donors (the Founders’ Circle) for who the Library puts on a programme of events.
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The Library has an enviable reputation for the quality of its services. Its highly-qualified and specialist staff are dedicated to providing flexible, intelligent support to all members in their use of the Library for research or recreation, giving timely, relevant information and assistance, and developing new services and facilities to keep pace with changing demands.
The Future
The major challenge facing the Library is its operating deficit. In recent years the Library has received some major donations that have helped maintain its overall financial assets. However, there is a significant underlying operating deficit that needs to be addressed if the Library is to become financially sustainable. Correcting this deficit is therefore the key focus for the Executive Team. A new 5 Year Plan was developed and implemented in 2018 , setting out the approach to be taken to tackle this. So far, this has progressed very well – membership numbers have grown each year and the deficit has been cut from c£1m to c£400k.
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In broad terms, the aim is to build on the Library’s outstanding collection, history, premises and staff, to create an institution that is even more attractive to engage with, join and support. We shall raise the Library’s profile, improve our on-site facilities, reduce our costs, increase our commercial and philanthropic income, and find new ways to appeal to potential members and users of the Library.
For more information, please view the following links:
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