Become a Founders’ Circle patron

Adopt or Sponsor a Book

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A unique way to connect with the collection

Containing over one million volumes and with around 6,000 new titles added every year, the London Library’s book collection is a unique and evolving resource, developed through 180 years of careful thought.

Adopting or sponsoring a book is the perfect way to share in and support this rich collection. Choose a favourite book to adopt or pick from our list of sponsorship options. All funds go towards the care of the collection.

Adopt a Book £175/£250

Choose any book on our open access shelves to adopt in your name, or as a gift for someone else.

Whether it’s a childhood favourite, a recent find, a beloved classic or simply a book that is special to you, adopting a book from our collection is a unique way of celebrating a personal relationship with a written work.

You will receive:

A permanent bookplate with the adopter’s name inside your chosen book
A printed certificate confirming your adoption
A letter of thanks from our Collection Care team
A discount on London Library membership
A tour of the Library for the adopter and a guest (higher fee applies)

Once acquired, we almost never get rid of a book, so adopting a book creates a lasting connection with the Library.

Browse the catalogue here to find a book to adopt. Needing inspiration? Take a look here.

Adopt a book Find inspiration

Sponsor a Book £30

Since 1841, The London Library and its book collections have provided inspiration and support for writers of all kinds. If you would like to contribute to the care and maintenance of the collection, sponsoring a book for yourself or as a gift is an ideal way to do so. Choose from a selection of titles spanning the Library’s history, all written by Library members.

A S Byatt – Possession: A Romance (1990)

Possession begins in The London Library, a place described in the novel as ‘shabby but civilised’.

Daphne du Maurier – Rebecca (1938)

‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.’ So begins Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, a Gothic romance novel narrated by a nameless young woman.

Ian Fleming – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1963)

The tenth James Bond book features a cameo from a London Library book.

Antonia Fraser – The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1992)

This account of the Tudor king and his six wives is one of Library Vice President Antonia Fraser’s most popular biographies.

Kazuo Ishiguro – The Remains of the Day (1989)

Ishiguro’s subtle, revealing novel was inspired by a book found while browsing the Library’s stacks.

CLR James – Beyond a Boundary (1963)

Often called the best book on sports ever written, this work marries memoir with social history.

Patrick Leigh Fermor – A Time of Gifts (1977)

When he was 18, Patrick Leigh Fermor walked from the Hook of Holland to Istanbul, and forty-four years later recounted this journey in A Time of Gifts.

Virginia Woolf – A Room of One’s Own (1929)

First given as a pair of lectures, this book-length essay by Virginia Woolf is a landmark text in feminist literary theory.

You will receive:

A personalised digital sponsorship certificate containing information about your chosen book
A follow-up communication from our Collection Care team detailing some of the conservation work your sponsorship has contributed to

Sponsor a Book

Please note:

Although we endeavour to fulfil your book of choice for Adopt a Book, some books may already have existing bookplates. Where this occurs, we will suggest a suitable alternative
Books in the special collections are not available for Adopt a Book
Please allow up to three months for your bookplate to be placed in the book
Tours must be booked in advance and are dependent on Library staff availability

Other ways to support the collection

If you are interested in making a one-off donation towards book acquisitions or conservation cost, please click here.

To set up a regular donation to support the purchase of books for the Library or make a larger donation to support the development and care of the collection, please contact our Development team directly on 020 7766 4795 or email development@londonlibrary.co.uk.

Building Connections

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This transformative project will enable more readers, writers and thinkers to benefit from The London Library’s extensive resources.

Support the future of The London Library →

Shop

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The London Library Shop

We have a range of London Library merchandise available for you to browse, from notebooks to travel card holders. Currently we are only accepting online orders for our merchandise.

SHOP

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Leave a Gift in your Will

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Your Library, Your Legacy

If you are thinking about leaving a gift to The London Library in your will, thank you. Gifts in wills play a vital role in securing the Library’s future and are a very special way of ensuring that the Library remains a haven of creativity and community for readers, writers and thinkers for generations to come.

The London Library is the largest independent lending library in the world, home to over a million books and manuscripts, from bestselling fiction and cutting-edge research to thousands of rare volumes that are many centuries old. Our collection and beautiful building have inspired and served as a creative and intellectual resource for some of the world’s most important and best loved writers and thinkers, from Charles Darwin, Virginia Woolf and T.S. Eliot to Christabel Pankhurst, Bram Stoker and Angela Carter. Membership of the Library continues to attract and support the work of the brightest lights in fields as diverse as medicine, music, science, law, literature and art. A gift in your will is a wonderful opportunity to safeguard the Library’s unique collection and ensure that it can continue to inspire the curiosity and creativity of future generations.

