In accordance with the Government restrictions that are being put in place under the newly-announced national lockdown, we regret that we will have to close The London Library’s building to members and visitors from 5.30pm Wednesday 4 November until further notice. We’ll provide updates through our website and e-newsletters to let you know how the situation is developing.

The temporary closure of our building means that members will be unable to come into the Library to borrow books. However, we will continue to offer postal loans so that members can order books online and have them posted to them free of charge. In addition to postal loans, our online services (Catalyst and the eLibrary) will be fully operational throughout at catalyst.londonlibrary.co.uk, providing access to millions of pages of information. We have also recently added eBooks to our offering through OverDrive. 

Our staff will continue to maintain core administrative services and will be able to handle enquiries about membership and to provide information and updates about the Library, but inevitably some of these services will be more restricted than previously.

If you already have books awaiting collection at the Library, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like these posted to you, or to let us know if you no longer need them.

This is a very difficult period for everybody, but we look forward to when we can resume normal service, re-open our doors and welcome you all back into the Library. In the meantime, we are very grateful for your continued cooperation and support.