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London,
20
February
2020
|
11:14
Europe/London

Kentish Town Library reopens its doors after transformation

Visitors of Kentish Town Library can now benefit from a brand-new community space and study areas as well as improved digital facilities, including state of the art tech and better and faster computers.

On Wednesday 19 February, the Council’s cabinet member for Promoting Culture and Communities, Cllr Jonathan Simpson, the Mayor of Camden, Maryam Eslamdoust and community groups joined library staff to celebrate the reopening of the new and improved library located in the heart of Kentish Town.

The upgrades to Kentish Town Library are part of the Council’s £1.5m investment to ensure Camden’s libraries continue to thrive in the future. The refurbishment will also offer more space to enable community groups to work together following the success of the Think and Do community space for climate and eco action.

To celebrate the reopening, the library hosted a programme of events, including storytelling, knitting and performances form Small Green Shoots which also gave residents a taste of the different activities on offer at the new space.

“
Libraries are a key part of a community, offering a space where people can meet, learn and discover new skills. That’s why we’re committed to keeping them open and future proofing them for generations to enjoy.

After speaking with residents in Kentish Town, we know they wanted a library which included more space to study, access to the latest technology and spaces the community can get together and that’s exactly what we’ve done. The work doesn’t end here and these enhanced facilities at Kentish Town library are just the start - we’ll be working in other libraries over the next year to invest in them as digital and community spaces.
Councillor Jonathan Simpson, Cabinet Member for Promoting Culture and Communities
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The new library will offer a range of existing activities including our popular rhyme time sessions, book clubs, creative writing and knitting clubs, as well new sessions including toy box sessions, chess and board games club.

The improvements to Kentish Town Library include:

  • The creation of more usable space, including a mezzanine area, which can be used for classes, clubs and social events
  • A quiet study space available in the main library
  • More functional front of the library to bring the community together, running clubs and activities and providing a social space to bring people together.
  • Partitioning of the children’s library to enable the space to be used by under 5s and older children.
  • A new digital library offering more, better and faster computers and new digital tech including virtual reality headsets, tablets and macs. We’ll also offer a range of digital classes and support to cover a range of needs – from gadget drop-ins to coding clubs.
  • Faster Wi-Fi and printing for people bringing their own devices.

Kentish Town Library staff will also be working with local partners to run a number of complimentary volunteer led activities including:

  • ‘Tea and Chat’ - regular open afternoons with free tea to support people in the local community to get to know each other and address social isolation. This will include working with Age UK.
  • Children’s craft sessions
  • Children’s knitting group
  • After school board games and Lego club
  • Coding club

More information on Kentish Town library and other libraries in Camden, can be found here: https://www.camden.gov.uk/library-information