All Tube station book exchanges forced to close because of fire safety issues

Bookswaps have closed at all London Tube stations, including Clapham North (Picture: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Commuters say their last shreds of ‘joy’ were taken away after London Underground station book exchanges suddenly closed.

Tube stations across London were dotted with community bookswaps, where people can drop off and pick up something to read for free.

However, the Tube station bookswaps now face the end of the road after London Fire Brigade told them to close due to safety concerns the ‘combustible material’ poses.

Book lover Ryan Seller, from Clapham, was left confused when he found the shelves stripped empty with a note saying all book exchanges have been ‘forced to close’ with ‘immediate effect.’

The entertainment PR reached out to Metro after making the ‘absurd’ discovery at Clapham North Tube station last night.

TfL station staff, who left notes on emptied shelves, appeared to be sad over the loss of the bookswaps (Picture: Ryan Seller)

The note, thought to have been written by station staff, said: ‘Due to fire safety regulations from the London Fire Brigade, we have been forced to close all book exchange libraries on all London Underground stations with immediate effect.

‘We are all sad to see this go. Thank you for all your support over the years.’

Ryan told Metro: ‘To say that a few books in a station are a fire risk is absolutely absurd, and to have the book exchange libraries removed because of that feels almost farcical!

‘I’d love to know exactly what ‘fire safety regulation’ from the London Fire Brigade has dictated this action. 

‘Life is hard enough, the news cycle is depressing, and the cost of living is still challenging everyone. Must every little bit of joy be taken away from us?’

A similar note had also appeared at the Oval Tube station in southwest London, he said.

The bookswap at Clapham North brought joy to commuters like Ryan (Picture: Ryan Seller)

Bookswaps and exchanges have mushroomed around London over the past decade, and the Clapham North shelf is thought to have been there at least since 2014. Exchanges have also appeared on street corners and parks in the capital.

‘I was an active user of the book exchange – and I wasn’t alone. Whenever I dropped a book off in the morning, it was always gone by the end of the day so obviously people were using it regularly,’ Ryan said.

He lamented the loss, saying that ‘schemes like these free book exchanges are really important’ as studies show 40% of Britons haven’t read a single book in the last year.

‘It makes reading more accessible and helps to promote a nice feeling of community at a time when I think we really need that,’ he added.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: ‘Ensuring the safety of those using the London transport network is our priority.

‘We are working with Transport for London with regards to their responsibility to remove all book libraries from subsurface stations.

‘This is due to combustible material posing a fire safety risk if it is stored on these premises.

Lewisham DLR station used to have a bookswap until February when it was told to remove the it (Picture: Instagram/Michael Peacock)

‘Non-subsurface stations have been asked to remove book libraries from display until they have the correct fire safety plans in place.’

A spokesperson for TfL told Metro: ‘We work very closely with London Fire Brigade and other emergency services to ensure our services run safely and following guidance from the Fire Service, we have advised our staff to remove book swaps from stations.

‘We’d like to apologise to any of our customers that this impacts and we are reviewing our processes for these internally and will work with the Fire Service to see if book swaps can be re-introduced at some stations across the network in the future. We will also work with local communities to redistribute books to alternative local locations in the meantime.’

At Lewisham DLR station, the community makeshift library was told to close by February 3 after a visit from the London Fire Brigade, resident Michael Peacock said previously.

He launched a petition to try to keep the library open after the Fire Brigade found that the bookshelves and books don’t comply with fire safety regulations.

‘The removal of the remaining four bookcases would be a hammer blow to our community.

‘Since I created the free libraries in May 2023, many thousands of people have gained benefit. With the Public Library closed, this free library in a prime location has provided an invaluable resource,’ he said.

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