You Now Have Access to Over One Million Free Books

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Use the One Library Card at 21 libraries across three boroughs

If you have a library card issued in Hammersmith and Fulham, you can now also use it in any library in Westminster or Kensington and Chelsea.

This means library users now have access to facilities at any of 21 libraries across the three boroughs - and a total of over one million books!

Westminster City Council, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham Council have launched the One Library Card system, which means that residents can now use their existing library card to borrow books and access a full range of facilities at any of the 21 libraries across the three boroughs.

H&F Council reckons this means that a one year old, living to the average life expectancy of 81, would need to read at least 26 books every day for the rest of their lives if they wanted to get through the entire tri-borough collection!

To mark the launch of the new system, Hammersmith-based artist Gianandrea Traina has crafted a sculpture made entirely out of books to spell the number 1,000,000 in Victoria Library, reflecting the number of books which will be available to residents across the three boroughs under the new library card system.

The tri-borough councils agreed last year to combine the management of several of their departments, including libraries, to save money and protect frontline services.

The benefits of the new One Library Card do not just stop at borrowing books. Residents, workers and students in the three boroughs will now be able to do all of the following:

Borrow books, DVDs, CDs and games from any tri-borough library
Use computers at any library across the three boroughs (there are a total of 470 PCs available for public use)
Use study facilities in any library
Benefit from better opening hours – for example, nine libraries open on a Sunday across the three boroughs
Attend events at any library, including events for babies and children
Join reading groups or other activity groups at any library
Access specialist collections across the three boroughs, including some rare items and items of national significance.
Collections include the music collection at Victoria Library, fashion collection at Chelsea Library, art and design collection at Westminster Reference Library and a collection of fine art books at Fulham Library.

H&F Council Leader Cllr Nicholas Botterill says: "This '‘library passport' means that West London residents can now access more free books than they could ever have dreamt of.

" Libraries are a gateway to a world of knowledge, excitement and inspiration. In an age when so many local authorities are lazily closing their branches, we are proving that by thinking innovatively, it is possible to save millions of pounds of taxpayer’s money and actually enhance the services our residents receive."

 

October 15, 2012