Summer Reading Challenge
The Summer Reading Challenge, Story Garden – Adventures in Nature and the Great Outdoors, is finally here.
This year's theme will inspire children to tap into a world of imagination through reading, exploring the magical connection between storytelling and nature.
Find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge
Borrow a ukulele
Borrow a Ukulele from Swiss Cottage library or join a free 6-week course for beginners. Find out more and book.
Share your thoughts on Rhyme Time and the library
If you have a child under 5, let us know what you enjoy about Rhyme Time and the library and what could be improved. If you also use Camden’s Children’s Centres and Family Hubs, we’d love to hear how they support you.
Your feedback helps us improve services for all Camden families.
Swiss at Sixty
The library service is celebrating the 60th year of Swiss Cottage Library. The library was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on November 10 1964. To help celebrate the 60th year, the children’s library at Swiss Cottage Library has been redesigned to make the space more engaging and interactive. We hope you will bring your children to enjoy the space. There are also a range of free events at Swiss Cottage Library and all our libraries.
As part of the 60th year the Library Service is working with Digital Works to record oral histories about the library. This webpage describes the project Swiss at 60. We are seeking volunteers to train to record the stories and participants to tell their stories. If you would like to be part of a team on an Oral History Project uncovering stories from 60 Years of Swiss Cottage Library.
You will need to be available for three training days: September 1, 2 and 3, from 10am to 4pm, and also two of four interview days: September 11, 12, 18 and 19. All sessions will take place at Swiss Cottage Library. Everyone is welcome and no experience is needed. The expenses are also covered. Contact Sav Kyriacou at [email protected] for more information.
If you would like to share your stories for this Oral History Project exploring stories from 60 Years of Swiss Cottage Library, Digital Works are looking for people who have worked at or used the library at any time from the 1960s to the present, whether you are a library worker or a user, or both. Whether your experiences go back to the 1960s or are much more recent, come along to share your reflections, stories and experiences. The interviews will be taking place in September 2025 and will be recorded and put into Camden’s archives, and also used to make a documentary film. You’ll be making history in this fun and fascinating project. Contact Matthew Rosenberg at [email protected] for more information.
Community Café
Come and try the tasty food at the new Community Café run by Lifeafterhummus, at Pancras Square Library. The café is open Tuesday to Saturday, 12pm to 5.30pm.
Unearthed: The Power of Gardening
Unearthed: The Power of Gardening is a free display at Camden Libraries (2 May – 30 August) exploring the transformative, enriching and sometimes radical power of gardening.
Inspired by the British Library’s major exhibition (2 May – 10 August 2025), Camden is one of 30 library services celebrating gardening through the UK-wide Living Knowledge Network.
From windowsills to allotments, Unearthed: The Power of Gardening at Camden Libraries explores how the act of gardening can heal and sustain people in a multitude of ways. It reveals how gardening can bring people together, empower communities and shape our relationship with the natural world. It also considers gardening as a form of activism, as a means of challenging land ownership and highlighting social disparities, as well as providing a global story about the movement of plants.
The exhibition will visit 6 libraries on these dates (subject to change):
- Swiss Cottage Library: 2 May to 15 May
- Holborn Library: 19 May - 5 June
- Pancras Square Library: 9 June - 26 June
- Kilburn Library: 30 June - 17 July
- Queens Crescent Library: 21 July - 10 August
- Highgate Library: 13 August - 30 August
For accessibility:
- a 20-minute audio description of the exhibition is available here
- a transcript is also available
- large print and braille guides are available in branch
Events
Alongside the exhibition panels, we are excited to be hosting an exciting programme of events.
Contacting the Council at your local library
Courtesy phones have recently been reinstated in all Camden Libraries except Pancras Square Library where residents can speak with a team member at Contact Camden. This means you can speak with someone and complete tasks by using the phone at the library. Ask the library team if you need assistance.