Leaving a gift to the Library

Your will might contain some of the most important words you ever write. After making provision for family, friends and loved ones, your will gives you the chance to support the causes that are most important to you. Leaving a gift to The London Library is a way for you to build an incredible and lasting legacy for the writers, readers and thinkers of the future. As a charitable bequest, a gift to the Library will also reduce or eliminate the inheritance tax liability on your estate.

There a number of different ways to leave a gift to the Library in your will.

Residuary bequest - a gift of a percentage share, or the whole, of your estate after debts, expenses and other gifts have been distributed

Pecuniary bequest - a donation of a fixed sum of money or shares

Specific bequest- a gift of a particular item, such as a painting, royalties or a historical document

We have provided suggested wordings for pecuniary, residuary and specific gifts, as well as a wealth of information about how gifts in wills make a difference to the Library, in our free legacies leaflet.

If you considering leaving a specific item to the Library, please telephone 020 7766 4795 or email legacy@londonlibrary.co.uk to ensure that the Library will be able to accept and provide a suitable home for your gift.

Writing a will need not be complicated, but we strongly recommend you seek professional legal advice to ensure your will reflects your wishes and is valid.

Thank you

Gifts in wills make a huge difference to the Library’s future, its collection and, most importantly, its readers. Your support is truly appreciated.

If you have already left a gift to The London Library in your will, thank you. We are immensely grateful for your support. It is very helpful for us to know when someone is planning to leave a legacy to the Library, so please do consider letting us know your intentions. We would be delighted to have the opportunity to thank you for your generosity, invite you to special supporters’ events and send you advance updates on important developments at the Library.

If you would like to get in touch with our fundraising team to discuss your gift, let us know your intentions or find out more about leaving a gift in your will, please call 020 7766 4795 or email legacy@londonlibrary.co.uk.

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The London Library Legacy Flash Fiction Prize 2021

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Your Legacy in Six Words

Gifts in wills play a vital role in securing The London Library’s future and ensuring that the Library remains a haven of creativity and community for readers, writers and thinkers for generations to come. To encourage members to think about how they might like to be remembered and whether a gift to the Library could form part of their legacy, Library trustee Daisy Goodwin is sponsoring and judging a prize for the best piece of flash fiction on the theme of ‘How you want to be remembered’. The winning entry will receive a prize of £500.

Flash fiction is an extremely brief form of fiction — telling a story in no more than six words. A famous example is attributed to Ernest Hemingway: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” The six words include prepositions and conjunctions.

All current members of The London Library are invited to enter for the prize. Please read the eligibility criteria and submission guidelines before submitting your entry. To be considered, you must send your entry, along with your name, in the body of an email to flashfiction@londonlibrary.co.uk, making sure to follow the submission guidelines. The deadline for submissions is 11am on Friday 12 November 2021. The winner and runners up will be announced in the Library newsletter and on social media in December.

If you have any questions about the prize, please email flashfiction@londonlibrary.co.uk. If you would like to find out more about leaving a gift in your will to The London Library, please call 020 7766 4795, email legacy@londonlibrary.co.uk or visit our gifts in wills webpage.

We will look forward to receiving your entry.

The Library Fund

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Hidden Treasures

Help reveal our Special Collections

The London Library’s Special Collections contain 70,000 of the Library’s rare and precious items dating from the 16th century onwards. Little contemporary research has been carried out into the Special Collections and we want them to be better known and enjoyed by members.

Hidden Treasures will shine a light on the Special Collections, adding value for all Library members and highlighting unknown volumes for subject specialists and curious readers alike. We hope to raise £100,000 to make this project happen. Any donation you can make to The Library Fund will help us reach this goal.

Donate now

What are the Special Collections?

When the Library opened in 1841, antiquarian books from the personal libraries of its founders provided the basis of the collection. The Special Collections grew from these first volumes and developed through donations both of individual books and discrete collections. These are little known and understated treasures of The London Library: the invaluable items providing the gilded edge to the depth of the wider collection.

The collections are rich in many of the themes of our lending collection, including topography, travel, exploration, literature, politics, society and religion. The holdings include:

– 12,000 Antiquarian Books including volumes from as early as 1500

– An Atlas Collection which includes some of our most prized early atlases and maps

– 40,000 pamphlets from the 17th century onwards

– A collection of Spanish plays which is the largest collection outside Spain

– A Theology Collection containing some of the Library’s oldest books

Hidden Treasures will deliver a 2-year project to reveal the Special Collections, primarily through recruiting a Special Collections Curator to:

– Carry out research into the Special Collections

– Uncover the wider context and importance of the most unique items

– Discover the stories behind the books and how they connect to the Library’s history

– Produce print and digital resources to share, explain and celebrate the Special Collections

– Create physical and digital exhibitions of these wonderful objects

Donate now

What is the Library Fund?

