“We are about so much more than books,” says Sarah Sharlott, Head of Social Enterprise and Community Opportunities, following the grant award which will allow the library to take on a second paid member of staff.
With the £155,550 grant, paid over four years, the library can open an extra morning a week and extend existing community activities like the toddler group, Lego club and gardening.
The library’s work placements allow adults with learning disabilities to improve their job skills and give them the experience they need to find further work placements.
Sarah added: “It’s about bringing people together and creating a space where people can go and give something back to the community. It’s a place for everybody, and everybody has a place in our library.
“Having people with additional needs working in this very public space raises awareness of the challenges they face and the valuable contribution they can make. They’re just seen as a regular part of the team.”
Funders, the City Bridge Foundation, which is responsible for the five Thames crossings, were impressed with the library. It was threatened with closure in a review of Barnet’s library service in 2017, when the contract to run it was awarded to Kisharon Langdon.
Giles Shilson, City Bridge Foundation Chairman, said: “Kisharon Langdon has done an amazing job of reinventing the concept of the library and creating a thriving community hub.”
Previously, the library was run entirely by volunteers who were overseen by Library Manager Neha Dhakar, the only paid member of staff.
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