CALLINGTON Town Council is seeking feedback from the public regarding the town’s library service.

As Cornwall Council continues its consultation on the future of library services in the county, Callington Town Council is trying to establish what people want from their local library provision in order to safeguard its future.

Cornwall Council has to make substantial budget savings of £196-million by March 31, 2019, with savings of £1.8-million having to come from the existing £4-million library service budget.

And even though Callington is ‘unique’ as it has its own library in the college, it is ultimately run by Cornwall Council staff.

Town clerk Helen Dowdall said: ‘We’ve been consulting with Cornwall Council about the future of the services and momentarily, we will do what we can to secure it for the residents. We will be asking residents if they want it and if they would be happy for the town council to fund it.

‘We want to gauge what it is that the library gives to our residents that is important to them — is it the books? A social group? Or the face-to-face time with a representative from Cornwall Council?’

A questionnaire created by Callington Town Council asking people what appetite they have for their library and what services, if any, they wish to retain, was handed out at the town’s Honey Fair recently, but only a few were handed back to the council.

Mrs Dowdall added: ‘We are taking stock of what people think of the services, whether there is the feeling it needs to be protected and whether the cost should be borne by the town council.

‘We all know that Cornwall Council is going through budget cuts so we need people to speak up or we could see a dramatic change of the service — but if we receive no reaction from the public and don’t hear that it is important then it could be lost for good.’

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: ‘We are working with local organisations to find sustainable delivery models for each library.’

To contact Callington Town Council with your opinions on the town’s library service, call 01579 384039 or email [email protected] For more information about the library consultation, visit www.cornwall.gov.uk