The Literacy Library: celebrating one year on….

This November, we are celebrating a year since our Literacy Library was refurbished and relaunched as a new literacy hub in London. Opening its doors in November 2018 after a high successful Crowdfunding Campaign which raised nearly £65,000 and was supported by generous grants from Garfield Weston and the Foyle Foundation, the Literacy Library has established the CLPE as a leading site for literacy training and events, and a space for educators to come together to learn about the best children’s books in the UK.

Find out more about our Crowdfunding campaign

Since its refurbishment, 2550 people have visited the Library, whether that be to make use of the 23,000 strong collection of children’s books; to hear from leading authors and illustrators, or to attend one of our, or our partners’, training and conference days. We have welcomed countless organisations including Fisher Family Trust, Coram Beanstalk, BookTrust, CILIP, UKLA, IBBY, Empathy Lab, National Theatre, We Are Waterloo, Brandford Boase, Klaus Flugge, Cheltenham Literary Festival, Children’s Poetry Summit, National Writing Day, Little Rebels, the Booksellers Association.

Read more about our Chartered College Events and Conferences held at the CLPE.

Learn more about hiring our Library and rooms for your event.

The Literacy Library has also been a source of inspiration for children too. As a charity dedicated to putting high-quality books at the heart of primary education, we have had the pleasure of welcoming a range of year groups from Friars Primary Academy, Balham Primary, John Donne Primary and Wandsworth Prep to browse our collections, read with aloud our teaching team and to discover the pleasure of finding new titles in our fiction, non-fiction and poetry collections. The Early Years team from Elsley Primary School and teachers from St James C of E Primary, Bermondsey have also visited us to learn more about children's books. 

Interested in a class visit? Contact CLPE’s Library Manager [email protected] 

Throughout the year, the library has also been a resource utilised by student teachers and those undertaking training from a range of institutes, including students from London South Bank University and Goldsmiths University.

Find out how we can support your team through our dedicated teacher training.

And, this year, we have an exciting new programme to add to your calendars: our #LiteracyLibraryPresents series.

From Autumn 2019 we are delighted to announce our new evening sessions connecting leading children’s authors and illustrators to teachers and children’s librarians. The Literacy Library Presents series, which takes the form of book launches, poetry performances, activity based sessions and many more, are accessible and friendly opportunities to learn from those at the forefront of children’s literacy, including our expert teaching team.