The London Library 183rd Annual General Meeting 2024

The Library’s 183rd Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday 26 November. We were delighted to see a full Reading Room and many more joined us online – a record attendance for recent years.

Simon Godwin introduced his first AGM as Chair of The London Library and reports were given by Director, Philip Marshall and Treasurer, Philip Broadley, including news that:

· Membership grew for a sixth consecutive year and has the highest number since 2008

· The Library’s finances produced a small operating surplus

· Over 4,000 new books were added to the collection and almost 64,000 books were loaned.

This year there were two additional agenda items. Firstly, Matthew Brooke, Director of Collections and Services updated the AGM on acquisitions and collections.

Philip Marshall then presented on the Library’s proposed building changes. Following this there was a discussion with members, particularly in relation to Phase 2, with a range of comments raised from members. The Trustees were glad to hear from members and the discussion will inform their thinking for future plans of the Library.

Philip Broadley and Isabelle Dupuy retired as Trustees. The Library is grateful for the hard work, insight and commitment that Philip and Isabelle have each brought to the role over the last eight years.

Please view their speech notes here.

Chair’s Speech Notes

Director’s Speech Notes

Director of Collections and Library Services Speech Notes

Treasurer’s Speech Notes

New Trustees elected were Anni Domingo, Paul Gismondi, Charles Spicer and Stephen Whitaker.

The 2023-2024 Annual Reports and Accounts were adopted, and the Trustees' proposals for membership fees, subscriptions and charges were confirmed.

Retirement and Election of Trustees

The following Trustees retired at the 2024 Annual General Meeting: Philip Broadley and Isabelle Dupuy.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied, John Colenutt, Patrick Fleming, Stephanie Hall and Stephen Withnell were approved for a second (and final) term of trusteeship.

The following members were put forward for election and approved as Trustees:

Anni Domingo (member since April 2024) Anni is an actress, director, lecturer and award-winning writer who works in radio, TV, films and theatre. Her first screenplay Blessed Assurance is out later this year and an extract from her debut novel Breaking the Maafa Chain features in The New Daughters of Africa anthology. She is currently working on Ominira, her second novel as part of her PhD. Her trustee and governance experience includes being a member of the Sheffield Theatres Trustees Board, a Governor on Rose Bruford College’s Board of Governors and Chair of the Theatre Peckham’s Board of Trustees.

Paul Gismondi (member since January 2023) Reverend Gismondi is Priest in Charge of All Hallows on the Wall. He was ordained at St Paul’s Cathedral in 2016 and from 2020- 2024, he was Domestic Chaplain in Ordinary to the Marquess of Salisbury, having previously ministered at Holy Trinity Sloane Square and the Sandringham Benefice in Norfolk. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, his first career began on Wall Street, at The Bank of New York and then at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company. Posted to the UK in 1985, he spent 24 years as a partner at Lazard & Co and also served on the boards of several publicly listed companies. A longtime Fellow of the Morgan Library in New York, and former trustee of LAMDA, he is currently a trustee of The Trusthouse Charitable Foundation, along with two other charitable trusts.

Charles Spicer (member since June 2012) Charles has served on the Library’s Buildings & Facilities Committee since 2018 as a Co-optee. Following a career in the City specialising in the medical sector, Charles now splits his time between writing, business and the third sector. A warden of the Fishmongers’ Company, he is also Deputy Chair of the Royal Humane Society and served as High Sheriff of Greater London in 2019 and as a school governor in both the state and private sectors for 20 years. Charles is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His first book, Coffee with Hitler: The British Amateurs Who Tried to Civilise the Nazis was published in 2022 and he is working on his next.

Steven Whitaker (member since June 2021) Steven is currently studying for a part-time MA in ‘Shakespeare Studies’. He is Chief Operating Officer of Equistone, a European Private Equity firm, where he has been a Partner since joining in 2016. Prior to that, he worked at two other international Private Equity companies in London and Frankfurt. He has represented the industry at senior level, including at the House of Lords during his tenure as Tax Committee Chairman of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. Steven started his career in finance at KPMG, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1995. He later joined the Guild of Chartered Accountants and now chairs its Livery Committee.

