Hertfordshire Libraries is 100

Hertfordshire Libraries Service is 100!

We're excited to celebrate 100 years of Hertfordshire Libraries this year and everyone in Hertfordshire is invited to join us!

28 February 2025 marked 100 years since a countywide library service opened.

Whether you're a regular library visitor, a user of our many online resources, or someone who hasn’t thought about a library in a long time, join in the celebrations and discover more about what our modern library service has to offer.

Browse upcoming Libraries Centenary events

Featured events

An Evening of (Very) Old Radio

Thurs 29 Jan 2026, 7–9pm

Hemel Hempstead Library

British broadcasting's origin story is brought to life by British Comedy Award-winning writer, comedian and broadcast historian Paul Kerensa, in a stand-up history show that informs, educates and entertains.

An Evening of (Very) Old Radio – read more and book

The Autistic Teen’s Survival Guide

Say 7 Feb 2026, 1.30–3pm

Bishop's Stortford Library

Join author, Gracie Barlow, for an exclusive talk and Q&A session.

Gracie Barlow – read more and book

Daisy Buchanan – Read Yourself Happy

Thurs 5 March 2026, 7–8.30pm

St Albans Library

Hear award-winning journalist, writer and broadcaster, Daisy Buchanan, discuss her latest book Read Yourself Happy and how she battled anxiety through her love of books and reading.

Daisy Buchanan – read more and book

See all Centenary events

100 word poem challenge

Enjoy reading the fantastic poems celebrating libraries, reading and creativity on our blog.

Thank you for all your submissions to the 100 word poetry challenge, we received well over 400 poems from all ages and are delighted to share the winning poems and shortlisted poems.

Herts Big Read

Celebrating books and reading for pleasure continues to be a highlight of our centenary year. From March through to December 2025, we invited you to vote for your favourite of 10 selected titles each month. The final results are now in and the winners are:

March: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman
April: American Dirt, Jeanine Cummins
May: Circe, Madeline Miller
June: The Appeal, Janice Hallett
July: Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
August: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin
September: Yellowface, Rebecca F Kuang
October: The Curfew, T.M. Logan
November: Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus
December: Weyward, Emilia Hart.

Reminisce with us

We know how much people value looking back at the past and sharing memories. So we're excited to share a 'Through the Decades' short film and an exciting exhibition charting the changes to our library service over 100 years, as well as the threads that have remained the same.

The exhibition will tour from March to the end of the year, with host locations till December now available.

Have your say…

We always want to hear what library users and Hertfordshire residents have to say about their library service, and especially so during our centenary year.

We'll be filming and interviewing library visitors at different libraries throughout the year. We'll confirm dates soon.

Alternatively, please do share your thoughts:

Our thanks to Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant funding for enabling us to host a yearlong Centenary celebration of reading and creativity in Hertfordshire.