Fears for the future of a Devon town's library have risen with plans for county budget cuts.
The Friends of Ottery Library (FOOL) have been active in discussions with a number of local groups, including the Town Council, on how to save the library as the county council intend to cut overall library expenditure by £1.5 million by 2017.
Friends' chairman James Goddard said "We've had support from individuals and our discussions with schools, the Chamber of Commerce and others has been encouraging.
" Our library should be favourably treated as, despite its physical problems, it's one of the most efficient in the county."
In a presentation to the Ottery St Mary Town Council, he stressed the group's desire to work with town and county officials to maintain a good library service with professional staff.
As the local population was set to expand over the next few years, it was important that the library, which serves all ages, should be able to meet the increased demand.
Ottery St Mary Town Council said the library had suffered under-investment for years and noted that there were alternative locations in the town, including redundant county council buildings, that could be used as a new site, together with other services.
The county's current proposals for Honiton to provide a "Devon Centre" for the people of Ottery were unsatisfactory.
There are 50 libraries in Devon and 22 have been provisionally designated "Devon Centres" and the remaining 28 might be voluntary-run libraries, including that in Ottery.
The Town Council favours a middle way and contends that Ottery clearly qualifies for such status.
