Prime Minister David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ initiative (what we all used to know as ‘volunteering’) is set to be put to the test in Oxfordshire — and, to be more precise, in its libraries.

While many have welcomed Oxfordshire County Council’s rethink on its original plan to stop funding just under half its 43 libraries, some of them will still be at risk if insufficient volunteers are found to man them.

Although 22 libraries will remain fully staffed, including those in some of our main towns, 16 others will be solely dependent on the goodwill of volunteers coming forward to keep their doors open and provide services.

While in some of the county’s more prosperous corners, volunteers may be easy to find, especially among retired folk, in others it may not be so easy, as people’s days are filled by the need to go out and earn a living.

Ironically, these may be the exact same areas that in economic terms have the greatest need for our library service.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that enough volunteers are found everywhere to keep all our libraries open.