Swiss Cottage Library is the central library in the public library service of the London Borough of Camden, housed in an architectural landmark building in Avenue Road designed by Sir Basil Spence. It has been Grade II Listed since 1997. Background The Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead's first library, Kilburn Library was opened in 1894. Later in 1897, the borough's first central library was established: Finchley Road Central Library. Then known as Hampstead Central Library, this became Camden Arts Centre in 1965. By the 1950s the Central Library had served the same role since its establishment and was in need of expansion. After a refurbishment, the library was severely damaged during the Blitz in World War II, leaving it with only half the required capacity. The Borough desperately needing space for books and incoroporated a new library into its plans for a new civic centre to house its headquarters and other services. The Library Association reported in 1959 that, whilst hardly any new public library buildings had been built, library usage has risen by 75% since 1939, with most buildings being over 50 years old. Post-war, the British government had prioritised housing and education, resulting in archaic building regulations remaining unamended, and many libraries being built for fewer users than needed. With additional damage and destruction to other libraries, Hampstead lacked the infrastructure needed for storing and cataloguing media. History Founding Swiss Cottage Library was constructed as part of the Swiss Cottage Centre development by the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead in the 1950s. In 1959, British architect Sir Basil Spence created a scheme for the Civic Centre, including a library and Swiss Cottage Sports Centre. The dissolving of the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead into the larger London Borough of Camden as part of the London Government Act 1963 brought complications to the scheme, with Camden Council instead wanting to focus on its Euston Road developments; Spence described the fate of the project as being "in the lap of the Gods". As Hampstead's final major infrastructure project, the original masterplan was downgraded to simply include a sports centre and library. Furthermore, the library, which was originally intended to be built next to Winchester Road, was instead moved to be beside Avenue Road. Queen Elizabeth II opened the library as Hampstead Public Library on the 10 November 1964, the same week in which she opened a library for the University of Sussex, also