PEOPLE rightly made their feelings known when North Yorkshire County Council announced it could no longer afford to run its libraries as they were.

It looked like communities were about to lose yet another asset; another case of a service that exists for people rather than profit biting the dust.

Months of consultation and emotional debate resulted in the announcement that 21 libraries in the county would have to be run by volunteers or closed.

Communities staged campaigns, signed petitions and submitted 17,000 responses to County Hall’s consultation.

So it’s quite amazing that as yet, not one library has closed.

People have stepped into the breach to save them.

It was quite likely that when they were thrown to the mercy of their communities, the libraries would sink without trace.

The success of the project was dependent on people who hadn’t yet come forward putting in hundreds of unpaid hours to restart a fairly complex operation and then keep it running.

So hats off to the people who have volunteered to do just that.

Another positive outcome is the saga has highlighted just how relevant libraries are. Many are now finding a new lease of life by branching out. They are becoming places where you can find Credit Union collection points, jobs advice, cafes, communal work areas for the self-employed, workshops and a myriad of other uses. Blazing the trail in all this is Great Ayton’s Discovery Centre, where as well as buying books you can attend French lessons and buy crafts.

It’s a lot of work, but let’s hope other communities find the means to keep their libraries thriving, modern and – most important of all – open.