KINGSTEIGNTON folk are canny. Regardless of Devon County Council's repeated refrain that it is not closing libraries to save money, Kingsteignton residents at the consultation session at the community hall on Wednesday were sure that money was the root of all ideas of closure. 'Of course it's economic,' said Neil Peters, 69. 'Why are they saving this way?' implored octogenarian Kitty Edwards. 'If we need our library – and we do – we must show it. It will make a lot of difference to my life if it is closed.' said Carolyn Moist, clerk to the parish council: 'The county council doesn't have the money to run the service, let alone improve it. 'That's why they are taking the desperate measures of closing local libraries. People want libraries to be improved but the management response is to close libraries in the name of "improvement'. 'They have money for new libraries but say there's no money to buy books and extend the opening hours of village libraries.' A constant stream of people visited Kingsteignton community hall throughout the library consultation day. They were dedicated to keeping their library open. Banners at the entrance read Just Say No, Save Our Library, and Say No to Closure. Cllr Sheila Hobden, the leader of the closure bid, said: 'Just say no is not an option.' Residents attempted to reason with Cllr Hobden, head of libraries Lynn Osbourne, and county officials Geraint Hughes and Roy Eden, the latter both librarians themselves. 'I'm absolutely horrified,' said Pat Ansell. 'It's ridiculous to close our library.' Husband Ted asked: 'How will old people cope if they have to go to Newton Abbot to use a library? There's no parking and it's a long walk. Children here can go straight to our library after school. They can't safely be allowed to go to Newton Abbot alone.' 'Ours is such a nice friendly library,' said Irene Tozer: 'We need it. It's nice to go there for a natter and it's brilliant for children.' Others saw library closure as the death knell for the village. 'It will destroy the core of the community,' said Andrena Jackson. 'It is vital especially for the elderly and the very young. It's a daily visit for some.' She and husband Paul have five grandchildren and regularly take them to the library to chose books, use the learning scheme for reading, and to get the under-fives' sticker. 'Our library gives a fantastic service,' said Mr Jackson. 'It has an exchange system for periodicals and magazines that I use.' Said Mrs Jackson: 'No way can closing our library improve anything. It's not expensive to run. If all the money goes into a big pot, closing our little library is not going to make any difference.' According to county figures, Kingsteignton library costs £19,814 for staff wages per year, and £5,371 to run. There is a mysterious 'condition expressed as maintenance backlog' column with £12,725 in it – but none of the officials present could say what was wrong with the library that would cost this amount to rectify, or how many years were covered by this sum. Cllr Vic Bateman, vice- chairman of the library protest group Keep Our Libraries Open – which has a membership of more than 100 said: 'The parish council is definitely against the library being closed. 'The number of people in Kingsteignton will increase in future. They can't all use the conjested road to get to Newton Abbot library, which won't be able to cope anyway. We need a bigger library here, not a closed one.' Valerie and James Lile, Kingsteignton residents in their 80s, were horrified by the idea of having to use Newton Abbot library. 'The buses are free for us,' they said. 'But there's a half-hour wait in the rain and cold as there's no proper bus shelter. Also, we can't carry books and the audio tapes James needs. he can't see to read any more.'
