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62-703: The London Library is an independent lending library in London, established in 1841. It was founded on the initiative of Thomas Carlyle , who was dissatisfied with some of the policies at the British Museum Library . It is located at 14 St James's Square , in the St James's area of the City of Westminster , which has been its home since 1845. Membership is open to all, on payment of an annual subscription, and life and corporate memberships are also available. As of December 2023

124-478: A local education authority in 1990 when the Inner London Education Authority was dissolved. In the late 1980s, the under the leadership of Conservative councillor Shirley Porter , the council was involved in the homes for votes scandal . In marginal wards, the council moved the homeless elsewhere, and sold council homes to groups who were more likely to vote Conservative. On investigation,

186-592: A sex maniac in the middle of a harem ". Arthur Koestler recorded how in 1972, commissioned to report on the Spassky–Fischer chess championship in Reykjavík , he visited the Library to carry out some background research: I hesitated for a moment whether to go to the "C" for chess section first, or the "I" for Iceland section, but chose the former, because it was nearer. There were about twenty to thirty books on chess on

248-491: A book from Queen Victoria 's library, and the Queen Mother a Sheffield plate wine cooler . In the 1990s, the Library was one of a number of academic and specialist libraries targeted by serial book thief William Jacques . The identification of several rare books put up for auction as having been stolen from the Library led the police to investigate Jacques and to his eventual prosecution and conviction. Security measures at

310-570: A borough council. The larger London borough called the City of Westminster and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963 , with the first election held in 1964 . For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's three outgoing authorities, being the metropolitan borough councils of Westminster, Paddington and St Marylebone. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point

372-503: A broadly Jacobethan style, described by the Survey of London as "curiously eclectic". The main reading room is on the first floor; and above this three tall windows light three floors of bookstack. Another four floors of bookstacks were built to the rear. In 1920–22, an additional seven-storey bookstack was built further back still, again designed by Osborne Smith. (This new stack was notable for its opaque glass floors: an unforeseen drawback of

434-598: A catalogue of 690 plays which he claimed to be ready to lend "upon reasonable considerations" from his premises in Westminster . Circulating libraries charged subscription fees to users and offered serious subject matter as well as the popular novels, thus the difficulty in clearly distinguishing circulating from subscription libraries. Occasionally subscription libraries called themselves 'circulating libraries', and vice versa. Many ordinary circulating libraries might call themselves 'subscription' libraries because they charged

496-506: A central role in the selection and development of the collections, bequeathing their personal libraries, donating copies of their own books, serving on the Books Selection Committee, making suggestions for acquisition and more. The Library also subscribes to many ejournals and other online databases . All post-1950 acquisitions are searchable on the on-line catalogue, and pre-1950 volumes are progressively being added as part of

558-522: A maximum of 15 trustees, including the Chairman and the Treasurer. The chief instigator in the Library's foundation was Thomas Carlyle . He had become frustrated by the facilities available at the British Museum Library , where he was often unable to find a seat (obliging him to perch on ladders), where he complained that the enforced close confinement with his fellow readers gave him a "museum headache", where

620-980: A number of works of literature and fiction. Shortly after the Library's foundation, Prince Albert agreed to serve as its patron. Subsequent royal patrons have been King Edward VII ; King George V ; King George VI ; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother ; Queen Elizabeth II ; and Queen Camilla . The office of President of the Library has been held by the following: Vice-presidents have included Lord Lyttelton , Sir Isaiah Berlin , Sir Rupert Hart-Davis , Lord Kenyon , Lord Rayne , Hon. Sir Steven Runciman , Dame Veronica Wedgwood , Dame Rebecca West , Paul Boateng , Lady Antonia Fraser , Caroline Michel, Jeremy Paxman , Alexandra Shulman and Josie Rourke . Trustees have included Philip Ziegler , Correlli Barnett , Bamber Gascoigne , Lewis Golden , John Gross , Duff Hart-Davis , Sir Charles Johnston , Sir Oliver Millar , Anthony Quinton , Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson , and Claire Tomalin . The senior manager or chief executive of