The Library Fund is an annual fundraising appeal focused on improving the Library in ways that directly impact its users. How people use the Library is at the heart of what makes it a special institution. Supporters of The Library Fund help improve the Library’s collections, services and spaces to enhance enjoyment of the Library.

Find out more about past Library Fund projects.

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In Memoriam Donations

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An enduring way of commemorating the life of a relation, friend or colleague for whom The London Library was a special place is to consider making a gift in their memory. Your gift will be a lasting tribute that plays a valuable role in helping to secure the future of The London Library.

You can make a donation to The Library Fund and support our annual campaign focused on improving the Library in ways that directly impact its users. Find more information about the current Library Fund campaign here.

Donate Now

If you would like any further information about donating to The London Library in memory of a loved one please do not hesitate to contact Emily Lloyd at legacy@londonlibrary.co.uk or on 020 7766 4719.

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International Supporters

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International Friends

For many years the support of the Library's International Friends has been vital to its continued good-health. Administered from New York under a volunteer board of directors, the International Friends of The London Library is a registered 501(c) 3 charitable corporation.

Donations made to it by U.S. taxpayers are fully deductible under the United States Internal Revenue Code (view our IRS form). Gifts may be directed towards particular areas of the Library's work, such as preservation, acquisitions or building renovation, and there are a variety of options for the recognition of benefactors within the Library.

US Founders' Circle

You can support the Library by becoming a member of the US Founders’ Circle. The Founders' Circle is a group of dedicated individuals who recognise the important role the Library plays in our nation's literary culture and is committed to underpinning the significant resources required to keep the collection available to all. US Founders’ Circle benefits include annual membership to The London Library and access to a programme of exclusive events in both the US and the UK with writers and literary experts, plus visits to private collections and other cultural institutions.

There are three levels of membership: Dickens at $10,000, Thackeray at $5,000 and Martineau at $2,500.

To find out more about the US Founders’ Circle, please see ifll.org, email ifll@londonlibrary.co.uk or call +4420 7766 4731.

Gifts from Europe

The Library is also able to receive donations through Transnational Giving Europe (TGE). TGE is a partnership of leading European foundations and associations that facilitates tax-efficient cross-border giving within Europe. TGE is operative in most European Union states and donations can easily be made via the link below.

DONATE HERE

In addition, you may wish to consider joining the long list of readers and writers who have enjoyed membership of this unrivalled literary organization. For around 600EUR/$850 a year you too could then take advantage of the intimate seclusion of this treasure-house in the heart of the West End, and savour the extraordinary privilege of browsing among 17 miles of books.

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Become a Founders’ Circle patron

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The London Library Patrons' Scheme: The Founders' Circle

Enjoy bespoke events inside The London Library, gain private access to collections and exhibitions, and play a vital role in sustaining the Library as the home of literary inspiration.

From in-depth events and behind the scenes Library access, to tailored trips visiting some of the world’s most spectacular collections, The London Library Founders’ Circle is an inspirational and friendly group of people who share a love of literature.

“Whether or not you are an active user, by supporting it as a Patron, as I have enjoyed doing for almost 20 years, you will join a community of like-minded individuals in the Founders’ Circle who make an invaluable contribution to allowing the Library to continue to enrich the lives of countless people in the future.” Basil Postan, London Library Patron

There are three levels of support:

£1,800* Patron

Deepen your knowledge of literature, history and the arts through our regular talks programme
Gain out-of-hours access to our unique collection and the libraries of other cultural institutions
Connect with fellow patrons at our annual Supporters’ Lunch
Join us with a guest at our Summer and Christmas parties, hosted by our President, Helena Bonham Carter
Have your name acknowledged on our donor boards in the Library and in our Annual Report

£6,000* Patron

All of the above plus:

Exclusive visits to private book collections in London and beyond
An invitation for you and a guest to the annual Chair’s Dinner, joined in conversation each year by a notable Library member

£12,000* Patron

All of the above plus:

A private annual lunch with the Director
A bespoke tour for you and up to five guests, featuring treasures from the Library’s collection

*All levels of support are paid annually and comprise a benefits value detailing the actual cost of joining The London Library's Patrons' Programme. These benefits can be purchased separately at this price. Any amounts given over and above this benefits value are given freely as a donation and are eligible for Gift Aid. £1,800 Level comprises £1,500 donation/£300 benefits, £6,000 level comprises £5,380 donation/£620 benefits, £12,000 level comprises £11,240 donation/£760 benefits. To discuss purchasing benefits separately please contact the Fundraising Team on 020 7766 4731.

If you'd like details of upcoming supporters' events, take a look at our what's on page.

