The London Library

What is it about the London Library? Not just any London library, but The London Library, founded by Thomas Carlyle in 1841. I have just rejoined after an absence of a couple of years.

It is the largest independent lending library on earth. It is the lending that sets it apart. So many private libraries, and so many institutional libraries such as the British Library near St. Pancras, are primarily academic places of research. I’m thinking John Rylands in Manchester or the Bodleian at Oxford. There are a lot of research facilities and resources at the LL of course, but it is so much more than that.

It is a private members’ club of a kind, but for writers, men and women alike. There is a place to read, a place to think without distraction, a place to share ideas with like-minded folk. It is mentioned by authors in their books, and by writers in their diaries.

Membership is a luxury in some ways, although it is in effect an office for many writers. It becomes their home away from home while they research and write. When viewed as office space, the fee is ridiculously cheap.

And for those who live just too far away to drop by every day, they have a famous country loans service. It goes beyond country: they will send books to you anywhere in Europe. And you can borrow almost as many books as you could ever want and, within reason, keep them for as long as you like.

To support you remotely, you can easily access over 750 current journals and periodicals. If you cannot find the exact book you need, they will very often buy it for you and add it to their 17 miles of shelving.

The staff are friendly, the buildings old and new are fabulously inspiring. In this age of library insecurity in the public sector, it stands confident, overshadowing them all. Yes, there is free WiFi. Yes, you can borrow a computer or bring your laptop. Progress is acknowledged. But tradition holds strong here, and I can feel my cortisol dispersing even as I push through the door.