Putney Library is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

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 the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth, Wandsworth ...

Location

The library is at numbers 5 to 7 on the north side of Disraeli road, just off Putney High street.

Founding

The original building design was inspired by

Norman Shaw Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...

and designed by Francis J Smith. It was paid for by

George Newnes Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet (13 March 1851 – 9 June 1910) was a British publisher and editor and a founding figure in popular journalism. Newnes also served as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for two decades. His company, George Newnes ...

, who established 'Tit-Bits' magazine, and was built by H. Roffey of Putney. The library was opened in 1899 by Lord Russell of Killowen. The building has three storeys and the original reading room has a vaulted roof, during

World War Two World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

the basement of the building was used as an Air Raid Patrol centre. Wandsworth museum opened in the library building in 1986, but later moved to the Old County Court House in Garratt lane in 1996, and subsequently merged with Battersea Arts Centre.

Later development

In 1977, a single storey extension was built, to the left of the main building, to house a children's library and a music library, at this time the entrance was still through the original building. In 1997, the 70's extension was demolished and a glass one added with a new entrance, it was designed by Trevor Williams of Wandsworth Borough Council design service. The extension cost £2,800,000, the floorspace was expanded to 2300 square metres and the original building's stone face was cleaned and restored. The 90's extension won the Mayor's Award for accessibility for wheelchair users and those with hearing disability aids, it was also the Winner of the Public Library Building Award 1999 in the large refurbished library category. In 2021, Wandsworth Borough Council proposed that the library become a community hub, including shared workspaces and a new community cafe.

Collection and resources

There are over 20000 books in the library's collection and as a public library all books are free to borrow, but with limits on the numbers at any one time; there are charges for borrowing CDs and DVDs. In 2020, the library had a book that was returned after 56 years, due back in 1964; it was sent from Athens, Greece. The library also has a digital collection with online reference material, that can be accessed on the library website or the Libby app, in the building there are also computer terminals with free internet access, study rooms for both adults and children, and regular reading groups and other meetings. MPs and local town Councillors also hold their surgeries in rooms in the building. The Friends of Putney Library organise events and exhibitions in the library.

Access

As of spring 2022, the library is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, from 09:00 to 20:00, on Fridays and Saturdays from 09:00 to 17:00, Sundays from 13:00 to 17:00, and it is closed on Tuesdays, there is ramp access from the Disraeli road pavement into the building, and there is a lift.

Transport

The library is served by Transport for London buses 14, 39. 85, 93, 424, and 430 which stop at Putney Station on Putney High Street.

East Putney tube station East Putney is a London Underground station in Putney in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is on the branch of the District line, between and , and is on the boundary between Travelcard Zones 2 and 3. The entrance to the station is on Up ...

(District line) is an 7-minute walk and

Putney railway station Putney railway station serves Putney in the London Borough of Wandsworth, in southwest London straddling Travelcard zone 2 and zone 3. It is down the line from . The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. ...

(Southwestern Railway) is an 1-minute walk round the corner. The

Santander Cycles Santander Cycles (formerly Barclays Cycle Hire) is a public bicycle hire scheme in London in the United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles are popularly known as Boris Bikes, after Boris Johnson who was Mayor of London when the scheme began operati ...

Putney rail station docking station is a 2-minute walk, there is also public cycle parking on Disraeli road.

References

External links

Better page on the library for the London Borough of Wandsworth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Putney Library Grade II listed library buildings Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Wandsworth Libraries in the London Borough of Wandsworth Putney Library buildings completed in 1899 1899 establishments in England