Islington Libraries
Islington Libraries constitute the public library service for the borough of Islington in London. The service provides the best level of library access of any council in the country, with 97% of residents within a 15-minute walk of a branch. The service opened its first library in 1906, after decades of campaigns. Since then, the service and its staff have played a key role in defining the modern public library, incorporating and advocating for open-access shelving, more gender-equal employment, children's libraries, and affordability. The service currently runs 10 libraries that are all open to the public. The service's Central Library is located in the Highbury neighborhood, and is one the service's four Grade II listed Carnegie libraries, built in the historic Metropolitan Borough of Islington. As the Borough grew to its current shape, the service built branches further afield, and incorporated Finsbury Library, initially meant to be the central library of Finsbury. The service has a £3.93 million budget, overseen by the Islington Borough Council. Over the past two decades, the Council implemented budget cuts: these have led to more limited opening hours, but have not led to closures of branches. In 2024/25, the library loaned out 530,000+ items physically (+12% year-on-year), 325,000+ items online (+4%), and registered ~890,000 visits (+6.5%).
Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Islington Libraries (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).Islington Libraries
Fieldway Crescent, Greater London Highbury (London Borough of Islington)
Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Phone number Website Nearby Places Show on map
Geographical coordinates (GPS)
| Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|
| N 51.548888888889 ° | E -0.10694444444444 ° |
Address
Islington Central Library
Fieldway Crescent
N5 1PF Greater London, Highbury (London Borough of Islington)
England, United Kingdom
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