Philanthropic support is at the heart of The London Library; from Royal Patron Prince Albert's £50 donation, TS Eliot's fundraising auction to save the Library from closure and, more recently, The Tom Stoppard Innovation Fund. The Library is defined by its independence and despite receiving no government or statutory funding, has remained self-financing throughout its history thanks to the generosity of many individuals. Please consider joining this group of generous supporters and help The London Library to flourish as an important literary hub.

How to join

Be part of the wonderful tradition of supporting one of the country’s great literary institutions, its independence and its contribution to culture, by becoming a Patron of The London Library.

JOIN THE FOUNDERS' CIRCLE HERE

Or if you prefer, call 020 7766 4731 to donate over the phone, or download a Join Form and return it to the Fundraising Team at The London Library, 14 St James's Square, London, SW1Y 4LG. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Fundraising Team on 020 7766 4731 or at patrons@londonlibrary.co.uk.

Patron Membership

If you are not already a Library member, an easy way to enjoy the full benefits of both the Library’s membership and patrons’ programmes is to become a Patron Member.

For £2,435 per year*, you can enjoy a programme of bespoke patron-only events, behind-the-scenes tours, and visits to some of the UK’s best private collections, as well as all the benefits of Full Library membership, such as use of the Library’s spaces and collection of over 1 million books.

A joint patron membership, which allows for two Library memberships, and access to the Founders’ Circle patrons’ programme is £2,752.50 per year.*

If you would like to sign up as a Patron Member, or if you would like to find out more, please contact the Patrons Team on
patrons@londonlibrary.co.uk

*A breakdown of the costs:

£2,435 for a single patron membership:

£1,500 Founders’ Circle donation at Martineau level
£300 Founder’s Circle benefits at Martineau level
£635 Library membership

£2,752.50 for a joint patron membership:

£1,500 Founders’ Circle donation at Martineau level
£300 Founders’ Circle benefits at Martineau level
£635 Library membership
£317.50 spouse membership

US Founders' Circle

The London Library has established a US Founders’ Circle Patrons’ programme, the International Friends of The London Library (a registered 501(c) 3 charitable corporation). For further information on the US Founders’ Circle programme and the International Friends of The London Library (IFLL) please visit our International Supporters pages or visit their website.

Legacies & In Memoriam

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Remembering the Library in your Will

Strongly independent and with no government funding, the Library has been reliant on generations of philanthropists to help provide for its future.

Leaving a gift in your Will is one of the most personal ways of supporting the Library. Some bequests, such as Major William Prevost’s in 1929 and Florian Carr’s in 2007, were applied towards major building improvements. Library members have also left more modest gifts, keen to give something back to what they have gained through their years of using these wonderful resources. Members and supporters often declare “I love The London Library,” and a legacy will mark and express that affection. Your gift will be remembered long into the future in the fabric and collection of this remarkable place, and will play a vital part in allowing further generations of users to benefit from the unique resources found here.

A gift in your Will can be a tax-efficient way of giving and will cost you nothing during your lifetime. Unrestricted legacies – the applications of which are left to the discretion of the Library’s Trustees – are exceptionally valuable as they can be used wherever the need is greatest. Alternatively you might wish to direct your bequest towards a key area of the Library’s work that you particularly cherishand we would be very happy to discuss this with you.

If you choose to remember the Library in your Will and inform us of your intention to do so you will be included in our Prevost Chapter, a growing group of dedicated supporters who have chosen to remember the Library.

If you would like to talk confidentially about leaving a legacy to the Library or making an In Memoriam donation, please contact legacy@londonlibrary.co.uk or call 020 7766 4744.

How to make a gift

There are three key types of bequests you can make to the Library, described below. Further information and suggested wording to include in your Will, can be found here.

If you already have a Will and wish to add a gift for the benefit of the Library, you can do this by making a codicil to your will. In every case we strongly recommend that you consult a solicitor when making or updating your will, to ensure that it is legally valid and reflects your intentions.

A Pecuniary Legacy

This is a fixed sum of money decided by you.

A Residuary Legacy

This can be a bequest of the remainder, or a proportion of the remainder, of your estate after other legacies, Inheritance Tax, debts and expenses have been paid.

A Specific Gift

This is a gift of something valuable including property, stocks or shares, literary rights, books, art and antiques. If you are considering leaving a collection of books to the Library, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your plans with you before you commit them to your Will.

In Memoriam donations

A particularly eloquent and enduring way of commemorating the life of a relation, friend or colleague for whom The London Library was a special place is to consider making a gift in their memory.

An In Memoriam gift is a lasting tribute that can play a valuable role in helping to secure our future. The gift may be an individual benefaction or the proceeds from a collection made in someone's memory. You may prefer to request that donations be made to the Library in lieu of funeral flowers, or to make a donation each year to remember someone's birthday.

If you would like further information, please contact legacy@londonlibrary.co.uk or call 020 7766 4744.