Children’s Library

Since Canning Town Library first opened in the 1890s, the beautiful building has been cherished by adults and children alike. For the young people of the local area, it has served as a hub for various purposes, aiding learning and entertainment.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Elaine worked for the Schools Library Service. Boxes were sent to schools, providing books, posters and leaflets on specific school subjects. This work was vital because most schools did not have their own librarians, and struggled with maintaining their own libraries due to a lack of funding.

As the pictures below show, it was a chaotic place to work. “Health and safety would have had a nightmare,” she admits. “The shelving was unbelievable. There wasn’t enough shelving, the books were usually out at a school.”

But in the summer, everything sent to Newham’s schools was returned to Canning Town Library. A small team in a private area would make repairs, routinely reinforcing books for children many times. Those that couldn’t be salvaged were repurposed ahead of the academic year. “You worked in a three-foot square space, with books piled and tape and glue,” Elaine said. “You repaired other non-book stuff. It was a health and safety nightmare, but there were never any accidents. We were more lax then.”

As well as providing books and learning resources to schools, children would frequently come into the library on Saturdays to do their homework.

The library’s importance to Canning Town’s youngest residents remained important during the 90s and 2000s.

When Maz moved to West Silvertown in the 1990s, she quickly utilised the library to borrow books for herself and her young children. There were engaging sessions with professional storytellers, or music sessions where children were taught about instruments and colours.

It encouraged Maz to learn how to do storytelling herself, when she was keen to get everyone – even the parents – involved in the tale. Maz said: “Those were my favourite times in the library, first as a volunteer and then as a paid worker.” It also helped when she studied childcare, as she got to thinking about the physical ability of the children, using music to help them to move, which improves confidence on their feet, and sing, aiding language and communication skills.

Maz explained: “The Music and Movement I would do would start as storytelling, getting them involved in the stories, like turning the page to coordinate their fingers, looking at pictures and words. When the story ended, I’d have musical instruments, or we’d clap and sing. Some songs they knew, some songs they didn’t. You take your time, and there’d be one or two words they would remember. Then you had regular nursery rhymes like Old MacDonald, and you did actions of the animal or sounds. It helped them for full-time nursery or school. Everything was geared towards child development and building up their confidence.”

Her work at the library allowed her and her son a unique experience when a revamped children’s section was opened in the building in September 2002, ahead of the new academic year.

“My youngest child was two then,” Maz said. “There was lots of children under the age of five. Because we were always there working and using the services, we were invited to the opening with Councillor Lyn Brown.”

Pictures of the occasion featuring Baroness Brown – who was the local area MP between 2005 and 2024, before becoming a Baroness in early 2025 – were featured in Newham Recorder and Sure Starters, a local magazine for the Sure Start community in North Canning Town.

“In one picture in the Newham Recorder, and in my collection, my son was cutting the cake with her. I’ll always remember her for that,” Maz said.

As Maz said, “libraries are a precious community resource”, and for the youngest residents of Canning Town and the surrounding areas, that remained present throughout the decades.