Upper Norwood Library Hub

Name

Upper Norwood Library Hub

Legal name

Upper Norwood Library Trust

Website

https://uppernorwoodlibraryhub.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Library Services

NAICS

Business Service Centers (56143)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Library Operations & Community Branch Management (EDAEAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Library & Learning Space Managed Operations (Circulation, Scheduling, Staffing) (EDAEALAL), Library-Based Learning Programs (Public Libraries) (EDAAAFAA), Civic Education & Community Engagement (Voting, Local Government) (EDAAAFAC)

Keywords

• Community library services
• Public library hub
• Community learning programs
• Digital inclusion services
• Arts and wellbeing programming

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Relies on grant funding from organizations including National Lottery (£776,571 awarded in 2025), Power to Change, Arts Council England, and other funders to sustain operations and programmes.
2. Fundraising: Community fundraising activities, individual donations, and regular donor campaigns including the £2 monthly donation campaign to support ongoing operations.
3. Room Hire: Venue hire for social, artistic, community and business use. Space rental for events, activities, classes and performances generates income to cover building running costs.
4. Community Programmes: Revenue from arts, cultural and performance events, wellbeing activities, children's camps, adult education courses, and individual initiatives delivered at the hub.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Upper Norwood Library Hub is a multi-purpose community library hub that combines a professional public library service (delivered by Lambeth Council and co-funded by Croydon Council) with a co-created community programme covering sharing & learning, health & wellbeing, community venue hire, and outreach activities. It offers ESOL and literacy classes, digital inclusion support, arts and cultural events, children's holiday camps, room hire, and a community café to residents across five South London boroughs. The hub is managed by the Upper Norwood Library Trust, an independent registered charity.

Product overview

Upper Norwood Library Hub is a multi-purpose community facility operating as a single unified offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core service combines a professional public library (delivered by Lambeth Council, co-funded by Croydon Council) with an extensive community programme encompassing learning services (ESOL, literacy/numeracy support, digital skills training), health and wellbeing activities, venue hire, and performance arts/events. The organization functions as a social enterprise with charitable objectives, operating through a community hub model that integrates traditional library services with modern community support functions. Key products include the Library Services, Community Programme (with four pillars: sharing & learning, health & wellbeing, venue hire, outreach), Room Hire, ESOL & Literacy Programmes, Digital Inclusion Services, Health & Wellbeing Activities, Children's Activities & Summer Camps, Hub Café, Library of Things lending service, Performance Arts & Events, Community Tech Support, and Newsletter & Communications. The hub serves residents across five London boroughs (Croydon, Lambeth, Bromley, Southwark, and Lewisham) and is managed by the Upper Norwood Library Trust, an independent charity formed in 2012.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Library Services Professional public library service providing book lending, printing, and traditional library facilities for local residents across five London boroughs. Delivered by Lambeth Council staff and co-funded by Croydon Council.
• Community Programme Co-created community programme covering four pillars: sharing & learning, health & wellbeing, community venue hire, and outreach activities, including workshops, classes, and social events for local residents.
• Room Hire Venue hire service for community groups, event organizers, and individuals to host activities, classes, performances, and business or social events in the library hub spaces.
• ESOL and Literacy Programmes
• Digital Inclusion Services Technology support programmes including Community Tech Support drop-ins, Mobile Phone Boot Camps, Laptop Loan Scheme, and digital skills training delivered in partnership with ClearCommunityWeb.
• Children's Activities and Summer Camps Holiday camps, children's drama workshops, arts and crafts activities, and educational support sessions for young people during school breaks.
• Library of Things Community lending service allowing residents to borrow household items such as pasta makers, sewing machines, and pressure washers rather than purchase them, promoting sustainability.
• Performance Arts and Events Live-streamed and in-person performances including West End concerts, theatre productions, dance performances, poetry nights, and film screenings.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,350,000 visits across 10 years of operation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Minderoo Programme / Oxford UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Community Lab project funded by Minderoo, led by Dr Pericle Salvini, hosting sessions on AI with experts from Oxford University Departments of Engineering and Computer Science.
• Lambeth Council (Library Services)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional library service delivered by Lambeth Council at the Upper Norwood Library Hub. Lambeth librarians staff the library service as part of the partnership arrangement.
• Croydon CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-funder of the library service alongside Lambeth Council. Provides statutory funding support for library operations serving the local community.
• ClearCommunityWebcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership delivering Digital Lounge with digital inclusion activities for seniors and vulnerable adults. Runs laptop loan scheme, tech support, and digital skills courses.
• Library of ThingscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosts Crystal Palace Library of Things allowing residents to borrow household items rather than buy, promoting sustainability and access.
• Citizens AdvicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBig Energy Saving Network funded by Citizens Advice to deliver energy advice and support to vulnerable consumers.
• SE19DanceProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDance Conversations intergenerational dance project bringing community and professional dance artists together.
• Daniel Stockton ProductionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganizes West End concerts, kids drama camps and classes, and performance events at the hub.
• Crystal Palace MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on community events including writing competitions and heritage projects.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Power to Change: Power to Change is an independent trust that funds and supports community businesses across England. It is comparable to UNLH through its Peer Brokerage Programme and is directly engaged with the hub's directors, positioning Power to Change as both a funder and a peer network for UNLH-type community-led library and hub businesses.
• Carnegie UK: Carnegie UK is a charitable foundation that works on libraries, well-being and community across the UK and Ireland. It is comparable to UNLH in its library-and-community focus and produces research and policy support for the sector in which UNLH operates.
• Libraries Connected: Libraries Connected is the UK membership body for public library services. It is comparable to UNLH as the sector network setting standards and advocating for public library services, of which UNLH is an example of community-delivered provision.
• Locality: Locality is the UK membership network supporting community-led organisations, community businesses and neighbourhood hubs. It is comparable to UNLH as the umbrella body representing the same community-led, place-based operating model, and offers peer support, policy advocacy and resources to UNLH and similar trusts.
• Citizens Advice: Citizens Advice is the national advice charity that funds local delivery partners (such as UNLH via the Big Energy Saving Network) to provide energy and welfare advice to vulnerable consumers. Comparable to UNLH as the upstream commissioner of the hub's energy advice services and as a wider community-support charity operating through local delivery partners.

Broad incumbents

• Peabody: Peabody is a large London housing association that operates community hubs, learning programmes and wellbeing activities alongside its core housing mission. Comparable to UNLH as a London community-services delivery organisation with multi-borough reach, but Peabody is far larger, vertically integrated, and operates a wider portfolio of services beyond libraries.
• GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited): GLL operates public libraries, leisure and community services on behalf of UK local authorities under the 'Better' brand. It is comparable to UNLH as a large-scale operator delivering community-facing public library and wellbeing services, but at much greater scale and across many geographies rather than a single community-led hub.

Emerging players

• The Reading Agency: The Reading Agency is a UK charity that works with public libraries to deliver reading, literacy and health-reading programmes. It is comparable to UNLH in its library-based learning and reading focus, but operates as a national programme designer/funder of library-delivered activity rather than as a directly delivered community hub.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uppernorlibhub
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCF_PHX8IHkscDDWFiQ2zXeg
• Facebookfacebook.com/uppernorlibhub
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/upper-norwood-library-hub

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Upper Norwood Library Hub