CILIP, the library and information association has today (11 October 2022) 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.

CILIP would like to thank Martin Lewis on behalf of libraries and other community hubs for his generous funding and for providing the spark to turn this guidance around in a matter of weeks. 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.

CILIP CEO Nick Poole said “CILIP has produced these guidelines for setting up Warm Spaces, and thank Martin Lewis for the commission and funding. We were well positioned to create best practice guidelines on setting up warm spaces; given our close relationship with libraries across the country who were already planning to create warm spaces this winter. We hope the information contained in this guidance will be useful to any organisation wanting to set up warm spaces for their communities this year and that they will help people to stay warm and safe”

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.

This guide is the culmination of that. I asked CILIP to research and collate best practice information, on how to do it, and I am delighted that they accepted the commission. It's not just for libraries, it’s for any organisation wanting to set up a warm space (the name has rightly changed too, a warm space is a far more approachable place than a warm bank). I do hope you find it useful.

Read the full set of guidelines at: www.cilip.org.uk/warmspaces