THE history of the relationship between Tavistock Town Council and the Subscription Library should be made clear to those rate payers who would provide the funds which would offer the library help. The library was founded in 1799, before any public libraries. In the 1820s it subscribed to and built its own building. Unfortunately, later it was found to be situated in the way of the Duke of Bedford?s grand plan to redevelop Tavistock. The library building was pulled down and the members were given the complete building at its present site, the renovated Court Gate. Since then it has been supported by members? subscriptions. Many fortunes have since then been experienced, the worst of these was at the occasion of the Duke of Bedford estate selling Court Gate on the open market. Developers were ready poised; the farsighted town council of the day decided that it should be owned by the town but could not afford the full purchase price. An appeal was made, headed by Mr Prance, a member of the library, and the amount, nearly a fifth of the cost, was raised and offered to the council. From that time the Subscription Library has enjoyed privileged tenancy. The collection has been maintained and the bills have been met. The library, of course, holds insurance but we are informed that in these days the ceiling would normally be the responsibility of the landlord so is not included in our schedule. Another factor to be considered is that on the day of the ceiling?s collapse the council-owned floor above the library was undergoing repairs and this could have contributed to the fall. Unlike a similar situation with the town hall ceiling, which should have been covered by insurance, the library has completed the work which has absorbed half of the funds saved for rebinding of books, repairs to the bookcases and development of computerisation of the library records. I, as the secretary, thought it prudent to ask the town council if they could come to our aid, at our time of need. Not an unreasonable request from a charitable organisation. John Gale Merrivale, Princetown