The future of Salcombe Library is on the line due to a massive
cost-cutting shake-up in the county's library services aimed at saving £1.5m.
Devon County Council is considering slashing its support for more than half of the county's libraries by handing them over to community volunteers to run.
That includes the library in Cliff House, Salcombe, as well as those at Dartmouth and Buckfastleigh.
The county council said is also looking at developing Kingsbridge Library into a 'Devon Centre' along with 19 other libraries. This would mean turning them into community hubs incorporating adult learning classes, business support services and even cafes.
Salcombe Library is one of 28 of the county's smaller libraries that the county council wants to consult over how they can be 'sustained in the future'.
While the libraries would continue to receive county assistance in terms of book buying and management support, communities will be asked to take over much of their running through volunteers.
Salcombe mayor Rob Wheeler said: 'I'm saddened when local amenities such as the library are closed or threatened with closure. It's a real shame for information services. People despair at closures at the local level when they can see all the money at the top being readily spent.'
Salcombe Library is sited within Cliff House, which was purchased by Andrew McIlwraith in the early 20th century for his daughter, who apparently did not wish to live there. McIlwraith set up a trust for the property, allowed local groups to use the building and decided to allocate other areas of the building for use by the people of Salcombe, with the first-floor Reading Room becoming the public library.
This means Salcombe has premises for its library whatever the council decides, so if volunteers can be found to staff it, it could continue as normal.
The county council has a statement of commitment on its website that asserts: 'We commit to a network of libraries which are accessible, well-equipped and open at convenient times.'
Salcombe Library declined to comment.
Devon councillor Roger Croad, the cabinet councillor for libraries, said: 'This is not a closure programme. I can absolutely assure you that we are committed as a county council to libraries. We think libraries are great. We just need to evolve the way we support them and move forward.'
Devon County Council has said it wants to consult on its 'ambitious vision for a public library service that is sustainable, receptive to community needs and fit for the future'. The consultation has been triggered by a decline in traditional book lending and a rise in the popularity of online and e-reader technologies.
The county council also needs to save a further £1.5m by 2017 on top of the £3m saving it has already made.
As far as the changes to smaller libraries such as Salcombe's are concerned, the county said it has no single model in mind, but pointed to Ipplepen Library, which is run by volunteers; South Brent Community Library, which opens
six days a week; and Broadhempston, where there is a seven-day-a-week library stocked by the county but run as part of a community shop, cafe and art
space.
Mr Croad said: 'Changes in the way people use libraries, and in what they expect of the service, is also driving this consideration of what a future library service might look like.
'These proposals would see a consolidation of the service focusing on a network of enhanced Devon Centres, with resources and support to community-led initiatives.
'We know that, at their best, libraries have tremendous potential to support people of all ages to develop their skills and knowledge.
'We think these proposals represent the best opportunity to maximise the potential of libraries to support local communities in the future.
'Of course, we're continuing to reduce costs in other ways –
in our management
and support of the service.
'Over the coming months we'll be going out to communities to engage them in thinking about how they can maintain a local service, with as much support from the council as we can give.
'I'd encourage local residents, groups and organisations to give us their views and to put forward any other ideas or suggestions they have on how we can continue to offer this very important service while also reducing costs. We're happy to hear from organisations across the county that have innovative ideas on how this could be done.'
The county council's cabinet will be deciding next Wednesday, April 9, whether to take the controversial proposals to the public.
If it says yes then the council will put the proposals out for public consultation for the next three months to gauge public reaction and hopefully to kick-start local conversations about possible community-led solutions.
The council said it will then announce firm proposals in the autumn, followed by further engagement with local communities.