A new community library will finally be lending books out to the public on Saturday after the idea was first mooted in December 2011.

Following the closure of libraries in Harrow Green, Leytonstone, and South Chingford, and after difficulties securing a venue, Harrow Green Community Library is finally ready to open.

The library had been ‘officially’ opened on April 6 but at the time books hadn’t been indexed or catalogued and the systems to do so were not up and running.

A team of around 10 volunteers have in recent weeks been busy processing books, of which more than 1,000 are ready for borrowing.

Sections in the library include children’s fiction, teenage fiction, general fiction, autobiography, philosophy and religion.

Though donations have come in from Waltham Forest Council and the public, the library is still on the lookout for donations of non-fiction books and works of classic authors such as Dickens, Orwell and Austen.

Volunteer staff, including a published book author and a librarian, have been processing books on two computers donated by the council.

Ros Kane, library activist, said: “We want the place to be used and for people to get together over a shared interest.”

She added that the community members involved were hoping for larger premises to be able to host cultural events and to launch a poetry book at the Leytonstone Festival in July.

People can borrow up to two books at a time with a membership card, which can be obtained from the Epicentre with proof of address.