Idea Store Canary Wharf

Who knew the Idea «Store» is actually a library! This is a hidden little gem in Canary Wharf located opposite the Starbucks, under Jamie’s Italian. It can be hard to find as it doesn’t have an entrance facing the street but for those working in Canary Wharf it’s really accessible.
They’ve got the standard stuff you’d expect from a library: books, magazines, computers to research/​surf the web, wifi, etc. You do, however, need to be a resident of Tower Hamlets council to be a member which gives you FREE access!
If you’re not a resident, like I am, you can still pop in, read some books during the day use the facilities to read/​study.
Also, they’ve got these learning lab rooms which host a number of courses you can sign up for — check their website out, always great to learn! Also, if you’re looking for cheap meeting room space, you can actually rent the rooms by the day — not bad — and there’s a Starbucks right around the corner whoohoo!
Overall, it’s a new facility and clean, well staffed, and offers lots of services you expect from a library. Definitely better than many of the other public libraries elsewhere in London.
PS — a little secret is if you’ve got an Idea Store Library Card, you can flash it at Tower of London and enter for only £1! a quid!

Like the other IDEA STORES (read: libraries that have been branded as stores with funky colors and plastic bags for carrying your purchases… I mean books) but this one’s got more suits and a few more couches.
I dig the Learning Labs here, because they’re a bit quieter (less kids in the Wharf) and the Internet connection is decent… although not as stellar as the Starbucks connection a few yards away.
Go, read, learn, and ideate your brain out here.

This is a great place to hang out. I usually visit Idea Store during lunch and after work. There is free internet access available. The collection of books is quite small but there are some interesting books. I have just borrowed a book by Moyan. There are courses to take up as well, they are pretty affordable. I have just sign up for some courses with Idea Store and I am looking forward to them!