CILIP, the library and information association this week published a set of guidelines: ‘A Warm Welcome. Setting up a warm space in your community’.

These guidelines stemmed from a tweet in early September by Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert, asking if there were any UK charities who could come forward and write a best practice guidance document for setting up warm spaces in the community.

Public libraries were invited to submit their best practice guidance from advice on issues such as safeguarding and accessibility, to the practicalities of health and safety, accessibility and risk assessments - but at all times remembering that these spaces should be welcoming, warm and safe.

This is a role that libraries and librarians have quietly undertaken for decades, but during this cost of living crisis the sector and CILIP knew that need was going to markedly increase and were already discussing what could be done.

As the leading voice for the library profession, CILIP stepped forward and undertook to produce the guidelines as a matter of urgency. ‘A Warm Welcome’ is the result, compiled by CILIP using their links to public libraries to share best practice ideas on how to support and welcome communities this coming winter.

These guidelines started as a public library initiative, but we hope they will prove helpful to all organisations that would like to set up a warm, safe and welcoming space within the community this winter.

Martin Lewis said; In early July 2022, while the sun was blazing, I was sitting at my desk, doing some numbers, starting to feel overcome with a sense of dread about the coming winter. It looked like the price cap rates for energy, which most of us pay, would be nearly doubling, leaving possibly 100,000s with the now almost cliched choice between heating and eating.

While mulling, I tweeted, 'Can't believe I'm writing this, but I wonder if this winter we’ll need 'warm banks', the equivalent of 'food banks' where people who can't afford heating are invited to spend their days, at no cost, with heating (e.g. in libraries, public buildings, etc.)' I wasn’t the only one thinking it. I was both saddened and gladdened to quickly hear from a few councils and libraries already planning to do just that, as well as many organisations who wanted to help, but were asking how to do it. You can access the report here.