The extensively refurbished and restored Clapton Library, located at the eastern end of Northwold Road, had its formal opening at a public event in late February.

Jules Pipe, Mayor of Hackney, officially opened the library on 22 February, and John Hegley, celebrated poet and musician, headed the bill with his inimitable brand of poetic and musical entertainment.

The building is now approximately one third bigger than it was, and includes dedicated study and IT areas, a space for teenagers and a meeting room available for hire. The library is fully accessible, and toilets and baby changing facilities are available. This, along with a greater range of books CDs and DVDs and upgraded IT facilities, is contained within a revamped energy efficient building.

At a cost of just over £2 million, Hackney Council has restored the grade II listed building to reveal many historical features which have been hidden for over thirty years, while offering 21st century facilities. The Library was first opened in 1914, the third branch library in Hackney after Dalston and Homerton (now Chat's Palace), and was closed for re-development just over a year ago.

Surely it's now time for Hackney Council to stop the patching-up - welcome though it is in the short term - of Stoke Newington Library, and carry out major interior restoration work on the much-loved, although increasingly shabby old building (opened in 1890), so it can complement its neighbours, the new Town Hall and Assembly Rooms, and give us an urban cultural centre of which we can all be proud.