Islington Libraries
| Islington Libraries | |
|---|---|
| 51°32′56″N 0°06′25″W / 51.54889°N 0.10694°W | |
| Location | London, United Kingdom. |
| Established | September 29, 1906 |
| Branches | 10 |
| Collection | |
| Size | 146,526 |
| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | Anyone can join |
| Circulation | 530,267 (2024/25) |
| Population served | 223,024 (2024) |
| Members | 23,472 (2024/25) |
| Other information | |
| Budget | £3.93 million (2024/25) |
| Director | Michelle Gannon |
| Employees | 74 FTE (2018/19)( |
| Website | www |
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's Central Library is in Highbury, and is one of the service's four Grade II listed Carnegie libraries. Following World War II, the service built more branches and now runs ten libraries, including the "library of light"-style Finsbury Library, which houses the Islington Local History Centre and Islington Museum.
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 not to branch closures. 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%).