South Norwood Library is a purpose-built public library in South Norwood, South London. Also known locally as 'Brutalist Library' it stands in the London Borough of Croydon and is part of the Croydon Libraries arm of the council. The site on the corner of Selhurst Road and Lawrence Road first had a library built in 1897, which was replaced by the current building in 1966. Following a risk of moving the library and demolition of the building in 2019, the library service remains in the purpose-built 1968 library with reduced opening hours and a promise of renovation. The Friends of South Norwood Library campaign for the library service, supported by authors including Alex Wheatle. The Brutalist Library Campaign also worked alongside this campaign, with an aim to protect the building due to its architectural, historical and social merit. History The library was designed by Hugh Lea, Borough Architect for Croydon in 1966 together with the Chief Librarian T.E. Callander and opened in 1968. It is locally listed, within the South Norwood conservation area and a national listing application has been made to Historic England. The community take great pride in this central landmark of South Norwood, and in 2006 the participatory arts organisation 'Mosaic Art' worked with hundreds of children and community members in the borough to create a Mosaic design which would form a permanent art installation in front of the library. Passers-by can enjoy the mosaic heritage treasure map which contains many clues about the history of the area. In the year April 2012 to March 2013 the library saw 52,916 visitors, this rose to 74,455 April 2016 to March 2017. Between 2019 and 2022 the library building was under threat of being demolished as a new purpose built building was developed at the Pump House on nearby Station Road to move into, but in 2022 it was announced that the library would stay at the Brutalist Library on Lawrence Road and be refurbished. This was met with celebration from campaigners. Architecture The library is a fine example of 1960s Brutalist architecture and shows the influences of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in its structural clarity and simplicity. The frontage features bold black steel letters reading "LIBRARY" in Grotesk font typography on a concrete cuboid above a glass lower part of the building. The library building is arranged over five open-plan levels, split across the front and rear