Appointment of auditors

The Trustees proposed the re-appointment of MHA MacIntyre Hudson as the Library’s Auditors for the financial year 2024-2025. The re-appointment was confirmed.

Membership fees from 1 January 2025

The Trustees therefore proposed the following membership fees for the year commencing January 2025, which were approved at the AGM.

An increase to ordinary membership paid by annual Direct Debit, of 1.8% to £575 per annum, saving members £60 on the cost of membership by other methods. Full membership by other payment methods will increase by 3.3%, to £635 (£52.92 monthly). These increases have been carefully considered in light of the prevailing rate of inflation and the cost pressures we know members are currently facing. The changes to fees for all membership types are given below. All individual membership types receive a discounted rate when paid by annual Direct Debit. With regard to Life Membership, it was proposed to split the existing 75-79 age band into two with a reduced fee for those in the older age bracket. It was also proposed to increase the fee for the over 80s from £1,500 to £1,600 whilst all other bands increase by 1.8%.

We are delighted to present our proposed building improvement plans for The London Library.

Click the link below to find out more, share feedback and learn how you can get involved in The London Library Capital Campaign: Building Connections.

Find out more →   

Phase One

Our Phase One building works commence this summer and will be complete at the end of December 2025.

Please click the link below for more details about the works followed by the dates when members may experience potential disruptions.

 Check for Phase One building works →

The London Library 182nd Annual General Meeting 2023

Retirement and Election of Trustees

The following Trustees retired at the 2023 Annual General Meeting: Howard Davies, Will Harris, Giles Milton, Rick Stroud.

ALAIN AUBRY was approved for a second (and final) term of trusteeship.

The following Members were put forward for election and approved as Trustees:

SIMON GODWIN has been a Library member for 14 years and is a member of the Founders’ Circle of supporters. With an extensive career in financial services, Simon was most recently a founding Partner and Finance Director of Fundsmith, the asset management firm. He is currently working with a number of high growth companies including being Chair of GaitQ Limited, a medical devices spin-out from Oxford University. This will be Simon’s third charity governance position; he is on the Board of Trustees at the Royal Institution and is the co-founder and trustee of Levelling Up:STEM. Other than enjoying reading a broad range of both fiction and non-fiction books, he is also keen on theatre and is a supporter of the Hampstead and Park Theatres. Simon has been appointed as Chair of the Board by the Trustees and will take up this role when Howard Davies steps down. Learn more here. 

SIMON KING a Library member for much of his adult life, Simon is Head of Corporate Affairs at Hakluyt, the strategic advisory firm for businesses and investors. He has a global role as a member of the company’s senior leadership team, and currently divides his time between New York and London. He has previously worked for the firm in Tokyo and Berlin. Before joining Hakluyt in 2014, Simon spent 15 years as a civil servant in the British government. He spent four years in 10 Downing Street, working first for Gordon Brown and then for David Cameron. His last role in government was as director of strategy and delivery for Theresa May when she was home secretary. Simon has a lifelong interest in philosophy and the arts. Inspired by the poet and literary critic William Empson’s encounter with Buddhist sculptures in Kyoto and Nara in the 1930s, he is currently writing a book about various cultural, intellectual and religious connections between East Asia and Western Europe. Much of his research for this has been carried out in the Library. For the last year, Simon has served as a co-opted member of the Library’s Development Committee.

Appointment of auditors

The Trustees proposed the re-appointment of MHA MacIntyre Hudson as the Library’s Auditors for the financial year 2023-2024. The re-appointment was confirmed.

Membership fees from 1 January 2024

The Trustees proposed to increase the ordinary annual fee by £30 from £585 (£48.75 per month) to £615 (£51.25 per month) in 2024, an increase of 5.1%. Those paying by annual Direct Debit will receive a £50 discount and pay £565, an increase of 3.7%. These increases are significantly lower than recent levels of inflation, in recognition of the cost pressures we know members are currently facing. Proportionate increases will be applied for the other annual membership categories including Life membership. The Trustees therefore proposed the following membership fees for the year commencing January 2024, which were approved at the AGM. 

Read the annual report and find out more