682-652: A particular one of the million or so books or 2,500 periodicals can do so easily enough in the catalogue, but serendipitous browsing is what many members find particularly rewarding. ... One of the best places to do this is in the capacious Science and Miscellaneous section, that glorious omnium gatherum subdivided into such widely divergent subjects as Conjuring and Colour-Blindness , Domestic Servants and Duelling , Gas and Geodesy , Human Sacrifice and Hypnotism , Laughter and Lotteries , Pain and Poultry , Sewage Disposal and Somnambulism , or Vinegar and Vivisection . And Roger Kneebone wrote in 2015: Because

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744-572: A reading room), an Art Room, and five more floors of bookstacks: the architects on this occasion were the firm of Mewès & Davis . In February 1944, during the Second World War , the northern bookstacks suffered considerable damage when the Library suffered a direct hit from a bomb: 16,000 volumes were destroyed, including most of the Biography section. Although the library reopened in July, repairs to

806-434: A subscription, while the earliest private subscription libraries, such as Leeds , Warrington , or Liverpool, describe themselves as 'circulating' libraries in their titles. Since many circulating libraries called themselves after the town where they were situated, it is often difficult to distinguish the type of a particular library, especially since many are only known to posterity from a surviving book label, with nothing but

868-517: A tragedy". Financial donations reached £17,000, and an auction of books, manuscripts and artworks on 22 June 1960 raised over £25,000 – enough to clear debts and legal expenses of £20,000. At the sale some T. E. Lawrence items donated by his brother fetched £3,800, Eliot's The Waste Land fetched £2,800, and Lytton Strachey 's Queen Victoria £1,800, though 170 inscribed books and pamphlets from John Masefield fetched only £200, which Hart-Davis thought "shamefully little". Queen Elizabeth II donated

930-486: A wide range of subjects are also held in the collections. Special collections include subjects of hunting, field sports, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and of Jewish interest. The Library now holds more than one million items, and each year, it acquires approximately 8,000 new books and periodicals. 97% of the collection is available for loan, either on-site or through the post. It is the largest lending library in Europe. Members play

992-517: A writing competition open to final-year undergraduates at higher education institutions in the UK. The theme was "The future of Britain lies with the right-hand side of the brain", and the winner was announced in March 2012 as Ben Mason, a student at Trinity College, Oxford . The prize was awarded for a second time in 2013 to Kathryn Nave, a student at King's College London, but has now been discontinued. In May 2016

1054-400: Is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing , social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Prior to that the council had been under Conservative majority control since the creation of the current authority in 1965. The first election

1116-582: Is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London , England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London . The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings are generally held at Westminster Council House , also known as Marylebone Town Hall, and the council has its main offices at Westminster City Hall on Victoria Street. Whilst an important centre of royal authority from Saxon times, Westminster

1178-643: The Inland Revenue also became involved. At that time, most publishers donated free copies of their books to the library. A final appeal was turned down by the Court of Appeal in 1959, and a letter in The Times of 5 November from the President and Chairman ( T. S. Eliot and Rupert Hart-Davis ) appealed for funds. A subsequent letter from Winston Churchill commented that "The closing of this most worthy institution would be

1240-432: The subscribers , chose books for the collection that were general, rather than aimed at a particular religious, political or professional group. The books selected for the collection were chosen because they would be mutually beneficial to the shareholders. The committee also selected the librarians who would manage the circulation of materials. Subscription libraries were also referred to as 'proprietary' libraries due to

1302-512: The "respectable Sub-Librarian", in a footnote to an article published in the Westminster Review . Carlyle's eventual solution, with the support of a number of influential friends, was to call for the establishment of a private subscription library from which books could be borrowed. The Earl of Clarendon was the Library's first President, William Makepeace Thackeray its first auditor, and William Gladstone and Sir Edward Bunbury sat on

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1364-452: The 1770s (when it was owned by Lord Newhaven ) to rebuild it to a design by Robert Adam was abandoned, but it was refronted shortly afterwards. It was located in the north-west corner of the square, and had a much smaller frontage than its neighbours, being described by A. I. Dasent in 1895 as "admittedly the worst house in the Square". The Library rented the house from 1845, but in 1879 bought

1426-923: The Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, they did so in the same building as Franklin's Library Company and delegates were given member privileges for the library. Franklin's subscription library became so popular that many subscription libraries were founded in the colonies, making him remark that it was, "the mother of all the North American subscription libraries, now so numerous". The first subscription library in Canada, The Quebec Library/Bibliotheque de Quebec, opened in 1783. The materials available to subscribers tended to focus on particular subject areas, such as biography , history , philosophy , theology and travel , rather than works of fiction, particularly

