The library has been primarily volunteer-led since it’s beginnings in 1975. We still aim now, to operate as a non-hierarchical collective comprised of paid staff, volunteers and trustees who are committed to making decisions by consensus. 

We operate through a core collective of about 20 people currently, some of whom are paid staff members, volunteers and trustees. The core collective come together each month to discuss the day-to-day running of the library, policy decision making and core aims of the library. 

At the moment we have five paid members of staff who work in different areas of the library on very part-time hours. We also currently have five trustees who joined us in 2022 who contribute to our collective decision-making.

These are some of the working groups we have:

Bookshop
The bookshop working group runs our weekly bookshop opening on Saturdays. They also are often involved with the organising and running of stalls, ordering stock and engaging with visitors.

Collections
The collections team work on various projects always with a feminist, critical approach to collections work. The team focuses on shelving and sorting the collection, cataloguing, managing our archives and acquisitions. 

Communications
The communications team work on promoting our events and the library on social media, communicating opening hours and updating our website.

Curation
The curation team manages our exhibition programme at the library, along with liaising with other organisations for collaborations.

Fundraising
The fundraising group looks into varying opportunities for grants to help support the libraries work.

Premises
The premises group work on the library space to create space for shelves, run risk assessments and coordinate with the other tenants in the building.