A petition against a council’s proposals to have volunteers run and fund a town’s library has been submitted with more than 1,600 signatures.
Residents formed a steering group after North Yorkshire County Council announced it wanted Stokesley Library to run as a “community-managed” model to save cash.
And now a petition against the plans has been submitted after 1,685 residents put their name to it.
The locals believe the library should run as a “hybrid” model instead - where volunteers work with paid members of staff.
Eileen Driver, one of the locals leading the fight, said: “An all-volunteer library is more vulnerable to closure and the residents need their library to have a sustainable future.
“Local people are deeply concerned that NYCC is not recognising the educational, cultural, economic and social benefits the library brings.”
She added: “NYCC’s usage figures show the largest group of users are the under 24s, closely followed by the 25-54-year-olds with, by far the smallest, group being over 55s. Ironically it is this very age group that an all-volunteer library would call on to keep it running.”
The proposals are part of wider plans “for a major expansion of community involvement” in the county’s entire library service. They are also seen as a way “to help keep as many libraries as possible open”.
If they were to be given the go-ahead, Stokesley, along with 19 other libraries, would be classed as “community managed” facilities and would “receive arm’s length professional support” but no paid members of staff.
The council also proposes to impose two other models - “core” which would be staffed by a combination of professional county library staff and volunteers, and “hybrid”, which would depend on volunteers working alongside a paid staff member.
The “community managed” model is already in place in Great Ayton, which is funded and run by the community after a lengthy campaign to save the facility.
North Yorkshire County Council has confirmed the consultation on the future of its library services has now ended and a “detailed analysis of the response” will now be carried out.
“Our current group of community libraries have proved to be a resounding success,” said county councillor Chris Metcalfe, North Yorkshire’s executive member for library services.
“We hope we can work in partnership with our communities, as part of our wider, stronger communities agenda, to maintain an effective and vibrant library servicee.”
An executive report is expected by the end of May with further scrutiny via the council’s scrutiny committee in June.
The executive will consider the final report and options at the end of June/early July.
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