Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Another possible victim of Conservative cuts.

The latest attempt to try to save money following the move to one council, (which was sold to us as the panacea for all Wiltshire's woes) could see half a million pounds slashed from the libraries budget.

As a result we could see library closures in Wiltshire. Currently, the county has 31 libraries, plus a mobile library service which visits 280 villages and communities. There are 216,000 library members and we make 2,100,000 visits and borrow three million items per year. 221 people are employed by the library service.

Wiltshire has three quarters of a million books plus CDs, DVDs, Audio books, and access to the internet. Your library will also be able to give you information on such things as bus routes, police, tourism, local events and local clubs, and it may hold "meet the author" events, creative writing workshops, or performance events - rhyme times, theatre, puppets, and others.

A spokesperson for the council said, "There are no plans yet for closing libraries but we are of course looking closely at the future of the service." This can be taken as meaning that there will be closures but they don't know where.

The future of libraries, and the probable relocation of Trowbridge Library to County Hall, will be discussed at the meeting of the Trowbridge Area Board on the 1st July. In addition, Hilperton Parish Council will discuss the issue at their meeting next Tuesday.