1488-576: The Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention , and refuse disposal ; with the boroughs (including Westminster) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection . The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. Westminster became

1550-491: The Library had around 7,500 members. T. S. Eliot , a long-serving President of the Library, argued in July 1952 in an address to members that, "whatever social changes come about, the disappearance of the London Library would be a disaster to civilisation". The London Library is a self-supporting, independent institution. It is a registered charity whose sole aim is the advancement of education, learning, and knowledge. It

1612-543: The Library have since been improved. The Library's collections, which range from the 16th century to the present day, are strong within the fields of literature, fiction, fine and applied art, architecture, history, biography, philosophy, religion, topography, and travel. The social sciences are more lightly covered. Pure and natural sciences, technology, medicine and law are not within the library's purview, although it has some books in all of those fields; books on their histories are normally acquired. Periodicals and annuals on

1674-617: The Library marked the 175th anniversary of its foundation with a three-day literary festival , " Words In The Square ", held in St James's Square. It was organised by James Runcie and David Kynaston , and speakers included the novelists Sebastian Faulks , Victoria Hislop , Nick Hornby , Philippa Gregory and Elif Safak ; historians Antony Beevor , Simon Schama and Jerry White ; actors Simon Russell Beale , Eleanor Bron and Simon Callow ; and former England cricket captains Michael Atherton and Mike Brearley . The Library has featured in

1736-455: The Library spent four years occupying rooms on the first floor of 49 Pall Mall . In 1845 it moved to 14 St James's Square , and this site has been its home ever since. However, its premises have undergone a considerable number of changes and extensions over the years as the collections have grown. The property in St James's Square first occupied by the Library was a house, Beauchamp House, built in 1676 and renovated at later dates. A proposal in

1798-475: The Library was historically known as the Librarian and Secretary, and later simply as Librarian. With the appointment of Philip Marshall in 2017, the title was changed to Director. The post has been held by the following: 51°30′25″N 0°08′13″W  /  51.507°N 0.137°W  / 51.507; -0.137 Subscription library In the 18th century, there were virtually no public libraries in

1860-503: The Library's classification – especially in Science and Miscellaneous – is so idiosyncratic, it doesn't conform to the systems that populate my own mind. So going in search of a book becomes a journey of discovery in itself. In 1944, the Library lost some 16,000 volumes to bomb damage, and in 1970 its few incunabula were sold. With those exceptions, it was formerly library policy to retain virtually all items acquired since its foundation, on

1922-630: The Retrospective Cataloguing Project. 95% of the collection is housed on open shelves (the remaining 5% includes rare books held in secure storage). This open access policy – which contrasts with that in many other large libraries, including the British Library – is greatly valued by members. Colin Wilson remembered his first visit to the library in the mid 1960s: "I have always had an obsession about books, and in this place I felt like

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1984-443: The advent of free public libraries in the 19th century, most subscription libraries were replaced or taken over by the governing authorities. In London, numerous scientific dabblers , amateurs, professionals concentrated in the comparatively small geographic area began to form a unique development – the learned society : These societies are voluntary associations of men and women who have come together because they are interested in

2046-529: The aims and objects which the societies serve and they feel that they can pursue those interests better as members of a society, rather than as individuals. The libraries therefore have been collected together for the purpose of serving the objects to which the various societies are dedicated and they do this, for the most part, by serving their members. Learned society libraries were private but were owned by larger groups of people. Materials were often lent or borrowed by qualified individuals or institutions outside

2108-411: The annual membership subscription was £3. During the 1930s it was £4 4s and fees remained at this level into the 1950s. In November 1981 the annual subscription was £60. Following the acquisition of T. S. Eliot House, from 2008 the subscription was significantly increased from £210 to £375. As of September 2024 the annual fee for standard membership is £615. In 2011 the Library launched its Student Prize,

2170-516: The books were unavailable for loan, and where he found the library's collections of pamphlets and other material relating to the French Revolution and English Civil Wars inadequately catalogued. In particular, he developed an antipathy for the Keeper of Printed Books, Anthony Panizzi (despite the fact that Panizzi had allowed him many privileges not granted to other readers), and criticised him, as

