THE CHAIR of Townhill Community Council has made a bid for answers after the village’s library was earmarked for closure.

Last month, the Press told you how money-saving proposals put forward by Fife Cultural Trust (FCT) would see facilities in Townhill, as well as Crossgates and Abbeyview, close within three years as part of plans to revamp the library service and save £813,000 in necessary cuts.

Now, chair Ronnie Cowan has written to Fife Council in protest at the plans.

“It would be a disappointment if it closed,” he said. “It’s a social hub in a small village and for a lot of elderly people that use it, it’s the only time they’ll speak to anyone all day. It’s possibly the only opportunity they have for conversation.

“The staff are so friendly and it puts a more human face on it for them which they won’t necessarily get with mobile libraries.

“It’s okay saying they will use a ‘hub and spoke’ model but for someone who isn’t that mobile it’s quite a task and if they don’t have a bus pass it can be quite an expensive matter.

“The bottom line is what are they actually saving? I asked in a letter for them to respond to my points. What will they actually gain financially?

“It will be very interesting to hear what they’re actually going to save.” Mr Cowan also pointed out Andrew Carnegie’s legacy of establishing libraries, adding, “There is a great big portrait of Andrew Carnegie in the vestibule in the community centre. There doesn’t seem to be a purpose to have that room vacated. It would be a great shame.

“The computer room is so busy and people are going in there and sitting and reading, but the statistics only reflect book borrowing.” According to FCT, the proposals will introduce a new model of provision for services across Fife in order to sustain the library network in the future.

It said the move to a new ‘hub and spoke’ model, with small and mobile libraries complementing bigger facilities, would provide a better-targeted and more accessible service for users and would ensure that the furthest any customer would have to travel to an alternative library is 4.2 miles.

A report back on a community consultation regarding the proposed closures will be submitted to Fife Council’s executive committee on 29th September.