Community-run reading room extends to double its original size

Children in Kensal Rise are celebrating a brand new addition to their pop-up library.

The hugely popular temporary effort, which has inspired a series of similar schemes across the borough, has almost doubled in size with a children’s area.

The seated area, constructed by local designer Karl Abeyasekera, will offer children’s homework workshops and story time gatherings.

Jodi Gramigni, a member of the Friends of Kensal Rise Campaign whose two children, Marcello and Julietta, have used the facility, told the Times: “We didn’t anticipate how full the pop-up library would get and the demand for space so we decided to create an extra building.

“We are going to have a reading club throughout the summer which will be held weekly in the mornings and it’s brilliant to see all the children coming out and enjoying it.”

As well as the extension a piano has been brought in to provide musical entertainment for library users.

It has been rented from the Play Me I’m Yours initiative, a scheme designed to engage people to claim ownership of their urban landscape through music and encourage participation.