If, in London, you find yourself at a literary party and at a loss for conversation, there are a few subjects guaranteed to rouse even the most reticent writer: the pitiful advances offered by publishers these days; whether or not Martin Amis is a great novelist; and the hiking of membership fees at the London Library.
The latter first became a hot topic in 2008, when the fiercely loved private library in St James Square, a sanctuary for the bookish since 1845, announced that it was almost doubling its yearly membership fee to £395. Around the same time, extensive refurbishment begun that, after two years in which members were offered earplugs as they came in for the day, is now complete.
And very impressive it is too. The world's largest independent subscription library has increased its capacity by 30 per cent, adding classy contemporary extensions without affecting its hallowed, club-like atmosphere nor its famously labyrinthine layout in which, it is rumoured, some members have been lost for years.
Now, the Library's president, Sir Tom Stoppard is appealing for new members. It may sound like a tall order – what with those pitiful advances writers are paid these days — and some might grumble that the library's members who have been most vocal in their support of the Library, such as Stoppard, Simon Schama and Simon Callow, are those who can afford to be.
But as a decidedly non-illustrious member for the past ten years, who can as yet only dream of receiving a tiny advance, I think it's still a reasonable price for access to this wonderful place. I see it as renting a desk in the best office in London. And with temporary overseas memberships available, as well as One Day and One Week passes, even those not permanently resident in London, or who are sensible enough to not be writing a novel, can have a taste of it.
The British Library might have more books — although, at one million and counting, the London Library isn't doing too badly — but the joy here is that, unlike the BL, they are open access. You can spend hours procrastinating amongst the stacks, discovering new treasures, undisturbed except for the occasional creak of someone doing the same above your head (some of the galleries have grilled floors to let in light which mean that, for ladies, high heels are not advised).
There are desks in the stacks too, so you can hide yourself away to work, and then, when you want company or to browse an obscure journal, retire to a leather armchair in the main reading room. That is, if you can nab one; the chairs are favoured spots for post-prandial snoozes amongst those who frequent the gentlemen's clubs in nearby Pall Mall.
The membership fee also buys you the trust of the librarians. Unlike the BL, where you are unable to take books home and are subject to airport-style checks on entering and leaving the reading rooms, at the London Library you can take a number of volumes for as long as no other member wants them. I once borrowed a rare early edition of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary, with the gentle request that I try not to spill any coffee on it.
All in all, it's one of London's great treasures — and you don't need to be the kind of person who is invited to literary parties to get in.
The London Library, 14 St James Square, SW1Y 4LG, londonlibrary.co.uk
Five other lovely London libraries:
Peckham Library
This striking, copper coated building has won a host of architecture awards since it was opened in 2000.
122 Peckham Hill Street, London SE15 5JR (+ 44 (0)20 7525 2000; southwark.gov.uk/info/200062/libraries
St. Bride Library
The world's leading printing and graphic arts library situated, appropriately, in the heart of the old newspaper industry.
Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8EE (+44 (0)20 7353 4660; stbride.org)
The Weiner Library
Founded in 1933, this admirable resource is the world's oldest Holocaust memorial institution. No membership or appointments required.
4 Devonshire Street, London W1W 5BH, (+44 (0)20 7636 7247, wienerlibrary.co.uk)
The Women's Library
The most extensive collection of women's history in the UK, with over 60,000 books and pamplets and a reading room open to all.
London Metropolitan University, 25 Old Castle Street, London E1 7NT (+44 (0)20 7320 2222; londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary)
The British Library
Digs aside, the UK's national library is still a great institution. Every book under the sun, extensive reading rooms, free wifi and good cakes in the café.
96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB (+ 44 (0)843 208 1144; bl.uk)
