West Greenwich Library, which was refurbished inside and out in 2010
Established by the philanthropic Andrew
Carnegie Foundation more than a century ago, West Greenwich Library is housed in a Grade-II listed building situated near the junction of Greenwich High Road and Greenwich South Street. The remodelled interior is spacious and light- filled, with the ubiquitous institutional strip lighting supplemented by natural daylight spilling down from three attractive ceiling domes. Though the whole space is open-plan, partition walls – one of them with three elegant arched windows – create three distinct zones, each decorated in a different colour. They include a large carpeted space devoted to children, with computers solely for their use. Librarians Pam and Sarah are pleased with the
turnout for twice-weekly Rhyme Time sessions they run for parents with toddlers. “Typically we’ll have 20 kids and their mums, and they really partake in it,” says Pam. “They are very proactive and they stay on afterwards. It helps mums to meet each other. We get lots of nannies and au pairs coming in too.” Sarah says the library also attracts lots of
students from nearby Greenwich University, the School of Management and the local ISIS language school. “There’s no separate quiet study space here,” she says, “but they find quiet places to work.” The shelving and furniture – comfy chairs
upholstered in hot pink and mauve, and tables at different levels to suit various needs – invite visitors to stay and relax. There’s a larger stock of books these days – the predictable mix of fiction, non-fiction and reference books, as you’d expect, and two large bookcases devoted to local history – but there is definitely room for more. And, of course, it costs nothing to curl up in a quiet corner and read, or to borrow books to take home. But it’s not all about books. There’s a good selection of newspapers and magazines, and an array
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