When my own council, Wirral, announced plans to close 11 of its libraries, the reaction of residents across the borough and from all sections of society was immediate and vocal.

Libraries sowed the seed corn of the future – they served the most needy, they were safe places for the young and the old, in partnership they encouraged early reading initiatives, supported school work, encouraged those with literacy difficulties, provided Internet access, etc – the list went on and on.

However the key element in all the argument was that the libraries needed to be local.

No difficult or expensive journey should be required to reach them, young mothers should not have to haul buggies on and off a bus to get their small children to a Babies’ Bounce and Rhyme session, wheelchair users and the elderly should have access to proper library facilities in their own locality.

So strong was the opposition to the proposed closures that it prompted the unprecedented holding of a public inquiry, ably led by the former chief executive of a London borough, Sue Chateris.

Not surprisingly, her report condemned the closures and, for the moment at least, Wirral’s libraries remain open.

I would urge Oxfordshire County Council and all the Oxfordshire campaigners to consider the findings of the Charteris Report on the Wirral Library Service.

Libraries are not a service to be slashed without very careful thought and consultation, otherwise it is the most vulnerable who lose out.

Elizabeth Davey, (Formerly a teacher in Blackbird Leys), Wirral, Merseyside