Kensal Rise Library is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending 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 servic ...

in London, England, opened by American author

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

in 1900. The site was donated by

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) 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 me ...

. The library's threatened closure prompted a large campaign to save it, led by figures including

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. He is best known for the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. The first volume, ''Northern Lights'' (1995), won the Carnegie Medal

Zadie Smith Zadie Smith (born Sadie; 25 October 1975) is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, ''White Teeth'' (2000), immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. She became a tenured professor in the ...

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

and

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

. The library was formerly part of the

London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...

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, whose guests have included Prime Minister

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

and which was later used by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

'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 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.

described the proposed closure as "barbarism". The campaign to save the library was supported by

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 All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) 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 me ...

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: *

's ''Keeping On Keeping On'' (2016) *

Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 A ...

's '' Public Library and Other Stories'' (2015) *

Iain Sinclair Iain Sinclair FRSL (born 11 June 1943) is a writer and filmmaker. Much of his work is rooted in London, recently within the influences of psychogeography. Early life and education Sinclair was born in Cardiff, Wales, on 11 June 1943. From 19 ...

's ''London Overground: A Day's Walk Around the Ginger Line'' (2015) *

's ''The Last London'' (2017) * Lilian Pizzichini's ''Dead Men's Wages'' (2011) *

's ''Feel Free: Essays'' (2018) *

'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