Hackney Labour Party

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CLR James Library

The new Dalston C.L.R James Library is now open to the public. It is the first new Council library to be built in Hackney for over 20 years.

The library is one of the largest public libraries in the UK and is twice the size of the original C.L.R James library that it replaces.
 
As well as 17,000 books for adults, 9,500 for youngsters and 200 talking books there are 1,600 CDs/DVDs. The library includes 20 dedicated study spaces and 2 meeting rooms along with free use of 57 computes and free wi-fi. There will also be a cafe on the site (opening later in the year)
 
The building will also incorporate Hackney Archives, the Council’s official records repository, and which is open to the public. They have over 20,000 historic photographs, original records of Hackney Council and other local organisations, and what are thought to be the oldest documents in the collections, a bundle of property records relating to land in different parts of London, dating back to 1356.
 
The library, as with the previous building, is named after CLR James, a Trinidadian historian, journalist and social theorist.

A gala week to celebrate the opening of the library will run from 28th February to 3rd March, including artwork and poetry from local primary schools and the launch of the C.L.R. James exhibition by the author's widow. More events are being planned throughout the year.

Cllr Jonathan McShane, Cabinet member for Community Services said, "The new Dalston C.L.R James Library will be a fantastic resource for local residents. Our recent library consultation showed that many people wanted to see more study space and computers in libraries, and the new library will help to meet this demand. During these difficult financial times, I am proud that in Hackney we still have some of the longest library opening hours in the country."