Kensal Rise Library is a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

in London, England, opened by American author

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

in 1900. The site was donated by

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

. The library's threatened closure prompted a large campaign to save it, led by figures including Alan Bennett, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith,

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

and

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

. The library was formerly part of the

London Borough of Brent The London Borough of Brent () is a London boroughs, London borough in north-west London. It borders the boroughs of London Borough of Harrow, Harrow to the north-west, London Borough of Barnet, Barnet to the north-east, London Borough of Camden ...

library services, it is now run independently. Users require a specific Kensal Rise Library card to use the service and it is open 2 days a week.

History

Kensal Rise Library designed by Done, Hunter and co. architects and was opened by

, who had been staying nearby at

Dollis Hill House Dollis Hill House was an early 19th-century house also known as Dollis Hill Villa in today's north London suburb of Dollis Hill. Most of its gardens, south, form Gladstone Park and its owners were the freeholders of the farm estate, north, Dollis ...

, whose guests have included Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone and which was later used by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's War Cabinet. At the ceremony, Mark Twain gave the Library Committee chairman five of his books and a signed photograph. A plaque was also installed noting Mark Twain's visit and donation of £3000 from Andrew Carnegie. In 1922 the library became the first in the then borough of Willesden to have books on open access shelves. In autumn 1964 the Children's Library was moved into the 1928 extension. Murals created in 1934 were still in the building, stored on one of the upper floors, in the late 2000s. In 1994, the interior was refurbished in a Neo-Edwardian style.

Brent Council Brent London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Brent in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. It is based at Brent Civic Centre in Engineers W ...

put forward proposals to close the library in November 2010. The proposals were met with widespread condemnation and significant media coverage, and protests at council meetings. Philip Pullman described the proposed closure as "barbarism". The campaign to save the library was supported by Alan Bennett, Zadie Smith,

and the

. In May 2012, the council removed books and the Mark Twain plaque in the middle of the night, due to 'public safety concerns' around the closure of the service. All Souls College sold the building in April 2015, to Uplift Properties Ltd, stipulating to the buyer that Friends of Kensal Rise Library have a rent free space for a community library on the ground floor of the library building. An open day was held inside the library building on 6 June 2015, and after an estimated £200,00 of refurbishment costs, the new library opened in 2016. After the closure of the library, volunteers from the local community set up a pop-up library outside. By late 2018, Friends of Kensal Rise Library had signed a long lease for part of the ground floor, following refurbishment. The library part of the building has been open for various community and fundraising events in 2018 and 2019. Book shelving was put in place and the library open for book donations from 7 to 13 April 2019. The library now is open to the public only two days a week as an independent library, separate from the

library service, run by the Friends of the library as a registered charity. They employ a Library Manager, but otherwise rely on volunteers and book donations.

In popular culture

The library features in: * Alan Bennett's ''Keeping On Keeping On'' (2016) * Ali Smith's '' Public Library and Other Stories'' (2015) * Iain Sinclair's ''London Overground: A Day's Walk Around the Ginger Line'' (2015) * Iain Sinclair's ''The Last London'' (2017) *

Lilian Pizzichini Lillian or Lilian can refer to: People * Lillian (name) or Lilian, a given name Places * Lilian, Iran, a village in Markazi Province, Iran In the United States * Lillian, Alabama * Lillian, West Virginia * Lillian Township, Custer Count ...

's ''Dead Men's Wages'' (2011) * Zadie Smith's ''Feel Free: Essays'' (2018) * Zadie Smith's '' NW'' (2012)

References

External links

Save Kensal Rise library – campaign to save Kensal Rise Library

Friends of Kensal Rise Library

Kensal Rise Library, 1900 – 2000
by Robert Barker, who was the librarian in charge of the Library {{Authority control Libraries in the London Borough of Brent Mark Twain Public libraries in London Libraries established in 1900 1900 establishments in England