The new Central Library in the Civic Centre has had 100,000 visits since June and 2,700 new members. Opening hours, the Wednesday closure and parking.
Reading’s new Central Library has welcomed its 100,000th visitor, four months after it moved into the Civic Centre on Bridge Street. The council announced the milestone on Monday (Reading Borough Council).
The library left its old building on King’s Road and was officially opened in its new home on 18 June. The council says visitor numbers are up 79% since the move. Its release does not say which period of the old library’s figures it is comparing against.
The numbers so far
According to the council, since the new library opened:
- 100,000 visits have been made
- 2,700 people have joined as new members, 72% more than joined at the King’s Road library
- around 42,000 books have been issued
- those loans went to more than 4,200 individual members
- about half of the books borrowed were for children and young people
Cllr Jacopo Lanzoni, the council’s lead councillor for leisure and culture, said: “To have 100,000 visitors to the library in just four months is fantastic.”
He added that the children’s area “has been very popular with families”.
What is inside
The children’s library is double the size of the space at King’s Road. Its books and storytelling area sit inside a forest-themed scene. There is also a separate teen area with age-appropriate books and graphic novels.
The building has almost 100 work and study spaces. They range from ordinary desks to partitioned desks, armchairs and pods, and most have a power socket.
The council also lists:
- free wifi throughout
- free computers on the ground floor
- tablets to use on site, and laptops you can take home
- the local history library, upstairs
- The Square, a community and events space on the ground floor
- a teaching and meeting room upstairs, which groups can hire
The council’s library page says there are no fines on books and resources borrowed.
Opening hours
The library is closed on Wednesdays. Its hours, from the council’s Central Library page:
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 9am to 5pm |
| Tuesday | 9am to 7pm |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | 9am to 7pm |
| Friday | 9am to 5pm |
| Saturday | 10am to 3pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
On weekdays the first hour, 9am to 10am, is self-service only: you can collect, return, browse and study. The library’s phone number is 0118 937 5950.
What it means for you
The entrance is at the front of the Civic Centre on Bridge Street, RG1 2LU. Go through the main doors and straight ahead.
If you plan to drive, the Civic Centre car park on Simmonds Street has only seven visitor spaces, three of them for Blue Badge holders. Every space must be booked in advance through the council’s security team, for up to three hours. Most people will be better off with a town centre car park; our guide to parking in Reading compares them.
You can join the library online.
Christmas and Easter hours are posted on the libraries’ social media rather than the web page, the council says.
Sources
- Reading Borough Council, “New Central Library welcomes its 100,000th visitor”, 26 October 2026, for the visitor, membership and loan figures, the facilities and the councillor’s quotes.
- Reading Borough Council, Central Library, last updated 26 October 2026, for opening hours, the self-service hour, parking and the facilities list.
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