The London Library Strategy

5 Year Strategic Plan (2025-2030) “The Home of Literary Inspiration”

The London Library was founded to share knowledge and inspire the creation of new ideas. Over the last 185 years, it has inspired and supported writers, thinkers, scholars and artists in the creation of some of the world’s most famous books, scripts and ideas that have, in turn, touched the lives of many millions, shaping the intellectual history of the nation and the world.

Just as importantly, the Library has facilitated the personal creativity and intellectual journeys of many tens of thousands of individuals who have benefited from the Library’s rich and uniquely accessible collection, conducive spaces to ready and study, and knowledgeable staff.

Turning to the future, our focus for the next 5 years is to establish the Library as “The Home of Literary Inspiration”. We want to be widely recognised as a welcoming, accessible, inspiring, and supportive place for the creation, discovery and enjoyment of literature. We want to further develop our collection, continue to grow our reach and impact, and consolidate our financial sustainability. To help us achieve these aims, we have set ourselves 7 strategic objectives:

1. Our Collection

To curate, conserve and celebrate a relevant, high-quality, culturally representative and uniquely accessible collection, appropriately balanced between physical books and digital holdings.

We will increase our investment in content across our combined print and digital holdings, delivering new acquisitions that are more responsive to member demand, and are more culturally representative, as well as extending the collections into new areas of interest. This will be supported by the new team of subject-specialist content librarians.

We will develop and deliver new initiatives to promote and celebrate the collection, and we will also increase our efforts to conserve and safely accommodate our expanding collection, including the digitisation of specific elements and the increased use of off-site storage.

2. Our Services and Systems

To provide a high-quality, welcoming and professional service to all, facilitating and enhancing their use, engagement with, and enjoyment of the Library.

We will review and improve systems for the delivery of all aspects of customer service and user experience. This will include the services we provide for members in relation to the collection as well as our services relating to membership joining, induction, renewal, communications and account management.

3. Our Building

To provide an inspiring, welcoming space for literary discovery, creativity and enjoyment.

We will deliver our Building Connections project and continue to improve our existing reading rooms and study spaces, enabling better access to the Library, providing greater opportunities for members to engage with the collection and each other, and ensuring that our facilities for study and refreshment meet members’ needs and expectations.

4. Our Programmes

To extend our programme of events and learning and participation activities, raising awareness, widening access and delivering inspiring, engaging and impactful events.

We will deliver high-quality programmes that celebrate the collection, the Library’s membership (past and present), and provide the opportunity to build connections and community.

We will develop our network of partners, consolidate the success of our Emerging Writers Programme, and extend our events programmes by including more member-focussed events, more digital access and establishing our biennial LitFest as a regular fixture. At the heart of achieving this will be the opening and programming of the new event space.

5. Our Profile

To increase the public awareness and recognition of the Library, especially as the “Home of Literary Inspiration”.

We will produce and deliver a new Membership Growth Strategy, setting out the detailed activities we will undertake to grow our membership base and support our fundraising efforts. We will leverage the profile-raising opportunities provided by our major projects such as “Building Connections”, LitFest, and the Emerging Writers Programme, and make increased use of our ambassadors and advocates for PR opportunities.

6. Our Finances and Fundraising

To consolidate our financial sustainability by growing income from membership, revenue fundraising and other sources, while also raising the capital funds needed to invest in Building Connections.

We aim to grow our membership to 8,500 and deliver an annual operating surplus of c£300k, equivalent to roughly 5% of our operating costs, by 2030. We will effectively articulate the Library’s charitable impact and make a compelling case for support from individuals and grant-making bodies.

7. Our People

To attract, develop and retain the best possible staff and volunteers that we need to deliver our goals, and to ensure that the Library is a welcoming and inclusive place to work and that we live our values.

We will produce and implement a Training and Development Strategy, investing in training at all levels. We will also carry out annual reviews of remuneration and benefits to ensure the Library is fair and competitive against benchmarked comparators.

We will explore the potential for increasing the use of volunteers in the Library.

This plan builds on the success of our previous 6 year plan and continues that approach, including the delivery of the major building project that was previously envisaged but not commenced in earnest.

We recognise that the targets we have set ourselves are challenging. However, by keeping our focus on the core objectives set out in this document, we shall continue to improve our collection, services, building and programme; develop our people; raise our profile; strengthen our financial sustainability; extend our reach and impact; and, in so doing, shall firmly establish the Library as The Home of Literary Inspiration.

You can read more about our previous five-year strategy, "New Foundations", which guided us from 2018/19 to 2022/23 in this pdf document.