Barnet library opening times, and what they offer beyond books

Barnet’s libraries have been through a decade of restructuring, and coverage now mixes full-service branches with partner-run and self-service sites. What has not changed is that most residents use a fraction of what a library card provides.

Opening times

Every branch splits its week into staffed hours, when a librarian is on the desk, and self-service hours, when card holders let themselves in with a registered library card and PIN. Self-service usually covers far more of the week than staffed hours do. Hendon library, the borough’s largest, is staffed Tuesday 9am to 12.30pm, Wednesday 2pm to 8pm, Friday 2pm to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 12.30pm, with self-service access on top of that most weekday mornings and evenings. Chipping Barnet library follows a similar staffed pattern and also opens on Sunday afternoons in self-service hours.

Exact hours differ branch by branch, and a handful close temporarily for repairs or events, so check the specific branch page on the council’s library finder before a visit rather than relying on a fixed timetable.

Joining

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Membership is free for anyone living, working or studying in Barnet, and can be started online. Bring proof of address to a branch to collect the card and activate borrowing. Ask at the desk to be registered for self-service access as well, which needs a short form and, for members aged 14 to 17, a parent’s signature.

What the card gets you at home

This is the most overlooked part. A Barnet library card gives free remote access to e-book and audiobook lending, digital newspaper and magazine archives, and subscription reference databases that are otherwise paywalled — including ancestry and local history resources.

None of it requires a visit. It is used by a small minority of members, largely because nobody is told it exists.

Space to work

Libraries remain the borough’s only substantial free, heated, quiet indoor space with wifi and no obligation to buy anything. For students without room at home, people working freelance, and anyone whose heating bill is a consideration, that matters more than the book stock.

Printing, scanning and public computers are available at most branches, usually with a small charge for printing.

Children and families

Rhyme times and story sessions for pre-school children run free during term time, and the Summer Reading Challenge runs through the holidays. These are among the few free structured activities for young children in the borough.

Local history

The borough’s local studies and archives collection holds maps, photographs, parish records and newspaper archives covering Barnet, Finchley, Hendon and Edgware. It is the first place to look if you are researching a house, a street or a family in the area.

Opening hours for archive access are narrower than general library hours, so check before travelling.