[1] The library's threatened closure prompted a large campaign to save it, led by figures including Alan Bennett, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith, Nick Cave and Pet Shop Boys.

[3] Kensal Rise Library designed by Done, Hunter and co. architects[4] and was opened by Mark Twain, who had been staying nearby at Dollis Hill House, whose guests have included Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone and which was later used by Winston Churchill's War Cabinet.

[14] The campaign to save the library was supported by Alan Bennett,[15] Zadie Smith,[16] Nick Cave[17] and the Pet Shop Boys.

In May 2012, the council removed books and the Mark Twain plaque in the middle of the night, due to 'public safety concerns' around the closure of the service.

[22] By late 2018, Friends of Kensal Rise Library had signed a long lease for part of the ground floor, following refurbishment.