A popular library saved from closure last year is celebrating its 80th birthday next Sunday.

Friern Barnet Library, now run by a team of voluntary trustees, is marking the anniversary with a special celebration.

Special guests at the event include founder of National Libraries Day Alan Gibbons, chairman of national charity The Library Campaign Laura Swaffield, and Boyd Tonkin, a senior writer at The Independent.

Friern Barnet Library was closed by Barnet Council in 2012 under plans to sell off the building.

But a community campaign to have it reopened, which was boosted by a group of squatters who occupied the building for more than five months, led to a U-turn by the local authority the following year.

Local councillors and many of the library’s trustees and volunteers are also expected to attend birthday celebration, on Sunday, March 23, between 2pm and 5pm.