2232-551: The buildings were not completed until the early 1950s. Following the war, the Library continued to experience a need for increased space, although the practical possibilities for expansion were limited. A mezzanine was inserted within the Art Room in the early 1970s; four floors of bookstack were constructed above the north bay of the reading room in 1992; and in 1995 the Anstruther Wing (named after its benefactor, Ian Anstruther )

2294-481: The combination of glass floors and structural metal shelving was that browsers in the stacks were liable to receive periodic jolts of static electricity , a problem which continues to catch new members unawares, and for which no solution has ever been found.) In 1932–34 another extension was carried out to the north, incorporating a committee room (named the Prevost Room, after a major benefactor; now converted to use as

2356-468: The composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2026. Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 54 councillors representing 18 wards , with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The council has its main offices at Westminster City Hall on Victoria Street in the Victoria area. It was designed by Burnet Tait & Partners on

2418-749: The council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions. The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates. It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It

2480-838: The earliest such institutions were founded in Britain, such as Chetham's Library in 1653, Innerpeffray Library in 1680 and Thomas Plume's Library in 1704. In the American colonies , the Library Company of Philadelphia was started in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . By paying an initial fee and annual dues, members had access to books, maps, fossils, antique coins, minerals, and scientific instruments. This library began with 50 members, swelled to 100 quickly, and then grew prosperous enough to begin to publish its own books. When

2542-403: The establishment of commercial subscription libraries. Many small, private book clubs evolved into subscription libraries, charging high annual fees or requiring subscribing members to purchase shares. Subscription libraries would in turn use these earnings to expand their collections and later create their own publications. Unlike a public library , access was often restricted to members. Some of

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2604-417: The expectation that subscribers not only pay an annual fee, but that they must also invest in shares . These shares could be transferred by sale, gift or bequest . Many could not afford to purchase shares to become a member, even though they may have belonged to reading clubs . The increasing production and demand for fiction promoted by rising literacy rates and the expansion of commercial markets, led to

2666-518: The first committee. The Belgian freedom fighter and former Louvain librarian Sylvain Van de Weyer was a vice-president from 1848 to 1874. (Van de Weyer's father-in-law Joshua Bates was a founder of the Boston Public Library in 1852.) A vigorous and long-serving presence in later Victorian times was Richard Monckton-Milnes , later Lord Houghton, a friend of Florence Nightingale . Charles Dickens

2728-654: The freehold. In the early years, to defray costs, some of the rooms were let to the Statistical Society of London , the Philological Society , and the Institute of Actuaries . In 1896–1898 the premises were completely rebuilt to the designs of James Osborne Smith, and this building survives as the front part of the present library complex. The facade , overlooking St James's Square, is constructed in Portland stone in

2790-470: The greater part of the library's premises. Staff activities were concentrated in T. S. Eliot House (freeing up space in the older buildings for book storage and members' facilities); a new reading room was inserted in a lightwell ; the Art Room was completely restructured and redesigned; the main Issue Hall remodelled; new circulation routes created; and other alterations made elsewhere. The first phase of work,

2852-612: The grounds that, as books are never entirely superseded, and therefore never redundant, the collections should not be weeded of material merely because it was old, idiosyncratic or unfashionable. In 2019, under pressure for space, the decision was taken to reverse this policy, and to introduce a new strategy of withdrawing from the collections some journal and government publication material now available online, some foreign language journals, duplicate copies of books, and other material considered obsolete; and also to move some low-use material to off-site storage. Following its foundation in 1841,

2914-551: The lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards . One such district was initially called the Westminster District , which was renamed the St Margaret and St John Combined Vestry in 1887. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs , including Westminster (which inherited Westminster's city status), Paddington and St Marylebone , each with

2976-567: The modification and refurbishment of T. S. Eliot House, was completed in 2007; and the second phase in 2010. The architects for the redevelopment were Haworth Tompkins with Price & Myers acting as consulting structural engineers; while the toilets were designed in collaboration with Turner Prize -winning artist Martin Creed . The building has been listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England since February 1958. In 1903

