THE story of our threatened libraries is almost enough to warrant a novel in itself.

First, last November, we were told 20 of the 43 libraries in Oxfordshire faced funding cuts in a bid to save £2m. Then in February an extra £450,000 was found in the budget to help save some libraries.

In March, county council leader Keith Mitchell announced a “rethink” and said officers were going back to the drawing board. And now the date for the axe to fall has been lifted – with no new one in place.

Either councillors are listening to concerns and doing their best to save the county’s libraries, or they are playing politics with a valued community resource.