'Read in' staged to save Swindon's libraries

A protest against planned closures of libraries in Swindon was held today.

The council wants to save £1.5million from its libraries budget, and wants communities to take on the running of them.

If that doesn't happen, some will close.

Today campaigners held a 'read-in' to highlight their plight.

As you might expect from a library protest - it wasn't particularly loud, it was very eloquent - but the anger was unmistakable.

The protest took place in Old Town - one of the town's smaller libraries. The council wants newly created parishes in the town to take on the running of the libraries - saving it money.

The council is obliged to provide library services of some sort. But its funding from central government has been cut year after year.

The meeting about the libraries and where the cuts will fall will be held on Wednesday.