Shhh… These gorgeous London libraries have a lot more to offer than just reading material

For book lovers seeking a bit of peace and quiet, libraries are a great hideout. Luckily, London is full of them: big libraries, secret libraries, tiny libraries and aesthetically-pleasing libraries, all bursting with books to borrow and read.

Some of them are historic lending archives that have existed in the city for centuries and others are modern celebrations of the written word. Some are famous, while others are well-kept secrets… and all of them are great little spots to spend an afternoon curled up with a book, whether you take one out or not.

Bethnal Green Library

Standing on the busy intersection outside Bethnal Green tube, you might think you’ve stumbled across an out-of-place stately home in the middle of East London. You haven’t. You’re actually looking at the beautiful buildings of Bethnal Green Library, which first opened its doors way back in 1922. Today it boasts a fully-stocked library of treasures for both adults and children, as well as two hireable rooms for up to 100 people each. That’s one massive book-slam just waiting to happen.

Canada Water Library

This modern-but-pretty public library was opened in 2011 and now welcomes an average of 37,000 visitors per month. As well as reading material the venue offers live music, theatre, author events and writing groups in its culture space.

Kensington Central Library

This public library was the final building designed by English architect E Vincent Harris, who also built the damn fine-looking Manchester Central Library, among many other civic beauties. With nearly 50 years worth of experience behind him when the project began in 1958, it’s no surprise Harris’s swansong is such a stunner – just check out that spacious floorpan and those bold, authoritative pillars.

The Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Freemasons’ Hall, the eye-catchingly bombastic stone building where Long Acre becomes Great Queen Street, is the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England and the principal meeting place for Masonic Lodges in London. In addition to the Grand Temple, there is a library and museum, which house a collection of Masonic material, and everyone from historians to conspiracy theorists is welcome to visit.

The London Library

Bill Bryson, Sebastian Faulks, Joanne Trollope: nope, not this year’s Man Booker shortlistees, but a rundown of famous writers who are all members of The London Library. It’s the Shoreditch House of book stacks: you pay a subscription fee (around £500 pa), but you don’t have to talk to anyone. And members can borrow books from its 17 miles of shelves for an absurdly long time (or until another member requests the same one). For those not on the bestseller list, the library hosts free evening tours twice a month: just keep an eagle eye on its website to book a place.

Maughan Library

King’s College London’s main research library is a nineteenth-century neo-gothic building that was home to the Public Record Office before King’s bought it in 2001. The magnificent dodecagonal reading room featured in ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and regularly receives filming requests, but its day-to-day purpose is as a space for actual learning. As such, you have to be a member to access it, though Maughan Library is usually open to the public as part of Open House.

National Art Library at the V&A

This gorgeous library is hidden away within the V&A, but once you’ve been in you’ll wonder how you never noticed it. Its collection contains books on prints, drawings, woodwork, textiles, metalwork and many more subjects relevant to the museum its housed in. As a major public reference library it’s free to join – all you need to do is provide ID with proof of address. Or you can just peer in through the glass in its huge double doors.

Peckham Library

If there’s any confusion as to what this copper-clad minimalist beauty of a building is, the word ‘library’ is helpfully written in huge letters on its roof. The alien-like structure won the Stirling Prize for architecture in 2000 – the only local library to win so far – and between the interior’s space-age pods and bulbous wooden desks there’s a fantastic collection of works by black authors, the largest collection of African CDs in the borough and a great choice of graphic novels.

Swiss Cottage Central Library

If you’re a fan of symmetry, you’ll love the brutalist exterior of the Swiss Cottage Library, while every element inside looks like a shot from a Wes Anderson film. It’s a dramatic swirl of mirror-image staircases and 1960s curves. The collection is strong on the philosophy and history front, and there’s a big open space where you can swot up in comfy chairs.

Senate House Library

It’s been a Ministry of Information (during World War Two) and a Court of Justice (in ‘Batman Begins’) but this magnificently authoritative-looking building just north of the British Museum is also home to the central library of the University of London. The library occupies the building’s fourth-to-eighteenth floors and is ordinarily only open to members, but you can access for reference purposes by puchasing a day ticket or special summer membership.