Mildmay Library Consultation

Islington Council are working with architecture practice Public Works to upgrade and expand the offer at Mildmay Library. This is your library and we have tried to ensure your voices were heard to make it better.

We aim to make improvements to the library and also create spaces where new activities and services can be run for people of all ages.

This will include activities to support: health and wellbeing, learning, children and youth activities.

Many of our libraries offer a number of activities and services already including baby bounce, storytelling, and poetry readings. They also offer space for other services like music services and youth services. We want to provide facilities that will enable the delivery of more services like these, helping to affirm our libraries as the centre of our communities.

The current design looks at how to provide more services and activities from the library by making some physical changes to the space. The library area itself will be redesigned with new layouts, shelving and study spaces alongside broader changes to the whole building to enable a wide range of services and partners to use the space.

We consulted you from 15 March to 12 April 2022 about your views on the emerging design, and your views on how Mildmay Library could be improved.

We heard from 91 of you during the consultation period; you shared views and ideas about how to improve the library and commented on the emerging designs. The full consultation report can be found at the bottom of this webpage.

We want to ensure that this exciting project reflects the needs of local people. We listened to you and redesigned the scheme to reflect your views and ideas. 

We held drop-in engagement events at Mildmay Library on 11 and 13 July 2023 for residents to discuss the proposals with the design team. 

Engagement boards were printed and left in Mildmay Library for residents to read from July to September 2023. These engagement boards can be found at the bottom of this webpage.

The feedback was positive and supportive of improvements at Mildmay Library.

Most people preferred this proposal over what was shown in the first consultation, where the children’s library was part of the adult library.

People were supportive of improvements to the area outside the front of the library.

People had concerns about reducing the size of the children’s library to create the new community space. The current children’s library is larger than other children’s library spaces found in comparative libraries in the borough and contains underutilised space. 

We have now included double doors between the new children’s library and the community space, so larger groups using the children’s library can utilise both spaces. The new children’s library will be designed to make better use of the space and will include new furniture and shelving for books.

The project now comprises of a refurbishment of the ground floor level of the library, new furniture in both the adult and children’s library, decoration throughout, and the following -

• The reception area is moved to improve sight-lines to the children’s library and the entrance area
• A new self-contained community space
• A new ground floor toilet area created that can be used by both the community space out of hours and by the library users day to day
• The conservatory area is utilised more efficiently
• Public realm improvements at the front of the library to create a more accessible and welcoming library experience
• New signage at the front of the building 
• External area redesigned to create connection with conservatory

For more information, including drawings and sketch images, please see the engagement boards which can be found at the bottom of this webpage.

What Next?

We are expecting to receive planning approval in December 2023.

Following this we will finalise the designs and procure a main works contractor. We are aiming to start works in Spring 2024.

We will update the public with key dates over the coming months.

Contact

Please feel welcome to contact the Project Manager graham.hughes@islington.gov.uk or visit Mildmay Library