THE campaign to save Old Town Library is gaining momentum with more than 500 signatures already added to a petition.

Supporters of the library fear Swindon Council will bring the axe down on the Old Town facility despite improved user figures over the last year. While councillors have so far remained tight-lipped about the fate of the library, deputy leader Fionuala Foley (Con, Old Town and Lawns) has suggested a scheme that would see it staffed by volunteers.

But supporters have dismissed this scheme, saying the experience of library staff and their knowledge of customers’ reading habits is a vital part of the facility.

Campaigner, Shirley Burnham, said: “It should not be assumed that the library is an isolated entity – it is part of the fabric of the local community.

“Library users, drawn away from the local community to use the central amenity will find it more convenient to shop there. “Traders in Old Town and businesses that have grown up around the library over more than 40 years rely on the foot-fall that the library creates.

“Its loss will weaken trade. Private or corporate businesses are only kept going by the customers who use them and the business generated.

“Without these, they fail and disappear – thus the cycle is perpetuated.”

Rose and Myles Earle have also been collecting signatures against the closure of the library, and have so far added 150 to the total.

Rose said: “I am in support of the campaign because I think the library is very important to the people of Old Town. Some of my customers have told me they would be devastated if it closed.

“It is particularly important to older and younger people and I have customers of all ages who are regular users.”