Library Lab

A TEST COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE SPACE INFORMING THE FUTURE REDEVELOPMENT OF WILLESDEN GREEN LIBRARY CENTRE

The Willesden Green Library Lab was set up as an experimental co-working and community learning space combining classes, workshops and a pop-up co-working space within the disused café space of the Willesden Green library centre. This combination of uses was aimed at accelerating local entrepreneurship and pioneering new ways of working in the highly diverse Brent community, as well as informing the shape and content of future enterprise support provision within the new library centre.

The space was launched with an open day, inviting community input into the future space and activities within it. The Library Lab ran five to seven events each week ranging from free workshops on accounting, building your own website, creating business plans and using social media to free coaching drop-in sessions for local migrants with ideas for new enterprises. Events in the café area included social events such as story-telling, language exchange and self-defence training. Tapping into local networks such as the Migrants Right Network, invited a diverse community of users to its programme of classes and workshops, 90% of which were locally sourced, and 80% of which were locally attended. A crèche operator approached the space and an affordable crèche was incorporated into the project to help parents with young children take advantage of the workshops and co-working facilities.

The success of the project meant it was extended from an initial 3 month to 15 months, until the library was redevelopment.

Client: London Borough of Brent

Location: Willesden Green

Programme: January 2012 - March 2013

Scope:
Workspace Prototype
Business Plan
Operations & Management
Community Engagement