Ipplepen residents were united in their opposition to their library being closed. As assistant community strategist Matthew Bell said: 'People here are obviously against it.' Mr Bell was one of the council officers supporting Cllr Sheila Hobden, head of libraries Lynn Osborne, and district librarian Liz Alexander at a library consultation day at Ipplepen on Friday. Mr Bell added: 'Consultation attracts objectors. Their library is being reviewed and we are asking how to improve the library service across Devon.' As far as Ipplepen resident Geoffrey Hart was concerned that question was easy to answer. 'Close Newton Abbot library,' he said. 'Keep the small ones, like ours, open.' Other residents were equally enthusiastic about Ipplepen's well-run library, calling it 'the heart of the village'. One elderly couple said: 'On principle library services should be provided by the council. 'We pay our council tax and are entitled to use our library.' Some residents said they would be prepared to pay a small charge for borrowing books if only the library could be kept open. An employee of Devon County's library service commented: 'Fifteen years ago Devon was running outreach services to encourage rural reading. 'Now they have reversed that policy and are closing rural libraries. I just don't understand their logic.' Perhaps the most pertinent comment on the need for the library in Ipplepen came from the man who lives next door to it. 'You should see the queue that forms outside the library before it opens,' he said.