Director

London, Competitive salary

The London Library is the largest independent lending library in the world and one of the UK’s leading literary institutions. It has a long and illustrious history dating back to 1840 when its founder, Thomas Carlyle, proclaimed that London needed a serious lending library where members would be free to browse the shelves and, most importantly, to take the books home to read in comfort and seclusion. Over the past 175 years the Library has been a haven not just for serious readers but for writers of all kinds, including some of the most celebrated names of their day – Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Henry James, J.S Mill, William Morris, Beatrice Webb and Virginia Woolf; later Agatha Christie, Winston Churchill, T.S. Eliot, Ian Fleming, Rose Macaulay, and Stefan Zweig, to name but a few.

The Library employs 60 members of staff and has around 6,600 members. It receives no public funding and relies upon a combination of membership fees, investment income and philanthropic support to cover annual operating costs of around £4 million. This is an exciting opportunity to join one of the UK’s leading literary organisations as it embarks on a new chapter in its history.

Inez Lynn, the current Librarian (Director), is to retire in September 2017 after 15 years at the helm. Her successor will lead the organisation through the next exciting stage in its development as the Library seeks to raise its profile and enhance its appeal to existing and new members and supporters.

The next Director will be an exceptional individual with a subtle blend of experience which reflects the balance between the charitable purpose of the Library and the commercial imperatives of a leading cultural institution.

Application is by CV and a brief cover letter. For further information including ways to apply please download the Candidate Brief via the following link

Please note that the closing date for applications is 29 March 2017.