My idea was to return to the list in ten years time to see what austerity had taken away. On this blog I believe in playing the long game.
On 24th November 2020 I checked all the boroughs again and published an updated version.
I discovered that the number of libraries in London had fallen by 17 since 2010, a reduction of 5%, so not ideal but not the austerity bloodbath many had feared.
And on 20th November 2025 I've checked all the boroughs again to see what's changed. I won't publish a full list this time but I will give you some headline data.
Number of council libraries 2010: 363 2020: 343 (↓5% on 2010) 2025: 316 (↓8% on 2020)
i.e. more closures in the last five years than the previous ten.
Boroughs who've closed libraries since 2020 Croydon (↓4): closed Bradmore Green, Broad Green, Sanderstead and Shirley Camden (↓3): closed Belsize, Keats and Primrose Hill Havering (↓2): closed Harold Wood and South Hornchurch Barking & Dagenham (↓1): closed Marks Gate Ealing (↓1): closed Wood End Hammersmith & Fulham (↓1): closed Hurlingham Hillingdon (↓1): closed Harlington (also spun off Northwood as a community library) Redbridge (↓1): closed Clayhall Waltham Forest (↓1): closed Harrow Green
(if you're local and I've got this wrong, please let me know)
Boroughs who've ended support for community libraries since 2020 Enfield (↓8): ended support for eight community libraries Brent (↓4): ended support for four community libraries
(if you're local and I've got this wrong, please let me know)
Boroughs with the same number of libraries as in 2010(hurrah!)
Barnet (16), Bexley (12), Hackney (8), Haringey (9), Hounslow (11), Islington (10), Kensington & Chelsea (6), Kingston (7), Lambeth (9), Newham (10), Wandsworth (11), Westminster (13)
Boroughs who've cut the most libraries since 2010(boo!)
Enfield (↓7), Brent (↓6), Harrow (↓5), Barking & Dagenham (↓4), Camden (↓4), Croydon (↓4), Havering (↓2), Redbridge (↓2)
Boroughs with the most libraries in 2025: Hillingdon (16), Barnet (16*), Bromley (14), Westminster (13), Ealing (13*)
* includes community libraries
Boroughs with the fewest libraries in 2025: City of London (4), Hammersmith & Fulham (5), Barking & Dagenham (6), Brent (6), Harrow (6), Kensington & Chelsea (6)
The fewest libraries per head of population: Brent, Tower Hamlets, Croydon, Harrow, Croydon The most libraries per head of population: City of London, Westminster, Richmond, Hillingdon
It's not great that London's lost 47 libraries since 2010, but it is very much a lottery depending on where you live, and some boroughs are increasingly served a lot less well than others.
I intend to return to this list on 24th November 2030.
