THE library is a central part of the community and residents can be assured it is not going anywhere.

Shaun Smith, strategic manager for adult and community services for Swindon libraries said that Swindon Council is not planning on closing any libraries in the town.

“We are not planning to close any libraries in Swindon. We expect Liden to carry on,” he said.

About 600 people visit the building, in Barrington Close, every week and library assistant Lin Marshall has been a library assistant there for a quarter of a century.

She said: “It’s a very friendly library and we have a good relationship with everyone. We have quite a mixture of people, elderly through to the 40s and 50s and very young children.

“I think they look upon the library as a meeting point and people meet each other here.

“We have regular customers who I have got to know really well over the years. We have little chats when they come in.

“They almost become like your friends because you have seen them so much over the years.

“From when I first joined things have changed quite a lot. Figures have dropped and we’ve got new members. It’s something you can never predict.”