3038-474: The name as identification. In Britain there were more than 200 commercial circulating libraries open in 1800, more than twice the number of subscription and private proprietary libraries that were operating at the same time. Many proprietors pandered to the most fashionable clientele, making much ado about the sort of shop they offered, the lush interiors, plenty of room and long hours of service. "These 'libraries' would be called rental collections today." With

3100-455: The novel. Subscription libraries were democratic in nature; created by and for communities of local subscribers who aimed to establish permanent collections of books and reading materials, rather than selling their collections annually as the circulating libraries tended to do, in order to raise funds to support their other commercial interests. Even though the subscription libraries were often founded by reading societies , committees, elected by

3162-510: The old boroughs and their councils were abolished. In 1966 the city was granted the dignity of having a lord mayor . The council's full legal name is "The Lord Mayor and Citizens of the City of Westminster", but it is generally known as Westminster City Council. From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council . The split of powers and functions meant that

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3224-478: The policy was ruled to be illegal, and it was revealed that some of the homeless had been rehoused in condemned accommodation. After leaving office, Porter was found guilty of wilful misconduct and ordered to repay £36.1   million; a payment of £12.3   million was eventually accepted. Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from

3286-410: The rebuilding of its premises in the 1890s, the re-cataloguing and rearrangement of its collections under its own unique classification system , and the publication of its catalogue in 1903, with a second edition in 1913–14 and later supplements. In 1957 the Library received an unanticipated demand from Westminster City Council for business rates (despite being registered as a tax-free charity), and

3348-469: The rise of circulating libraries , which met a need that subscription libraries did not fulfill. William Bathoe opened his commercial venture at two locations in London in 1737, and claimed to have been 'the Original Circulating library'. An early circulating library may even have been established in the mid-17th century; in an edition of "Tom Tyler and his Wife" in 1661 Francis Kirkman included

3410-479: The sense in which we now understand the term i.e. libraries provided from public funds and freely accessible to all. Only one important library in Britain, Chetham's Library in Manchester, was fully and freely accessible to the public. However, during the century, there came into being a whole network of library provision on a private or institutional basis. The increase in secular literature at this time encouraged

3472-556: The shelves, and the first that caught my eye was a bulky volume with the title, Chess in Iceland and Icelandic Literature by Willard Fiske , published in 1905 by the Florentine Typographical Society, Florence, Italy. Peter Parker wrote in 2008: One of the pleasures and privileges of belonging to the London Library is wandering through its labyrinthine book-stacks with no particular aim in mind. Anyone who wants to find

3534-656: The society. Societies were concerned mainly with the sciences, physical and biological, and often cooperated with other groups like the Royal Society . Exclusive subscription libraries, the world's oldest being the Chemical Society in London, was founded in 1841 for the general advancement of chemistry . Its primary objective was to guide and direct original research in chemistry and to disseminate that knowledge through debates , lectures and its own journal . Westminster City Council Westminster City Council

3596-464: Was among the founder members. In more recent times, Kenneth Clark and T. S. Eliot have been among the Library's presidents, and Sir Harold Nicolson , Sir Rupert Hart-Davis and the Hon Michael Astor have been Chairmen. (Sir) Charles Hagberg Wright , who served as Secretary and Librarian from 1893 to 1940, is remembered as "the real architect of the London Library as it is today". He oversaw

3658-431: Was erected at the extreme rear of the site, a nine-storey building on a small footprint designed principally to house rare books storage. In 2004, the Library acquired Duchess House, a four-storey 1970s office building adjoining the north side of the existing site, which increased overall capacity by 30%. The building was renamed T. S. Eliot House in 2008. The opportunity was taken for a major rationalisation and overhaul of

3720-412: Was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows: The role of Lord Mayor of Westminster is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1965 have been: Following the 2022 election

3782-404: Was incorporated by Royal Charter on 13 June 1933, with a supplemental Royal Charter granted on 21 October 1988. On 6 July 2004, Elizabeth II granted the Library a new Royal Charter, which revoked both the 1933 and 1968 charters. It has its own byelaws and the power to make or amend its rules. It has a royal patron, an elected president and vice presidents, and is administered by an elected board of

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3844-586: Was not formally incorporated as a borough for local government purposes until 1900. However, it was declared a city in 1540. From 1856 the area of the modern borough was within the area governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works , which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London. In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London . From 1856 until 1900

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