AS WILTSHIRE Council’s cabinet member for libraries, I would like to respond to Ellie Boocock’s letter published in last week’s paper. I would like to reassure your readers that our library service is not, like many other local authorities, under threat and remains safe and viable for the foreseeable future. When the unitary council was formed in 2009, there were 31 libraries and this has not changed. In fact the council has invested and opened three new libraries and two more will be opening in the near future.

This situation compares very favourably with other local authorities across the country and is good news for Wiltshire, highlighting how Wiltshire Council views this as a vital service in local communities.

We have achieved this by offering a new and different library service. In the past two years we have recruited over six hundred public spirited volunteers who work alongside valued professional staff to deliver a library service that the people of Wiltshire can be justly proud of and, we are looking at making the best use of our library buildings encouraging local communities to use these as hubs for services, information, events and activities. In this stringent economic climate, I am extremely proud of the “comprehensive and efficient” library service that Wiltshire Council continues to provide as part of its remit under the 1964 Libraries Act.

Jonathon Seed, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Libraries