Ref. 28855-19Readers at one of three libraries facing the chop are told it will stay open.

ONE of the three Swindon libraries on the council's hitlist for closure has won a last-breath reprieve.

Following reports in the Evening Advertiser yesterday that Chiseldon, Gorse Hill and Even Swindon libraries were to be axed, the Even Swindon branch has now been saved.

Coun Justin Tomlinson, the lead member for cultural services and recreation, will hold a meeting on Monday at the Even Swindon Community Centre, where the library is sited, to tell users it is safe.

June Webb, 65, treasurer of the Even Swindon Community Centre, said: "I can confirm Coun Tomlinson called me to say that our library is no longer on the hitlist. He told me he hadn't wanted it on the list in the first place.

"I made it clear that the people of Rodbourne can't be pushed about and he said he'd learned a lesson in that respect.

"We have the highest number of members of all Swindon libraries and deal with more transactions than even the Old Town library, which is open twice as long as we are.

How could anyone have considered shutting up shop here? It beggars belief.

"Despite the news, we're still going ahead with our meeting on Monday and we'll be keeping our celebrations on ice until the great news is officially announced.

"I have nothing but praise and thanks for the Evening Advertiser. It just goes to show what can be achieved through the power of the people - and the press."

Coun Tomlinson said: "I had a long conversation with Mrs Webb and explained we had very difficult decisions to make.

"I accept that the Even Swindon library is very different from others because it is set in the community centre. People drop in for a coffee, attend some functions, and may then make use of the library. "

He agreed that it "wouldn't make sense" to axe a library that had been open less than a year, had computers installed a mere fortnight ago and was low on overheads because the council did not have to pay the building's running costs.

A mistake had been made and Coun Tomlinson will be going to the Monday "call to arms" gathering to convince them that action was no longer necessary.

But Chiseldon and Gorse Hill remain doomed and another could now replace Even Swindon on the list.

"Chiseldon isn't being closed to cut costs but to provide a better service," said Coun Tomlinson.

"This library is in the middle of nowhere and not used all that much by local people."

Of 570 members, he insisted that only 70 used the Chiseldon library "exclusively".

"The plan is to have a mobile library that will visit the school and then the four different quarters of the area, so it will almost be a door-to-door delivery service."

But Chiseldon resident Pat Crabb said: "Our library is more than a book-lending service. It is a centre of information and has a community value. Mobiles can never offer that.

"I shall be very sorry to see the closure and I can assure you I'm not alone."

Gorse Hill will bite the dust on economic grounds. According to Coun Tomlinson it is three times more expensive to run than the better subscribed libraries.

Coun Tomlinson hinted that the long-term policy could be for a Big Five library provision a North, East, West, South and Central, all incorporated within a retail development because that was already a proven success route.

He would not be drawn into the names of any other imminent closures, apart from those already identified, saying: "The public consultation process still has to be analysed before we can talk in detail."

Swindon currently has 17 libraries, compared with the average 13 for similar sized towns.

Pruning that number to five would be "decimation beyond belief" in the words of Coun Derique Montaut (Lab, Moredon), the shadow lead member for cultural services and recreation.

Michael Litchfield