VOLUNTEERS should supplement, but not replace, library provision on the Island, according to MP Andrew Turner.
In a letter to campaigner Dave Quigley, who has helped spearhead a legal challenge against Isle of Wight Council closure plans, Mr Turner said volunteers should work with the council service but not be used instead of it.
He added it was up to local authorities to come up with new approaches for libraries but government would support libraries through the Future Libraries Programme, a partnership between national and local government.
Mr Quigley, who e-mailed the letter to Isle of Wight councillors, said: "One of the most important points in this letter is the following: 'It is up to local communities, working with local councillors to keep our libraries open, with volunteers supplementing and working with librarians, rather than replacing them’."
He again called on councillors to rethink plans to stop operating many of the Island’s libraries.
Responding to the e-mail, Cllr Ian Stephens, leader of the 11-member Independent Alliance, said libraries were high on the list of services that needed to be saved.
Reporter: ross.findon@iwcp.co.uk