I ENJOYED Reg Little’s article (Oxford Mail, December 24) about the New Bodleian Library building, even if he did claim it is unloved. Yes, it does have its critics, but I rather like it. I recall that some years ago during the debate about its future you published a letter from a reader suggesting it be demolished. Thankfully, it survives. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I admit to being a fan of 1930s architecture and design, but this distinctive building, with its gravitas, mix of traditional and modern styling cues and the wonderful colour of its stonework, is absolutely right for its site, a counterpoint both to the fine old college buildings and the dross of more recent decades. Its gifted architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, also gave us Waterloo Bridge, its simple but stylish lines still fresh and strikingly modern after 70 years and the emblematic red telephone boxes, some of which survive against all the odds. Had the New Bodleian, or Weston Library, as we must soon learn to call it, been demolished I shudder to think what would have replaced it, but I suspect it would have included a lot of glass and visible concrete. The building’s interior is being imaginatively transformed and I look forward to seeing it.

However, the essential character of the exterior will remain and for this I am grateful. GEOFF SOAMES Gloucester Court Mews High Street Witney