The City's largest lending library, free, tucked inside the Barbican arts centre with a brilliant music library, reading spaces and the whole brutalist estate to explore around it.
The lowdown
The Barbican Library is free to visit and you do not need to be a member just to browse, read or sit inside, a library card is only needed to borrow. It is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9:30am to 5:30pm, Tuesday and Thursday until 7:30pm, and Saturday 9:30am to 4pm; closed Sundays and bank holidays. Hidden on the second level of the Barbican Centre, it is the City of London's largest public lending library, far calmer than you would expect for somewhere so central.
It has a strong arts and music focus, including a dedicated music library where you can browse scores and recordings, plus reading areas, newspapers and a children's section. You can drop in to read, work or just shelter from the weather without spending anything or being a member.
Best of all it puts you right inside the Barbican estate, a free architectural icon of lakes, walkways and tower blocks, with the famous tropical conservatory a few floors away. A free library and a free piece of brutalist history rolled into one.
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