Reading Borough Council are delighted to announce the opening of the new Central Library at its new location in the Civic Centre, Bridge Street on Thursday 18 June.

The move is a significant new development for services in Reading’s central library, which will be housed in a new building, a light, fully accessible space, with a focus on learning, creativity and community use.

The new library will be fitted out with better facilities for studying, working and enjoying the town centre as well as an extensive range of fiction, non-fiction, local history and family history collections.

One of the major new features will be The Square, a versatile community and events area which will be used for activities, workshops and events of all kinds throughout the year. In addition, there are nearly 100 work and study spaces all equipped with free Wi-Fi and most of which have access to power points for laptops and devices.

The library has been designed keeping in mind all ages, such as:

Larger and more inviting children’s library featuring cosy reading areas and storytelling space.
A special teen area that offers graphic novels, appropriate reading material, comfortable seating and group study spaces.
Clear zones for working, meeting and quiet relaxation
A broad and diverse range of books for everybody to enjoy.
There are 18 (to borrow free) tablets and 8 laptops available.
10 public access computers
A special local history section about Reading’s history

The library will also be open for longer on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, at 9am. Self-service hours will be offered the first hour of the day (9am-10am), where visitors can take their time to explore and enjoy the facilities.

The new library will be open to all residents and is warmly welcomed—even those who haven’t been to Central Library in a while.

King’s Road Library Update

From this week, services will no longer be available at the former King’s Road library site as around 60,000 books are moved to their new home at the Civic Centre.

Library books will not be due to Central Library and no fines will be paid during this transition.

Books on loan can still be returned to any of Reading’s six community libraries, or to the new Central Library when it opens on 18 June.

All 6 community libraries are open and have lending programs, access to computers and printers, and audiobooks. They are Battle, Caversham, Palmer Park, Southcote and Tilehurst and Whitley Libraries.

Reading’s main library has now shut its doors for good. It’s getting ready to move to the town’s newly updated Civic Centre.

Reading Central Library, which first opened on Kings Road back in 1985, had its last day open to visitors on Saturday afternoon. Now, it’s starting the big move to the new Civic Centre development over on Bridge Street.

You won’t be able to use the library’s central services until the new place opens up on Thursday, June 18th. This new spot will be inside the redesigned Civic Centre. They expect it to have modern facilities, be much easier for everyone to get around, and offer more spaces for community use.

Reading Borough Council says they had to move. The old building, with its many floors, had just gotten too outdated and it was becoming really hard – and costly – to make it work for people with accessibility needs.

Council officials mention that the new library, which was built just for this, will be completely accessible. It’s also designed to better serve everyone: residents, students, and visitors alike. The plans for this new place include almost 100 spots to work or study, better digital tools, and a new area for community gatherings and events called The Square.

But this closure hasn’t been without its share of arguments. Some local people and groups have spoken out against the move. They’re worried about losing the old Kings Road location, which has been there for so long. They also question if this whole moving period might affect people who use the library all the time. Others have asked for clearer details about how much the redevelopment is costing and what’s going to happen to the old library building.

Even with all the talk against it, council leaders feel this move is a big investment in Reading’s public services for the future. They want the new library to be a central spot for learning, community get-togethers, and events right in the town centre.

There are clearly differing and sometimes sharply contrasting views within Labour over Keir Starmer’s leadership, with debate continuing both publicly and behind the scenes. This wider split in opinion has led to closer scrutiny of where MPs stand, including the three Reading representatives for Reading and surrounding constituencies, as the party navigates questions of direction, unity and leadership style.

While some MPs have firmly backed Starmer and emphasised stability at the top of the party, others have been linked to more critical conversations about the leadership’s current approach. The result is a developing political divide within the party, where support and concern exist side by side, and individual MPs’ positions are being watched more closely than ever.

MPs backing Keir Starmer

Matt Rodda (Reading Central) has backed Keir Starmer, supporting his continued leadership of the Labour Party and government. According to The Guardian, he is one of the signatories of a letter supporting Starmer.

Olivia Bailey (Reading West and Mid Berkshire) previously worked for Keir Starmer as Head of Domestic Policy when he was Labour leader (before becoming Prime Minister) and has also backed Starmer, aligning with those within the party who support stability under the current leadership.

Position on leadership criticism

Yuan Yang (Earley and Woodley) has been mentioned in relation to criticism of Keir Starmer’s leadership. However, there is no confirmed public statement from her calling for his resignation. The BBC website published a list of MPs reportedly critical of Keir Starmer’s leadership, which includes her name.