People often imagine that each of London's private members' clubs are bursting with vast libraries. Not true. Many have closed down - as underused as public libraries - or been converted into conferencing rooms. Many never had a library. This🧵looks at those which survive...

More typical (if there even is a library) is something like the "Library Bar" of Soho House's 76 Dean Street. Note the complete absence of any books. Generally speaking, fewer than half of the historic clubs of London still maintain a working library, & none of the modern ones.

So, running through the surviving libraries alphabetically...the Army & Navy Club on Pall Mall maintains military history library, as you might expect.

The Athenaeum has the most extensive library in Clubland today. This is its principal room, the South Library; but a working library runs through much of the building.

Brooks's maintains a capacious library, not in the original Georgian part of the building, but in a large adjoining Victorian annexe. It is also used to display the portraits of members of the Society of Dilettanti, which merged into the Club.

The Caledonian Club's library is, as you might expect, particularly strong on Scottish history.

The East India Club has a library that is particularly well-stocked on imperial and military history.

The Garrick Club, one of the wealthiest in London, has an extremely well-endowed library focused around the performing arts.

While the National Liberal Club lost its original library in the 1970s, it reestablished a new one over a decade ago, heavily focused around Liberal history, philosophy & biography. (I was responsible for this, when I was a member there, during a 10-yr stint as Hon Librarian.)

The Naval & Military ("In & Out") Club St. James's Square maintains a well-stocked military history library.

The Oriental Club's library in Stratford House is particularly opulent and decorative.

One of the more extensive libraries is that of the Oxford & Cambridge Club on Pall Mall, which divided across three principal rooms, including a quiet room; plus further rooms for reading periodicals.

The Reform Club probably has the 2nd largest library in Clubland. Like the Athenaeum, it is not limited to the principal library room, seen here - much of the building is a scrupulously maintained, working library.

The Royal Air Force Club on Piccadilly maintains a library.

The Royal Automobile Club, unsurprisingly, has a library heavily focused on cars and the history of automobiling.

Given its strong literary roots, many of the library books in the Savile Club have been authored by its own members.

The Travellers Club library - focused on travel - is one of the architectural gems of Clubland, designed by Charles Barry (who also designed the Reform Club next door), with its classical frieze. There is a further overflow travel library below in the basement.

The Union Jack Club is a mass-membership services & veterans' club in Waterloo, open to enlisted ranks, and it also maintains a library.

I accidentally skipped one alphabetically - the Magic Circle, the club for practising magicians, has over 6,000 books on the history and practice of magic, plus a DVD and audio library of magic performances.

Finally, the gorgeous library of the University Women's Club in Mayfair.

As you can see, the surviving club libraries (& many have closed...) come in all shapes & sizes. Some are specialist, some generalist. And they are not limited to hard copy books, either. Some include a digital component, to periodicals & databases with online subscriptions. ENDS

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